Sixers' Embiid, McConnell out vs. Pelicans

Dec 11, 2017 - 12:33 AM NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers have decided to sit out Joel Embiid against the Pelicans on Sunday night because of stiffness in the 7-foot center's back. Embiid was expected to play in New Orleans after sitting out Saturday night's loss to Cleveland to rest his surgically repaired knee. Embiid, who has averaged 23.5 points and 11.1 rebounds in 21 games, had offseason surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee and the Sixers have been limiting his playing time, including not playing him on back-to-back nights. Philadelphia also held out guard T.J. McConnell with a left shoulder sprain. The Sixers already had ruled out forward Robert Covington, who hurt his back crashing over the first row of stands in an attempt to save a ball from going out of bounds in Cleveland on Saturday night. ___ For more NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball