Sixers' Joel Embiid Cleared to Play Game 3 vs. Hawks

After being listed as questionable ahead of Game 3 in Atlanta against the Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has once again been cleared for action despite dealing with a small meniscus tear in his knee. 

Ever since leaving the Game 4 matchup in the first round against the Washington Wizards, Embiid has been dealing with a notable injury setback. After getting ruled out for the rest of Game 4 against the Wizards with knee soreness, Embiid's MRI revealed a torn meniscus the following morning.

While the injury sounded notable, the Sixers remained optimistic. Not only did they list Embiid as day-to-day after getting the results, but they didn't rule him out of the Game 5 matchup right away. Although Embiid did end up missing the series finale against the Wizards, his status for the series opener against the Atlanta Hawks was questionable, which was a good sign.

After participating in a couple of practices and going through various treatments, Embiid received the green light to play in Game 1 against the Hawks last Sunday. After checking in for 38 minutes, Embiid managed to put up a game-high of 39 points while collecting nine rebounds and four assists in the loss to the Hawks.

Two nights later, the big man was once again questionable heading into the Game 2 matchup. Despite playing in Game 1 without suffering any setbacks, Embiid did admit it was tough to play through the pain. Therefore, the Sixers waited to see how he was feeling on game day before declaring his playing status.

Once again, Embiid felt up for the challenge of playing on Tuesday. As he checked in for 35 minutes, Embiid had a 40-point outing and added 13 rebounds and a pair of assists to his stat line, too, as the Sixers defeated the Hawks 118-102.

Embiid, fortunately, didn't overwork himself in Game 2, but his status was once again up in the air heading into the Game 3 matchup on the road.

Considered a game-time decision, Embiid needed to go through his pregame warmups once again to ensure he was good to play. As it turns out, the All-Star is still able to power through the pain and play on a torn meniscus as he's been cleared for action ahead of Game 3. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.