PHILADELPHIA – Paul George made his debut as a Philadelphia 76er on Nov. 4. One game later, Tyrese Maxey injured his hamstring. When Maxey finally returned on Nov. 20, Joel Embiid’s balky left knee swelled up, occasioning another stint on the shelf. Embiid came back on Dec. 8 in Chicago, for the second game in which the Sixers’ Big 3 started together. The third such start may be the last one for a bit. Embiid left Friday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers after an “impact to the right side of his face.” Further testing revealed a sinus fracture for the two-time NBA scoring champ. He’ll be reevaluated this weekend, ahead of a week in which the 76ers play just twice, both against the struggling Charlotte Hornets. “He’s been in a really good place all week,” coach Nick Nurse said postgame. “I haven’t had a chance to see him here after the game yet, but all I can say is, he practiced all week. He was in a good place. We did a lot of stuff to get up to speed with him. But I imagine he’s going to feel like a black cloud’s over him.” The 76ers had won four of five before facing the Pacers Friday, outrun and outscored in a 121-107 setback. They’d gotten Embiid back for just his sixth game this season. But any momentum is back at square one, or rather at the Plan B that is how the 76ers can win games this year without the 2023 NBA MVP. “We made that surge in the second (quarter), and that’s when Joel goes down,” Nurse said. “And it’s just not that easy to deal with at times, but we’ve got to do a little better of next-man-up and fighting and pulling together a little bit. Tonight, we just didn’t seem to be able to do it. But we’ll regroup, regardless of what the situation is.” Embiid was struck in the face Friday by Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin while battling for a rebound in the final minute of the first half. Mathurin caught Embiid in the cheek with his forearm. The center stayed down as player continued up the floor, then was helped by training staff to the locker room. He didn’t return to the bench in the second half, and X-rays revealed the sinus fracture. Embiid has struggled. He shot 13-for-28 from the field, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range, for 31 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in 32:53 of a win over Chicago. Friday, he played 17:28, with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting, four rebounds, five assists and a minus-11 rating. Any efforts at some semblance of continuity have been undermined by the constant lineup in-and-out of Embiid and others. Embiid has a history of facial issues. He’s broken orbital bones on both sides of his face – in the 2022 playoffs after a collision with (now Pacer) Pascal Siakam in Toronto and in a 2018 clash with teammate Markelle Fultz. He suffered a bout of Bell’s Palsy that led to facial paralysis last year in the playoffs. The latter came as he was working back from spring surgery on his left meniscus. He recovered to play in the postseason, the Sixers fighting through the play-in round to be eliminated by the New York Knicks. Rest allowed Embiid to win gold with Team USA at the Paris Olympics, but the 76ers this fall opted to rest the knee with an eye toward the postseason. His absence, under the guise of load management, was part of why the 76ers started the season 3-14. Now, it appears the 76ers will have to figure out anew how to win without him. “It’s just tough for him,” guard KJ Martin said. “Obviously he’s our teammate. We want the best for his well-being, just for him, dealing with the knee thing and then come back and then his face, it’s just a whole bunch of stuff. As a team, obviously he’s the MVP of the league, so it’s just tough playing without him. He’s done so much for us, but at the same time, we’re still all professionals at the end of the day, so we’re going to have to figure it out.”