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After terrifying fall, head injury, Tobias Harris returned to the game ‘because I could’

Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris went down in an incredibly scary fall in the third quarter of their 110-106 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 4 on Sunday, leaving both those in the gym and fans watching at home stunned.

Yet in the final few minutes of the loss, Harris returned to the court “just because I could.”

Harris’ terrifying fall

Harris jumped up to try and defend a layup with just less than three minutes left in the third quarter when Celtics forward Jayson Tatum accidentally clipped his legs out from under him.

Harris, with nothing underneath him, fell straight to the court on his side, and his head slammed into the ground. He rolled instantly and grabbed his head in pain and remained on the court while players started calling for help.

He eventually sat up and walked off the court on his own.

Harris was later diagnosed with an eye laceration and cleared concussion protocol in the locker room. So, with 5:12 left in the game, Harris made his way back onto the court.

“I felt OK enough to go back out there, and be able to try to do something to help us try to win,” he said, via ESPN. “I’d rather go down with my guys than sitting in the back. So really, that was the main reason why.”

Harris finished with 20 points and five rebounds, while shooting 7-of-12 from the field.

The 76ers were down just three points when Harris left the game, too. While he was gone, though, Boston mounted a huge 16-2 run and took control to sweep Philadelphia and advance to the second round of the playoffs.

“I feel like the game flipped when Tobias went out,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said, via ESPN. “I think it was a two-point game, three-point game at that stage. I think that they went on a 16-2 run during that period, and at that moment, the game changed. Up until that moment, I felt pretty good about what we were doing.”

Thankfully, it appears as if Harris got lucky. He was bleeding out of his head onto the court and had a bandage on when he returned.

And even though he’d like to have another game to look forward to, he doesn’t have to try and rush back for a Game 5 on Tuesday.

“I’m still in some pain with it,” he said, via ESPN. “It was a hard fall, for sure. Obviously, got stitched up up here and my ribs were kinda affected.

“Big thing is how I’m gonna be feeling tomorrow morning and I’ll see. So, hoping and praying for the best.”

Brett Brown watches as Tobias Harris, on the floor, is attended to after a scary fall.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown, left, reacts as forward Tobias Harris is attended to after hitting his head against the Boston Celtics during the third quarter of Game 4 on Sunday. (Kim Klement/AP)

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