Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) drives to the basket as Miami Heat's Hassan Whiteside, left, and Kelly Olynyk (9) defend during the first half of Game 3 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Thursday, April 19, 2018, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

It wouldn’t really feel like a true Joel Embiid milestone without some maddening injury putting it behind schedule. So, appropriately enough, the often-wounded, rarely-dispirited Philadelphia center made his NBA Playoffs debut three games into his team’s opening-round series Thursday night in Miami.

Although the former Kansas star, who never played in an NCAA Tournament game back in 2014 due to a back injury, missed the last three weeks and the 76ers’ previous 10 games due to an orbital bone fracture near his left eye, a masked Embiid returned to the lineup to lead his team to a road victory in his postseason launch.

Sure, the Sixers’ star appeared both obstructed and frustrated at times by the protective shield strapped to his face. Even so, Embiid, while showing some rust, managed to pour in 23 points on 5-for-11 shooting, nail 3 of 4 from 3-point range and provide 7 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks in 30 minutes of a 128-108 win.

The first five field-goal attempts from the recovering big man misfired before he got on track just before halftime, first by knocking down a 3-pointer, then converting through contact on a smooth up-and-under.

He's back!

“I am just so proud of what he did on
the court,” Philadelphia coach [Brett
Brown said][1] after Embiid helped the
team take a 2-1 lead in the
best-of-seven series. “Take the real
situation of not only was he injured,
and not playing basketball, but now
you’ve gotta come back in on the road
and play a playoff game with a mask.
And it’s not like there’s a clear
vision line out of the mask. It has a
protective lens in there, as well. And
for him to come back under those terms
and in that situation and produce the
numbers he produced, and help lead us
to a road playoff win, I’m very, very
proud of him.”

As indestructible as the mask’s components proved to be — Miami’s Justise Winslow purposefully stepped on the goggles portion when it popped off to no avail — The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported Embiid had to use three different masks during the course of the game as the protective gear suffered damages significant enough to warrant replacements.

.@IAmJustise casually stomping on @JoelEmbiid’s mask. #PettyWarz pic.twitter.com/LY5huoX6Vu

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) April 20, 2018

“It was annoying,” Embiid said, “but
that was the only way I could play in
this game, was if I was going to wear
the mask and protect my face with the
goggles. So I had to work through it,
and I did, and we got a pretty good
win.”

As for Winslow’s ploy to potentially destroy the mask and perhaps sideline Embiid as a result? Well, the Philly center got a kick out of that.

“Little do they know that I have about
50 of them,” Embiid said. “So it’s
gonna take much more than that to get
me out of the series. And I’m gonna be
a nightmare for them, too.”

The Sixers took a 2-point lead into the fourth quarter before putting Miami away on its home floor down the stretch. In the final five-plus minutes, Embiid drilled a fade-away jumper off the glass, knocked down a 3-pointer, blocked a shot and sent in a pair of free throws, before checking out with his team up 16 points.

Go ahead then, @JoelEmbiid! #PhilaUnite pic.twitter.com/8tmCJvPpoS

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 20, 2018

“It meant a lot,” Embiid said of
finally appearing in his first playoff
game, close to four years after the
76ers took him No 3 overall in the
2014 draft. “I feel like I’ve been
here, went through everything. The
year we only won 10 games (2015-16) it
was really disappointing. So we went
through a lot, and to be able to be in
this position, I’m really happy about
it. I’m really happy for coach,
finally has a team and is coaching us
well. He deserves a lot of credit and
I feel like he should be Coach of the
Year, too. But I was excited. Worked
really hard for it and promised the
city that. Made it happen. And I was
kind of sad that I couldn’t play in
the first game or at home, because we
have a special connection. But I’m
glad I came back today and we got a
win.”

.@JoelEmbiid scores a game-high 23 points and grabs 7 rebounds in his post-season debut.#PhilaUnite x #HereTheyCome pic.twitter.com/W1s0sSKODH

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 20, 2018

Joel Embiid dominated in his playoff debut. pic.twitter.com/1wATK7J4lc

— Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) April 20, 2018

The @sixers quiet the Heat in Miami to take a 2-1 series lead! #NBAPlayoffs#PhilaUnite pic.twitter.com/Wp9HhxFEOc

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 20, 2018

Joel Embiid drew 10 fouls in the 76ers' Game 3 win, the 11th time this season that he has drawn at least 10 fouls.

Only Anthony Davis (19) has more such games spanning the 2017-18 regular season and playoffs. pic.twitter.com/vTJuUyP6Xi

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 20, 2018