Tyrese Maxey Avoids Head Injury After Scary Fall vs. Jazz

Philadelphia 76ers second-year guard Tyrese Maxey hasn't had the best week. As the Sixers were gearing up for their Monday night matchup against the Charlotte

Philadelphia 76ers second-year guard Tyrese Maxey hasn't had the best week. As the Sixers were gearing up for their Monday night matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, Maxey was suddenly ruled out just a couple of hours before tip-off.

According to a Sixers official, Maxey was dealing with an undisclosed illness. Per the official, Maxey's illness was non-COVID-related. Therefore, the guard avoided getting entered into the NBA's health and safety protocol.

However, Maxey still missed his first game of the year on Monday after appearing in the first 23 games of the 2021-2022 season. Fortunately, Maxey returned two nights later when the Sixers faced the Hornets once more.

"I felt okay," said Maxey after Wednesday night's game in Charlotte. "[It's] still hard to breathe, but it was really good to be back out there. I feel like the sweat was good for me, but it was good to be back out there tonight."

On Thursday, the Sixers had a quick turnaround and went back home to face the Utah Jazz less than 24 hours after wrapping up their victory against the Hornets. Maxey, who felt good enough to play on Wednesday, avoided the injury report for the Utah matchup. So, he was good to go once again.

Maxey looked a lot better in Thursday night's game, but a scary fall almost sent him out early. During the second quarter, Maxey drove to the basket while the paint was crowded with defenders and went up for a tough layup. While Maxey drained the basket, he lost control of himself in the air and hit the floor hard.

The second-year guard is no stranger to battling through contact and falling on the ground, but Maxey didn't get up as quickly as he typically does on Thursday. As a matter of fact, the officials had to stop the game so the young guard could be helped off the court. It was a positive sign when Maxey was able to get up and walk off on his own, but he still had to go straight back to the locker room.

At that point, it was hard to imagine Maxey would return to the game but to everybody's surprise, he did. According to a team official, Maxey was evaluated for a head injury. Once the Sixers medical staff deemed him good to go, he was cleared for action and sent right back out onto the floor.

“The floor’s hard,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers. “It really is. It’s always been hard. We’re always gonna land on it. At first, I thought he was OK, and then I was a little worried about him. I was worried that he hit his head on the floor. I don’t have the luxury of replay. I still really haven’t seen the fall.”

Maxey wrapped the game up with 25 minutes played. During his time on the floor, the young guard got up ten shots and knocked down five of them. And after going one for two at the free-throw line, Maxey finished the night with a total of 11 points.

While Maxey and the Sixers didn't find any satisfaction with the results of Thursday night's game as they fell short to the Jazz -- Doc Rivers was admittedly happy to just escape that game without his team suffering any notable injuries.

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