Joel Embiid Doesn't Believe His Mysterious Injury vs. Jazz is Concerning

The Philadelphia 76ers didn't play an inspiring game of basketball on Thursday night. Perhaps, their recent four-game road trip, which concluded with the front of a back-to-back set of games, left the Sixers exhausted when they tipped off with the Utah Jazz less than 24 hours after wrapping up their matchup versus the Charlotte Hornets.

Following Thursday night's blowout loss to the Jazz, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers was only happy about one thing; his team came out of the matchup healthy and intact. However, that almost wasn't the case.

In the second quarter against Utah, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey went up for a tough layup through contact and lost control of his body in the air. When the guard went crashing down on the floor, he hit his head and remained down for a bit.

Fortunately, Maxey was able to get up and walk off the floor without assistance. As he went straight back to the locker room, the Sixers' medical staff evaluated the young guard for a head injury. Eventually, he was cleared and given the green light to return to the floor and finish up his 25-minute shift.

Maxey wasn't the only one that left the Sixers concerned on Thursday night, though. During the second half, Sixers center Joel Embiid was seen heading back to the locker room as he grabbed at his abdomen.

"In the first quarter, and I thought it was a cramp," Embiid said on Thursday night after the game. "As the game went on, I started not breathing right. So I needed to check it out." Although Embiid left the game to receive an evaluation from the medical staff, he was cleared to return as well.

"I honestly don't know [what it was], but it was pretty painful," Embiid explained. "I'm not sure what happened. I don't know [if it'll affect me moving forward]. I'll be fine."

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers assumed Embiid took an elbow to the ribs, which led to his mid-game absence, but the big man couldn't confirm that was the case. While Embiid's Thursday night injury remains a mystery, the veteran center made it clear he believes he'll be fine moving forward.

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