Fans of the Boston Celtics had a scare early in the team’s overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors when star forward Jayson Tatum came up limping after stepping on someone’s foot in the first half. On one had, the St. Louis native was able to return, but on the other Tatum was clearly affected by the injury, his movement not as fluid and his reliance on jumpers evident.
Asked how his hurt foot was doing postgame via NBC Sports Boston’s Darren Hartwell, the Duke alum replied that “it’s swollen,” but downplayed its impact on his game. “(I) just sprained my ankle in the first quarter. Stepped on somebody’s foot, rolled on it, and went to the back to get it looked at.”
“Not to make any excuses, but when you sprain your ankle, it swells up, and it’s just stiff,” he added. “It just makes it tougher to move. But I was still out there, so I feel like if you go out there and play, you can’t make any excuses.”
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Tatum seemed aware his late shot in regulation to try to break a tie from the 3-point line probably wasn’t the best play he could have made, however.
“Could I have gotten a better shot? Yeah,” he admitted. “Anytime you miss or lose, you always look at things differently, what you could’ve done better.”
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