Jayson Tatum Sheds Light On Injury Sustained In Celtics-Warriors Game

Jayson Tatum was not at 100% for the majority of Tuesday night’s Celtics-Warriors game.

Tatum injured his ankle a little over four minutes into the contest at Chase Center. Boston’s franchise cornerstone appeared to sustain the injury when his left foot stepped on Brandin Podziemski’s left foot in the paint while Golden State had possession. Tatum hobbled to the locker room but quickly returned and played a game-high 41 minutes.

After the Celtics’ 132-226 overtime loss, the four-time All-Star provided an update on his health status.

“It’s swollen,” Tatum told reporters, per a video shared by NBC Sports Boston. “I sprained my ankle in the first quarter stepping 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. It just makes it a little tougher to move. I still was out there. If you go out there and play, you can’t make any excuses.”

The injury obviously wasn’t severe enough to keep Tatum from playing, but the Celtics might want to sit the 25-year-old out of their next game. Wednesday night’s tilt in Sacramento marks the second leg of a back-to-back and precedes the final two games of Boston’s West Coast road trip, which includes a Christmas Day collision with the Los Angeles Lakers.

But considering Tatum’s proclivity for not missing games, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him suit up at Golden 1 Center.