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Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker took over the overtime period as Team USA pulled out a tight 93-92 victory over Turkey in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. However, in the midst of his heroics, Jayson Tatum sustained an ankle injury on his way to passing to Khris Middleton for the game-winning free-throws.
Here's the video of Tatum rolling his ankle pic.twitter.com/utZC32HCls
— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) September 3, 2019
Tatum was assisted to the locker room after getting up on his own. Thankfully, this appears to be a case of a twisted ankle more than anything. The hope is that it’s not a high ankle sprain and that Tatum will be just fine after a little rest and recuperation. While it was great seeing Tatum and Walker take ownership of Team USA with clutch play down the stretch, this is a potentially harsh reminder of how risky it can be to play for Team USA and why so many stars backed out this summer.
Tatum and Kemba either scored or assisted on 18 of the 22 points team USA scored from the 6 minute mark of the 4th quarter to the end of the game. Including all 12 OT points. Some bonehead mistakes and big misses by other guys, but those two certainly stepped up to cover for them
— Max Lissette (@lissmx14) September 3, 2019
Tatum played 31 minutes and finished the game with 11 points on 3/11 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Today, he’s a national hero for his clutch moments. Tomorrow, hopefully, he’s healthy.
Update:
As of now, Team USA says Jayson Tatum has a sprained left ankle, but there is more evaluation to come.
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) September 3, 2019