Jayson Tatum sprains ankle in loss to Warriors, but not using it as an excuse

BOSTON -- Celtics fans that stayed up late for Tuesday night's game against the Golden State Warriors got a scare early in the contest, as Boston star forward Jayson Tatum rolled his left ankle just four minutes into the first quarter. 

Tatum returned and played 41 minutes in Boston's 132-126 overtime loss, but he was clearly hobbled by the injury. Still, Tatum refused to use it as an excuse for his rough shooting night.

"Not to make any excuses, but when you sprain your ankle it swells up and it's just stiff. It's tough to -- it just makes it tougher to move," Tatum said after the loss. "But I was still out there, so I feel like if you go out there and play. You can't make any excuses."

The injury occurred when Tatum stepped on the foot of Golden State's Brandin Podziemski during a play. Luckily it wasn't a severe sprain, and Tatum was able to make it to the locker room under his own power. He was back on the Boston bench a short time later, and returned to action at the start of the second quarter.

Tatum made two of his first three shots before the injury, but finished just 5-for-17 on the night for 15 points. He was 2-for-9 from downtown, and missed a go-ahead three with 1:13 left and the game tied, 121-121. He had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but missed a contested deep two.

"Could I have made it? Yeah. Could I have gotten a better shot? Yeah," Tatum said. "Anytime you miss or lose, you always look at things differently, what you could've done better."

Still, Tatum said that he was out there, so it was up to him to figure out ways that he could be effective for his team. He disappeared in the fourth quarter and overtime though, missing all five of his shots from the floor over that 17-minute stretch.

The Celtics as a whole missed 41 of their 58 threes, shooting a dreadful 29.3 percent from downtown. Pile on several blown layups and misses around the rim, and the recipe was there for Boston to blow a 17-point second-half lead.

Boston is back in action Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, as the team continues its four-game road trip. We'll see if Tatum is good to go on the second night of a back-to-back, and if he can shake off his bad ankle and have a better night from the floor.