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Jayson Tatum gets injured in Team USA’s overtime victory over Turkey

By Kevin Connelly

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 26: Jayson Tatum of the USA falls to the ground after being fouled during the International Friendly Basketball match between Canada and the USA at Qudos Bank Arena on August 26, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 26: Jayson Tatum of the USA falls to the ground after being fouled during the International Friendly Basketball match between Canada and the USA at Qudos Bank Arena on August 26, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) /
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Team USA was able to narrowly escape a upset bid from Turkey, but former Duke Basketball star Jayson Tatum had to leave the floor due to an injury.

Team USA needed just about every second of overtime to defeat Turkey in its second game in the group stage at the FIBA World Cup.

Former Duke star Jayson Tatum tied the game with 0.1 seconds left in regulation after going 2-of-3 from the free throw line. The current Boston Celtic also gave the Americans the lead in overtime with a steal followed by a coast-to-coast layup making the score 91-89.

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Scoring was a struggle from that point for Team USA as Turkey took a 92-91 lead and went on to miss four straight free throws.

After missing the last free throw, Jayson Tatum grabbed the rebound and took the ball the length of the floor before dropping off a pass to Khris Middleton who was fouled.

Middleton went to the line and made both free throws but more importantly Tatum was rolled into  by several players and had to leave the game with a few seconds remaining.

The free throws sealed the game for Team USA, winning 93-92 in overtime.

Jayson Tatum tried to walk the injury off but had to be helped off the court and back towards the locker room.

The team announced after the game that Tatum suffered a sprained left ankle but more tests would be coming.

The former Blue Devil finished with a double-double despite struggling with his shot as he scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Tatum also had three assists, two steals, and two blocks, while shooting 3-of-11 from the floor and 0-of-3 from 3-point range, but made 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Mason Plumlee, the other former Duke Basketball player on Team USA did not play in the victory as a coaches decision.

Team USA has already clinched a spot in the knockout stage with this morning victory, but still has to play Japan in the final Group E game on Thursday, September 5 at 8:30am EST and can be seen on ESPN+.

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