Phoenix Suns' Yuta Watanabe battles through injury, helps Japan stun Finland in World Cup

Phoenix Suns forward Yuta Watanabe walked off the Okinawa Arena court with a noticeable limp and in tears celebrating one of the biggest wins in Japan’s history in international men’s basketball competition.

Japan came back from a double-digit, second-half deficit to stun Finland, 98-88, Sunday in the FIBA World Cup group play in Okinawa, Japan.  This was Japan’s first win ever over a team from Europe.

Watanabe closed out the game with two free throws with 16.4 seconds left. Still alive, Japan must top Australia on Tuesday to advance in World Cup play.

Watanabe only scored four points Sunday as he’s playing with a right ankle injury suffered against Angola earlier this month. He shot just 1-of-6 from the field (0-for-3 from 3), had two assists, two blocks and zero rebounds in 30 minutes against Finland.

Josh Hawkinson paced Japan with 28 points and 19 rebounds while Yuki Kawamura delivered 25 points, hitting 4-of-7 shots from 3, and nine assists off the bench.

Japan outscored Finland, 35-15, in the fourth quarter.

Watanabe was coming off a 20-point effort in Friday’s loss to Germany in group play. Even though he put up numbers against Germany, the skilled 6-8 forward was favoring the ankle at times in the game.

Watanabe’s injury was even more noticeable after a two-handed lob finish in the fourth quarter against Germany. When he came down, Watanabe limped back down the court.

Two days later, he only made one shot from the field against Finland, but Watanabe had solid defensive moments guarding Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen.

The All-Star posted a double-double of 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting (2-of-7 from 3) and 12 boards, but Watanabe guarded him late in the game and forced a kickout pass on a key defensive stop.

Watanabe, 28, is known for his 3-point shooting. He knocked down a career-best 44.4% of his 3s last season with the Brooklyn Nets. He’s a career 39% 3-point shooter in four NBA seasons, but Watanabe is also viewed as an underrated defender.

“Yuta has proven to be one of the best three-point shooters in the league and has the size and ability to defend multiple positions,” Suns president of basketball operations and general manage James Jones said in a news release last month.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns forward Yuta Watanabe playing through ankle injury in World Cup