Lauri Markkanen believed to have 'pretty significant' ankle sprain

Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen left Saturday night’s game with what trainers believe is a “pretty significant” sprain of his right ankle, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Markkanen was injured on a collision with four minutes left in the second quarter and had to be helped to the locker room. A source tells Fedor that the Cavaliers' medical staff examined his ankle, but not his knee or Achilles. More information won’t be available until further testing is conducted.

Markkanen was trying to defend Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on a drive to the basket, but landed awkwardly on his right leg and fell to the court. He was on the floor for a while, grabbing the ankle in pain, and couldn’t put much weight on it as he headed to the locker room.

The 24-year-old has been an important part of the turnaround for the Cavs, who were fifth in the East at 27-19 entering Saturday night’s game. Markkanen is averaging 13.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games this season, and Fedor notes that he is shooting 41.4% from three-point range through 10 games in January.