The Cleveland Cavaliers received yet another injury scare during their Saturday night contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder – this time for big man Lauri Markkanen.
The Cavs forward went up to contest a drive against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander late in the second quarter. As he landed, his foot turned hard on his right ankle. Markkanen had to be supported off the court as he headed to the locker room to get it checked.
Lauri Markkanen went down on the court with an apparent ankle injury. 😳
He was carried off the court by his teammates and is headed straight back to the locker room. Hope nothing's serious. 😓
Prayers up for Lauri. 🙏🏽pic.twitter.com/MmoLU4wUG2
— NBA Analysis Network (@HoopAnalysisNet) January 23, 2022
Via Chris Fedor:
Sources tell cleveland.com that X-rays taken on his ankle were negative. The sense is Markkanen has a high ankle sprain.
While it’s a good thing that the injury wasn’t anything more than an ankle sprain, the severity of Markkanen’s injury is yet to be determined. Given how much pain the Cavs forward was in, it may be on the more severe side of the spectrum as far as ankle sprains go.