Rockets star Alperen Sengun severely sprained ankle, suffered bone bruise in knee, ESPN reports

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A collective gasp in Houston turned into a sigh of relief for Rockets fans after having to see star center Alperen Sengun being wheeled off in a wheelchair on Sunday night.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the 21-year-old rising phenom for the 29-35 team escaped a significant injury after an MRI on Monday showed he severely sprained his right ankle and suffered a bone bruise in his right knee.

Wojnarowski didn't say how long Sengun would be sidelined.

The Rockets' star from Turkey awkwardly landed while challenging a shot late in his team's win over the Sacramento Kings.

Sengun appeared to be in immediate distress, and he left the court in a wheelchair after several minutes on the baseline, with his hands covering his face.

Sengun, who had 14 points before the injury, is averaging a career- and team-high 21.2 points per game in his third season.

"Injuries are part of the game," Rockets guard Fred VanVleet said. "We all understand that when we signed up, but it's always tough to see your teammates go down, especially the young ones who haven't really been through it before."

Entering Monday, the Rockets were 4.5 games back of 10th-seeded Golden State for a spot in the play-in tournament with 18 games left.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.