Seattle ? New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul was carried off the floor Tuesday night against the SuperSonics in severe pain because of a sprained right ankle.

Paul, last season’s rookie of the year, turned the ankle while landing his foot onto the left foot of Seattle center Johan Petro in the open floor on a Hornets fast break with about 90 seconds left in the first quarter. Paul hopped through the lane and then collapsed beyond the baseline while screaming “Ohhh!” repeatedly and grabbing his ankle.

He then rolled around on his back in pain as play continued momentarily. Once play stopped, the entire Hornets roster and coaching staff rushed to surround Paul in a semicircle while trainers attended to him.

After a few moments on his back, Paul was carried into the nearby visitors’ locker room by teammate Tyson Chandler.