Jayson Tatum likely won’t play when the Celtics visit the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. But he appears to have avoided a severe injury after turning his ankle on a dangerous closeout by Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis.

Boston officially listed Tatum as doubtful for their game in Phoenix with a left ankle sprain. That he was not ruled out was an encouraging sign for the Celtics superstar, who will be vital to Boston’s hopes of repeating as NBA champions when the playoffs tip off in late April.

Sabonis, who was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul for placing his foot in Tatum’s landing zone, told reporters he felt “horrible” about the play. Tatum went down in visible pain and had to be helped to the Celtics’ bench. But he was able to walk back onto the court and shoot his free throws before retiring to the locker room and sitting out the rest of the game, which Boston went on to win 113-95.

Tatum later told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that his injured ankle was “just sore.”

The Celtics have 10 regular-season games remaining and are all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, as they entered Tuesday 4 1/2 games back of first-place Cleveland and eight up on third-place New York. Tatum was likely to receive multiple rest days down the stretch even before his injury; now, his workload surely will be lighter as the Celtics make their final preparations for the postseason.

Tatum, who’s expected to earn his fourth consecutive first-team All-NBA selection, leads the Celtics in points, rebounds and assists this season. His 6.0 assists per game would be the best mark of his career by a wide margin, and he’s on pace for his second-best scoring (27.1 points per game) and rebounding averages (8.7 per game).

Entering Tuesday’s games, Tatum ranked fourth in the NBA in total points, fifth in plus/minus and seventh in minutes played.

The Celtics also ruled out reserve forward Xavier Tillman (left knee joint sprain) for Wednesday’s game. Every other Boston player was off the injury report.