After missing just one game all regular season due to injury, Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant has now missed two out of three in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Durant was out for Game 1 due to a knee tendon bruise, and isn’t playing Game 3 on Friday due to a left ankle sprain.
Durant suffered this knee issue in Game 2, and Rockets head coach Ime Udoka revealed exactly when it occurred in his pregame press conference.
“It was a transition play, I think 7:20 on the clock in the fourth quarter,” Udoka said, via Lakers Nation. “Didn’t really land. He was chasing down [Luke] Kennard and just turned the ankle. Didn’t really step on the foot or anything. We seen the play and found out when it happened. Just played the remainder of the game and obviously the adrenaline and still loose, but afterwards swelled up some 10 minutes and it got worse over the next day or so.”
That is ever so unfortunate. You can check out the play below.
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Durant was briefly holding his ankle there, but played on. It perhaps isn’t a surprise that it swelled up later.
Durant was still a game-time decision, so the hope will be that he could return for Game 4. That might be a little too late, though.
The Rockets were heavy favorites coming into this series, as the Lakers were without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. It seemed almost like a foregone conclusion that they’d advance, but things have gone horribly wrong.
The Lakers capitalized on Durant’s absence in Game 1 and won it 107-98. You expected the Rockets to tie the series when the 16-time All-Star returned for Game 2, but they didn’t.
The Lakers won 101-94, with Durant recording 23 points (7-12 FG), six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block on the night. The 37-year-old had 20 points at halftime, but struggled mightily against that defense in the second half.
All of this made Game 3 a must-win for the Rockets, and the Lakers were wary of a Durant takeover. They didn’t end up having to worry about that.
If the Rockets go down 3-0, then this series is all but over. No team has ever overturned that deficit in NBA history, and this group certainly isn’t capable of defying the odds. To make matters worse for the Rockets, Reaves might return from his Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain in Game 4. He was questionable for Game 3, and you’d imagine he’ll be able to play some role in Game 4.
