The Nets’ injury nightmares continued as Kevin Durant left Sunday’s loss in Miami with a left thigh contusion after just four minutes and didn’t return.
“He’s sore, but we don’t know how severe. We’ll see [Monday] how he wakes up and go from there. But right now nothing’s been determined,” said coach Steve Nash, uncertain as to the severity or whether imaging was needed. “Honestly, I don’t know … I haven’t heard, but I imagine they’re going to assess him in the morning and see if a scan is necessary.”
Nash presumed that Durant would stay with the team on its road trip and get treatment the rest of the way.
Durant missed 18 months with a June 2019 ruptured Achilles, then recently sat out 23 straight games with a left hamstring strain. He had only returned on April 7 before being forced from Sunday’s loss.
Kevin Durant holds his left thigh as he leaves the Nets’ game at the Heat on April 18, 2021. AP“I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I think we’re all just relieved it was just a contusion. I think it’ll be a day-to-day thing,” Jeff Green said. “I know he’s bummed that it’s happened frequently over the last couple of weeks and he wants to be out there playing. I’m sure he’s going to do whatever he needs to do to get back on the floor.
“It is tough that guys are getting injured. I hate to see a guy go down. But at the end of the day, you can’t control those things; you have to really just focus on what the task at hand is and hope the guys will get better soon.”
Durant got off to a hot start against the Heat, scoring eight straight points — a pull-up 3-pointer over Kendrick Nunn, another pull-up 3-pointer over Bam Adebayo and finally the drive past Andre Iguodala when he got hurt.
It was the last play, just 1:33 into the game, where Durant was fouled by Trevor Ariza and inadvertently took a knee to the leg from the Miami veteran. The 88 percent free-throw shooter missed both at the line, and clearly wasn’t right on the court for the next 2 ½ minutes.
Durant eventually checked out with 7:57 left in the first quarter, examined by a trainer before heading back to the locker room.
“The timing of everything this year has just been a telltale sign of what life is right now in terms of the uncertainty of a lot going on,” Kyrie Irving said. “Anything could happen at any moment, so we don’t want to take anything for granted.
“But anytime one of our teammates goes down, anytime something like that happens, it’s definitely going to take a hit for us. And he’s just gotten back. We just pray that it’s not too serious and he’s able to recover, but it definitely has a hit on our continuity at times.”
