Rockets rule Kevin Durant out for Game 5 with left ankle sprain
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The Houston Rockets have declared forward Kevin Durant unavailable for Wednesday night’s win-or-go-home Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers because of a sprained left ankle.
Head coach Ime Udoka confirmed the decision Tuesday after the 37-year-old veteran skipped the club’s practice session before the team departed for Los Angeles. Durant was spotted running on an antigravity treadmill as the Rockets wrapped up their workout, but the medical staff did not clear him for game action.
Houston trails the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series 3-1. Durant missed Game 1 with a bruised right knee, returned to score 23 points in 41 minutes during a 101-94 loss in Game 2, then aggravated his ankle late in that contest. He also sat out Games 3 and 4, the latter of which Houston won 115-96 to extend its season.
Durant’s latest setback follows a regular season in which he logged 2,840 minutes, the second-highest total in the league. Acquired from the Phoenix Suns in an offseason trade, the two-time Finals MVP ranks fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Source: ESPN
