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Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant left the Houston Rockets Sunday’s 148-109 defeat after suffering a left ankle sprain in the third quarter. Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said Durant would receive an MRI on Monday and would not be the first to join the team on his next three-game road trip against the Bucks, Celtics and Knicks.
There is no timetable to return to Durant’s floor because the injury is so fresh, but it is rare for players to miss within a week with ankle sprain. It is an absolutely brutal time for Durant to get injured. The Sun sits two games in the loss column for the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings watching the play-in tournament outside.
Durant’s injury occurred with just under three minutes left, seven minutes remaining when he stepped into the rocket foot ahead of Jabari Smith Jr. on a drive to the basket. Durant quickly collapsed and instead of coming back later, he headed to the locker room. Phoenix dragged 35 points at the time of injury.
One of the game’s greatest scorers of all time, Durant has been riding a particularly impressive heater these days. Averaged 33 points, five rebounds and four assists knocked down 61% of the three-pointer in four games through Sunday.
Needless to say, this season wasn’t the way Durant and the Suns expected. The addition of Tyus Jones, Monte Morris and Mid-Season acquisition Nick Richards tried to score point guard and center positions respectively, but rookies Ryandan and Osoi Godalo proved worth the rotation minutes. This was a team that they thought was a real possibility that the championship rivals were Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal leading the charges.
Instead, they are currently 35-40, with seven games remaining in the regular season, sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference. If Durant misses a fair amount of time, it could mean the end of the Phoenix season when the Warriors, Thunder and Kings wait on the other side of their team’s East Coast road trip.
And given the consistent swirling of trade rumors this season, it could soon mean the end of Durant’s term with the Suns.
