Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant left Sunday’s 148-109 loss to the Houston Rockets after suffering a left ankle sprain during the third quarter. Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said that Durant will receive an MRI on Monday and will not initially join the team on its upcoming three-game road trip against the Bucks, Celtics and Knicks.
There is no timetable for Durant’s return to the floor since the injury is so fresh, but it’s rare to see a player miss less than a week with an ankle sprain. This is an absolutely brutal time for Durant to get injured as the Suns are on the outside looking in at the Play-In Tournament, sitting two games back in the loss column of the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.
Durant’s injury occurred with just under seven minutes left in the third when he stepped on the foot of Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. on a drive to the basket. Durant immediately collapsed and later made his way to the locker room, not to return. Phoenix trailed by 35 points at the time of the injury.
One of the game’s all-time great scorers, Durant had been on a particularly impressive heater as of late, averaging 33 points, five rebounds and four assists while knocking down 61% of his 3-pointers in the four games leading up to Sunday.
Needless to say, this season has not gone the way Durant and the Suns expected. The addition of Tyus Jones, Monte Morris and mid-season acquisition Nick Richards were an attempt to shore up the point guard and center positions, respectively, while rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro proved themselves worthy of rotation minutes. This was a team that thought championship contention was a real possibility with Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal leading the charge.
Instead they’re now 35-40 with seven games left in the regular season, sitting in the 11th spot in the Western Conference. If Durant misses any significant time, it could mean the end of Phoenix’s season as the Warriors, Thunder and Kings wait on the other side of the team’s East Coast road trip.
And given the trade rumors consistently swirling this season, it could soon mean the end of Durant’s tenure with the Suns.
