Kevin Durant was held out of Game 1 of the Rockets’ playoff series against the Lakers because of a sore right knee, but the early outlook appears to be more about pain and movement limitation than any major structural concern.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka said Durant bumped knees during Wednesday’s practice and later underwent medical imaging that showed no structural damage. Durant tested the knee before Game 1, taking the court in pregame warmups, but ultimately did not feel well enough to play.
Udoka said the issue stems from where Durant took the contact.
“He hit it in a very awkward spot, I guess, more than anything,” Udoka said. “If he had a regular bumped knee, I think he could kind of play through that. But right above the knee, the patellar tendon area, up there, it’s just very tender and sore.”
Udoka added that the bigger issue was not simply pain tolerance.
“Pain tolerance is one thing, but actually limited movement is more the cause,” he said.
Durant, 37, was a major part of Houston’s offense during the regular season, averaging a team-high 26 points per game. He missed only four games during the regular season, and just one of those was injury-related.
Pro Football Doc said he believes Kevin Durant is likely to return Tuesday and expects Durant to be back before Luka Doncic. He added that Doncic’s safer target appears to be the second round, warning that returning even one game too early could aggravate the injury and potentially sideline him for the rest of the playoffs. He also said Austin Reaves could return before Doncic, meaning the Lakers may need to get through the Houston series without Luka.
