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Kevin Durant's Thigh Injury to Be Re-Evaluated Monday After Exiting vs. Heat

Jenna CiccotelliAnalyst IIApril 18, 2021

Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday, April 7, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant was ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's matchup vs. the Miami Heat with a left thigh contusion, the team announced.   

After the game, head coach Steve Nash told reporters Durant will be evaluated on Monday and the team will decide if Durant needs further testing.

The nine-time All-NBA selection and 11-time All-Star is averaging 29.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, with 52.4 percent shooting from the field and 43.4 percent from deep. 

Durant returned to the lineup on April 7 after a two-month absence due to a hamstring strain. It wasn't necessary for the star to rush back from the injury—which came after he sat out the 2019-20 campaign following an Achilles rupture—as the Nets surged to second in the Eastern Conference thanks to the efforts of Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

If Durant, 32, can get back to health soon, he'll be a major piece of a championship run that the Nets seemed capable of making even without him. But while he's out, the onus will be on Irving to keep the offense flowing. 

Players like Jeff Green, Blake Griffin and Joe Harris should take over in the frontcourt for as long as Durant is out.