Kevin Durant will miss at least another week due to his latest injury.
The Phoenix Suns star will be out for one to two weeks after going down with a sprained left ankle on Tuesday night, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. This latest setback comes just four games after Durant returned from a calf injury he suffered last month.
Durant went down just before halftime during the Suns’ 104-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup on Tuesday night while driving to the rim. Durant stepped right on the foot of Spurs forward Julian Champagnie as he tried to rise to the rim and shoot.
He fell hard to the ground and was clearly in pain, but committed a foul during the play. He left the game shortly after shooting his free throws. He returned briefly in the third quarter, but ultimately left the game for good and went straight back to the locker room.
“It’s part of our league,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game Tuesday, via ESPN. “We’re no different. There isn’t a team in the league that doesn’t have to go in and out of lineups, and hopefully we learn a way of playing that is good for everyone, regardless of who is healthy.” and who isn’t. Other people have opportunities to get more minutes. So we’ll just see how Kevin goes, and you just have to keep playing.”
Durant averaged 25.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 54% from the field this season. He had 13 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes in Tuesday’s win.
The Suns have been great with Durant on the floor this season. He helped lead them to an 8-1 start, and the team is 11-2 with him on the field. However, they went just 1-6 without him as he recovered from his calf injury. Bradley Beal was also recovering from a calf injury at the same time. The Suns have a 12-8 record heading into Thursday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
