Durant Ruled Out

Kevin Durant was ruled out of Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers with a right knee contusion just before Houston opened its first-round series. (sports.yahoo.com) Houston coach Ime Udoka said Durant hurt the knee in practice earlier in the week, and The Associated Press reported the knee was still too sore for him to play Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) (foxsports.com) ESPN reported Durant, 37, averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 78 games in his first season with Houston, his highest games-played total since 2018-19. (espn.com) That changed the shape of the opener immediately, because Houston lost its top isolation scorer and late-clock shot creator against a Lakers team that had already been dealing with injuries of its own. (sports.yahoo.com) (espn.com) The matchup was the Western Conference’s 4-versus-5 series, with Los Angeles and Houston opening Saturday night in Los Angeles. Yahoo Sports noted the ruling came only hours before tipoff, turning the injury report into the biggest pregame development. (sports.yahoo.com) Durant had been listed as questionable before being downgraded to out, and Rockets coverage from USA Today said he had missed only one regular-season game all year before the playoff opener. (rocketswire.usatoday.com 1) (rocketswire.usatoday.com 2) The Associated Press reported Houston did not sound alarmed about a long absence, with Udoka saying, “Hopefully it’s a one game thing,” after Durant tested the knee in practice and still did not feel comfortable. (foxsports.com) Game 1 still counted the same, and Houston had to start the series without the player it brought in for nights exactly like this. (sports.yahoo.com)