Kevin Durant will miss at least two games after suffering a thigh strain, the Brooklyn Nets reported.
The team called the injury minor, but said in a statement that Durant will be out of action Monday against the Sacramento Kings and Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns during treatment.
Last Saturday, Durant played for the first time in a week. He was placed on health and safety protocols on February 5, after having close contact with a staff member who tested positive for coronavirus. During that time he returned to training seven days later and played 33 minutes in the victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Nets “Big Three” from Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving have played together in just seven games since Harden was transferred to Brooklyn in mid-January. These seven games include a February game against the Toronto Raptors from which Durant was drawn in the third quarter and placed on the league’s contact tracking protocol.
On Friday, Durant said he hopes to use the five-game trip off the west coast of the Nets to build chemistry on the floor with his new teammates. Now rookie coach Steve Nash is tasked with editing a roster that already had 17 different teams, the highest total in the league this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
After recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, which cost him out of action all last season, Durant has an average of 29 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game with Brooklyn. He lost nine of the Nets’ 28 games, which are 2-2 since they bought Harden in a January deal.
DeAndre Jordan, who lost Saturday’s game for personal reasons, is labeled likely to come out of the Nets injury report for Monday’s game against the Kings.