Kevin Durant will miss at least two games after an upper leg strain, the Brooklyn Nets reported.
The team called the injury light, but said in a statement that Durant will be out of action against the Sacramento Kings on Monday and against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday during treatment.
Last Saturday, Durant played for the first time in a week. He was included in health and safety protocols on February 5, after having been in close contact with a team member who tested positive for the corona virus. For seven days later, he returned to practice, playing 33 minutes in the victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The Nets “Big Three” of Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving played together in just seven games since Harden was traded to Brooklyn in mid-January. Those seven games included a February game against the Toronto Raptors, from which Durant was pulled in the third quarter and placed on the league’s contact tracking protocol.
On Friday, Durant said he hoped to use the Nets’ five-game West Coast road trip to build chemistry on the floor with his new teammates. Now rookie coach Steve Nash is tasked with tweaking a squad that has already had 17 different lineups, the highest total in the league this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
After recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon that had sidelined him all season, Durant averaged 29 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game with Brooklyn. He’s lost nine of the Nets’ 28 games, which are 2-2 since they acquired Harden in a January exchange.
DeAndre Jordan, who lost Saturday’s game for personal reasons, would likely be off the Nets injury record for Monday’s game against the Kings.