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Tim BontempsESPN
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant will remain out until after the All-Star break due to a left hamstring he sustained earlier this month, the team announced on Friday.
After a follow-up MRI, the Nets decided that Durant “needs an extra recovery period” that will keep him out of the All-Star hiatus, including next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.
“While we are confident Durant will return at full speed, this extra recovery time will allow him to perform at the level he has played this season when he returns,” the Nets said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Nets coach Steve Nash had said he expected Durant to return for the All-Star break.
“We’re just trying to control and be careful,” Nash said before the Nets beat the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. “ We’ve certainly slowed things down in that regard: don’t put pressure on him, don’t try to rush him back in any capacity and make sure we give him the right amount of time to be more than healed, to be . strong and conditioned to come back to the team. “
The NBA later announced on Friday that Indiana Pacers forward Domantas would replace Sabonis Durant on the All-Star squad, while Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum – as the highest striker among the Eastern reserves – will replace him in the starting line-up.
By Friday afternoon, there was still no official word from the NBA whether Durant would still serve as captain alongside Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. This is the first time since the NBA has changed its format from East to West, with two captains choosing teams one of which was unable to participate in the game.
Durant has missed nine of Brooklyn’s past 10 games – three because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, after being pulled halfway through Brooklyn’s loss to the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 5 for contact tracking someone who had a positive coronavirus test. and then the past six games following a hamstring strain against the Golden State Warriors in a victory on Feb. 13.
The Nets have won eight games in a row – the longest current winning streak in the NBA – and will face the Dallas Mavericks on ABC in Brooklyn on Saturday night.
After playing against Dallas, the Nets have two more games before halftime: in San Antonio against the Spurs on March 1 and in Houston against James Harden’s old team, the Rockets, on March 3.
The 32-year-old Durant has scored an average of 29 points, 5.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game this season.