The Warriors needed an epic comeback on Saturday night in Philadelphia to avoid back-to-back losses to start their east coast road trip, getting big second half performances from Steph Curry and Kevin Durant to erase a 22-point halftime deficit.
Durant seemed in good spirits after the game, joking that he really wanted to beat the Sixers in order to keep Joel Embiid from “talking sh*t” on Twitter. However, at some point in the proceedings in Philadelphia, Durant sustained a left ankle sprain in his 33 minutes of action against the Sixers that will keep him out of Sunday night’s game in Brooklyn, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant has a left ankle sprain and will not play tonight against the Brooklyn Nets.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 19, 2017
Kevin Durant (ankle sprain) will be ruled as day-to-day, I’m told. Warriors’ next game is Wednesday at OKC.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) November 19, 2017
For the Warriors, it’s the third time in the early season that they’ll be without one of their stars in a game and the second time Durant’s been forced to sit out. Durant missed a game earlier this year with a thigh contusion, as did Steph Curry recently. The Warriors won both of their games without Durant or Curry, and will still be the heavy favorite over the Nets.
Durant’s ankle injury being listed as day-to-day is encouraging and we don’t know if it will keep him out longer than Sunday night in Brooklyn, but on a back-to-back Durant will get the night off to ensure his ankle doesn’t sustain any more damage.
