Warriors star Kevin Durant out for rest of West semifinals
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant, left, walks away from referee Ken Mauer during the first half of Game 5 of the team’s second-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday in Oakland, Calif.
OAKLAND, Calif. >> Kevin Durant will miss the remainder of the Golden State Warriors’ Western Conference semifinal against the Houston Rockets with a strained right calf.
An MRI exam Thursday confirmed the Warriors’ initial diagnosis. The team is traveling back to Houston for Friday’s Game 6 but Durant stayed behind in the Bay Area to undergo treatment. He is to be re-evaluated next week, meaning if there is a Game 7 in the series Sunday he would be out of that one as well. The Warriors lead the series 3-2.
Durant limped to the locker room after landing awkwardly on his right foot following a baseline jumper with 2:11 left in the third quarter of Wednesday’s 104-99 victory at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors initially feared the two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP might have injured his Achilles, a far more serious issue.
He finished with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists. Durant was averaging 35.4 points in the playoffs coming into the day.
