NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant’s final game with the Brooklyn Nets was similar to the one he just sidelined Nikola Jokic.
In fact, Durant has missed two consecutive seasons because someone fell on his leg and injured his knee.
advertise
“One thing I don’t want to see with Nikola is they start calling me ‘injury-prone’ after that, but hopefully they don’t start with him because it’s one of those weird injuries you can’t really control,” Durant said Thursday night after the Rockets returned to Brooklyn to beat the Nets 120-96.
“You can do all the work you can do and then someone falls on your knee and that’s really tough.”
Three-time NBA MVP Jokic was injured in Miami on Monday night when Denver teammate Spencer Jones stepped on the center’s left foot while guarding a breakaway by Miami’s Jamie Jaquez Jr. as time expired in the second quarter. Jokic’s knee buckled a little and he fell to the court, grabbing his knee.
The Nuggets said Tuesday he will be evaluated again in four weeks.
advertise
In January 2022, Durant sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee when teammate Bruce Brown was knocked backward and fell to the ground. He ultimately missed 21 games due to injury.
Then, in a game on January 8, 2023, then-Heat star Jimmy Butler fell backwards on his right knee, causing another ligament sprain, and Durant was injured in the same game as Jokic. He never played for the Nets again, who traded him to Phoenix a month later. After missing 20 games, he finally took the court for the Suns in March.
Jokic’s injury is a hyperextension, which may allow him to return sooner.
“So it’s nice to see that it’s just four weeks and it’s not a big deal,” Durant said. “It’s not an MCL sprain or a Grade 2 sprain, it feels like it’s just an adjustment and he’ll be back on the field soon. He’s been great in the game and you want to see the best player on the field all the time.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
