Kevin Durant returned to the Houston Rockets lineup for Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing Game 1 with a knee injury.
Now he’s questionable for Game 3 with a new ankle injury. The Rockets listed Durant as questionable on Thursday for Friday’s game in Houston. Per the Rockets, Durant is dealing with a sprained left ankle.
Details of the injury aren’t clear from the injury report. Nor is it clear when Durant sustained the injury. But the news is bad for a Rockets team that’s entering Game 3 in an 0-2 hole.
Durant missed Game 1 of the series with a right knee contusion. He returned to score 23 points in Game 2, but scored just three of those points after halftime as the Lakers pulled away for a 101-94 win to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Can Rockets make this a series?
The Lakers are in control of the series despite playing without their top two leading scorers, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Dončić remains out indefinitely with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and isn’t expected to return in time to play in this series. Reaves has reportedly returned to work at practice and has a chance to return in this series or for a second-round matchup if the Lakers advance.
The Lakers have thrived behind strong play from LeBron James and their role players in Dončić’s and Reaves’ absences. The Rockets, meanwhile, have struggled amid Durant’s limited availability and continue to suffer from the lack of a true point guard on the roster due to the season-ending torn ACL Fred VanVleet sustained in the offseason.
The series shifts to Houston for Games 3 and 4, giving the Rockets a chance to change its tenor and tie it up at home. But if Durant is unavailable or further limited by his ankle injury, it will be that much tougher for Houston to get the series to 2-2.
Game 3 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Friday (Prime).
