HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets will once again be without superstar Kevin Durant for Sunday night’s crucial Game 4 matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, as the team fights to stay alive in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Durant will be sidelined due to a sprained left ankle injury he sustained during Friday’s heartbreaking Game 3, where Houston surrendered a six-point advantage in the final 30 seconds of regulation before falling 112-108 in overtime, putting them on the brink of elimination at 0-3.
The veteran forward has now been absent for three of the four games in this playoff series, having also missed the series opener due to a bruised right knee. Durant made his return in Game 2, contributing 23 points over 41 minutes in the team’s 101-94 defeat, but suffered the ankle injury in the closing moments of that contest.
These recent injury setbacks come as a surprise given that the 37-year-old veteran logged 2,840 minutes during the regular season, ranking him second league-wide in total playing time.
Durant joined the Rockets this season following a trade from the Phoenix Suns and currently stands as the NBA’s fifth all-time leading scorer in league history.
