Kevin Durant will miss at least two games for the Brooklyn Nets with a left hamstring strain, the team announced Sunday.
Brooklyn called the strain mild but said in a statement that Durant will be out on Monday against Sacramento and Tuesday against Phoenix while he receives treatment.
Durant played in his first game in a week on Saturday. He had been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols on Feb. 5 after having close contact with a team employee who tested positive for the coronavirus. Durant returned to practice on Feb. 12 and played 33 minutes in Saturday’s win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Nets’ Big Three of Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving have played just seven games together since Harden was traded to Brooklyn in mid-January. That seven-game total includes the game earlier this month against Toronto in which Durant was pulled in the third quarter and placed into the league’s contact tracing protocols.
Durant said Friday he hoped to use the Nets’ five-game West Coast road trip to continue to build on-court chemistry with his new teammates. Now, first-year head coach Steve Nash is tasked with reshuffling a roster that has already seen 17 different starting lineups — tied with the Wizards for most in the league this season, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
Coming off an Achilles tear that cost him all of last season, Durant is averaging 29 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists this season for Brooklyn. He has missed nine of the Nets’ 28 games this season; Brooklyn is 2-2 without him since trading for Harden last month.
DeAndre Jordan, who missed Saturday’s game for personal reasons, is listed as probable to return on the Nets’ injury report for Monday’s game against the Kings.
