Golden State Warriors All-Star Kevin Durant suffered what the team is calling a calf strain in the third quarter of Wednesday's Game 5 matchup against the Houston Rockets. After coming down from a shot attempt, he took a few steps, then began to look down at his leg as if someone had bumped into it.
There was no contact between Durant and his defender, however, which has left many to speculate as to what sort of ailment he actually has. Other players have experienced similar non-contact injuries in the past, including former Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
Warriors point guard Stephen Curry spoke to members of the media with regards to Durant's injury following Wednesday's 104-99 victory:
“Any time you see something non-contact like that it's scary,” Curry said of Durant's injury. “And you could see the look on his face. He didn't really understand what was happening in that moment.
“He went straight back to the locker room during a timeout,” Curry continued. “We all looked at each other and there were a couple smiles — in terms of what that meant for the guys that were going to need to step up in those moments. It was the next man up mentality. Draymond (Green) said that.
“It's hard to remove yourself from thinking about your teammate — your brother — as he's back in the locker room getting checked out,” Curry added. “But we were able to lock back in and find a way to win the game.”
Steph Curry on team’s reaction to Kevin Durant’s injury pic.twitter.com/rblSUsvA0k
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) May 9, 2019
Curry admitted that it was deflating to see Durant suffer an injury, but he was impressed with his team's ability to rally in that moment:
“Honestly it was a little deflating for a second,” Stephen Curry told ESPN, “and then we rallied.”
Durant, who is scheduled for an MRI exam on Thursday, logged 33 minutes in Game 5, scoring 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field (2-of-7 from beyond the arc), five rebounds, four assists and one steal. His status for Game 6 is still in question.
The Warriors and Rockets will meet for Game 6 on Friday. Tip-off inside the Toyota Center is set for 9:00 p.m. ET, with ESPN having live broadcast coverage.
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