The Golden State Warriors will continue to play without Kevin Durant during Game 4 of The Finals on Friday (9 ET, ABC).
Coach Steve Kerr confirmed that Durant will remain sidelined as he battles back from a right calf strain suffered during the Western conference semifinals.
“Kevin will not play tomorrow,” Kerr said during media availability on Thursday. “He will continue to get treatment, get on the court and continue to work. But he will be unavailable for Game 4.”
“I was hoping that today would be the day he could get back on the floor,” Kerr said when asked if Durant had suffered a setback. “It’s not going to be today, it’s going to be probably tomorrow … the following day … the next couple days. So the hope would be that he could still make it back at the end of the series. But there was no setback.”
Kerr also confirmed reports that Klay Thompson is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. Thompson missed Game 3 with a mild left hamstring strain.
“Klay will plan on playing tomorrow. So we expect him to play, barring something unforeseen.”
"I just can't wait to get out here tomorrow."
Klay Thompson says he's ready to play in Game 4 of the #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/B20IjI0ewW
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 6, 2019
The Warriors struggled during Game 3 without Durant and Thompson. Golden State trails Toronto in the series 2-1.
