Suns forward Kevin Durant suffers a left ankle sprain injury late in the second quarter, and does not return in Tuesday's win.
A left ankle injury forced Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant to exit early from Tuesday’s Emirates NBA Cup matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, the All-Star will be out for at least one week and will be re-evaluated at that point.
Phoenix Suns All-NBA forward Kevin Durant will be re-evaluated in one week due to a left ankle sprain, sources tell ESPN. Durant suffered the injury while landing on a Spurs player’s foot during Phoenix’s win on Tuesday night. pic.twitter.com/24Ab04UX4Z
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 4, 2024
Durant left the game with 3:51 to play in the second quarter of the Suns’ 104-93 win and did not return. He headed to the locker room under his own power, and the Suns later said he hurt an ankle without providing any specifics. He finished with 13 points (on 5-for-8 shooting), four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes.
Durant was injured when he stepped on the foot of San Antonio’s Julian Champagnie while getting ready to shoot with 4:30 left in the second quarter. He departed 39 seconds later.
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said after the win it is too soon to know if Durant would miss any additional time.
“He stepped on somebody’s foot in transition, and at halftime it stiffened up,” Budenholzer said. “We’ll have to evaluate him in the morning and see how he feels, see how he does overnight.”
Durant has played in 13 of Phoenix’s 20 games this season and was out from Nov. 10-20 because of a left calf strain. The Suns are 11-2 when Durant plays this season and 1-6 when he does not.
Durant, 36, is averaging 25.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season and the Suns — who did not qualify for the NBA Cup’s Knockout Rounds — will open a three-game road trip on Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
