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Kevin Durant Not Ruled Out Of Returning In Lakers' Series
April 27, 2026
Posted 2 hours ago by
Kevin Durant remains sidelined with an ankle bone bruise, but Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka left the door open for the veteran forward's return after Sunday's 115-96 Game 4 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers extended the first-round playoff series. Durant has now missed three of four games this postseason. He sat out the series opener with a bruised right knee, returned for Game 2, scoring 23 points in 41 minutes before re-injuring his ankle late, then missed Games 3 and 4.
Yeah, a possibility, for sure, Udoka said. I didn't know how bad it was initially and then we got that prognosis. But he's doing what he can to get swelling out and mobility back. And just like the knee, we weren't sure when he was going to come back, but he snapped back pretty quickly to be available for Game 2. So it is a true game-to-game, day-to-day thing. Udoka described the bone bruise as painful and restricting Durant's movement, while stopping short of ruling him out for the remainder of the playoffs. Game 5 tips off Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Houston dropped Game 3 Friday without Durant, surrendering a six-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation before falling 112-108 in overtime. The Rockets responded Sunday behind strong contributions from healthy roster members to keep their postseason run alive.
RealGM Basketball Wiretap
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