Kevin Durant’s Thigh Contusion Will Keep Him Out Tuesday Against The Pelicans

Kevin Durant’s return to the court for the Nets had seen him almost seamlessly transition back to playing at an elite level, as he didn’t miss a shot in his first game back and looked great for the four games he played after his hamstring strain kept him off the court for two months. Unfortunately, Durant’s fifth game back saw him leave four minutes into a loss to the Heat, as he came out grabbing at his left thigh and was quickly ruled out with a thigh contusion.

While the hope is that Durant’s thigh injury won’t require him to miss too much time, it will at least keep him out for one more game as the Nets remain understandably cautious with their star’s health. Durant will join James Harden on the Nets injury report as officially out for Tuesday’s game in New Orleans, along with Nic Claxton and Reggie Perry, who are out due to health and safety protocols.

As such, it will be Kyrie Irving and company once again taking the floor as Brooklyn is nearing the stretch run of the season still without a ton of reps for their Big 3 all together on the court — although the brief time they were saw spectacular results. They, like a number of contenders, are trying to balance the need to be healthy with trying to establish a rhythm entering the playoffs, but where others have had more time together, this Nets group is still quite new to each other. Durant hopefully will return fairly soon — although it wouldn’t be a shock if he missed the third and final game of the road trip in Tampa — while Harden’s status remains fluid as tends to be the case with hamstring injuries.