Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant misses practice; dubious to play against Atlanta Hawks
Kevin Durant, the leading NBA scorer in the league, was not allowed to participate in the practice session on Thursday, a night before the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Atlanta Hawks. Durant sprained his left ankle against
the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night and the Thunder coach Scott Brooks was not willing to take any risks with his ace forward.
"He's day-to-day. We'll see how he feels tomorrow but I would say doubtful,” Brooks said. "With Kevin, he has the toughness, he loves to play, so when he's ready, he's going to step on the court and play at the level that we all
are accustomed to seeing.''
Durant, who is scoring 28.4 points per game this season, was helped off the court after spraining his left ankle in the third quarter. He collided with Pacers' Tyler Hansbrough while driving for a layup with 2:44 left in the period.
Durant remained on the floor for sometime but braved up to nail his two free throws before leaving the game. Two trainers helped him reach the locker room through tunnel. After the inspection, Durant was told to stick with the team as his injury was not that
serious.
Durant said: "It's one of those injuries you can't avoid. I feel good today, better than I thought, We're just taking it day by day and see what happens tomorrow.''
Guard James Harden would most likely take Durant’s place in the final line-up, in case the small forward is not fit to play. Brooks said he is not going to make a lot of changes in the line-up. He will just rotate some guys in
the game to cover up those minutes.
Kendrick Perkins, who was acquired recently in a trade from Boston Celtics, is suffering from stressed left knee. Thunder are expecting that Perkins will be out and running in one or two weeks time. Thunders have won 37 games so
far and their last 10 games standing are 5-5. They are currently holding the number four spot in the Western Conference and can afford to wait for Durant and Perkins to be fully fit.
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