OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant suffered a right calf strain in the third quarter of Game 5 against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night and was ruled out of the Warriors’ 104-99 victory.
There was no immediate word on the severity of the strain. Durant will have an MRI on Thursday.
“We’re all obviously disappointed for him,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in his postgame news conference. “And excited about the win, but concerned for Kevin and disappointed for him. He’s been on this incredible playoff run, and I’m proud of our guys for pulling the game out. And we’ll see how Kevin’s doing tomorrow.”
Kerr later told The Athletic that it is unlikely Durant will play in Game 6 on Friday.
Durant’s injury came with 2:11 left in the quarter as he went up for a jumper over Rockets swingman Iman Shumpert. Durant did not appear to make contact with Shumpert, but after landing, he took a few steps up the court, then clutched his right leg. He limped toward the Rockets bench, and after a few moments, he went straight to the Warriors locker room, accompanied by trainers and Warriors general manager Bob Myers.
Durant had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes before leaving the win, which put the Warriors up 3-2 in this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. It is unclear whether he will be able to travel to Houston for Game 6.
“Next man up,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “If we need to have him take off a game, we will, ’cause we need him healthy — we plan on playing for a long time. So we desperately need him if we wanna win a championship, but we can win one game without him. I have confidence in this group.”