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Thunders’ Durant expects to be OK injuring ankle
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
OAKLAND, Calif. — Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant missed the second half of Thursday’s 114-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors with a sprained right ankle, but insisted afterward it’s nothing serious.
“I wanted to play, but we want to be cautious,” Durant said after the game.
X-rays taken at halftime were negative.
“They (the Thunder medical staff) had to convince me not to play,” Durant assured.
Durant had a 30-point first half going before he charged into Warriors backup center Marreese Speights on a drive to the hoop with 2.4 seconds remaining in the second period. Durant’s right foot landed on Speights’ foot in the collision, causing Durant’s ankle to roll.
After more than a minute on the floor, Durant was helped to the bench, then limped on his own power to the locker room for halftime.
Early indication is the injury is not related to the fractured right foot Durant sustained during the offseason. He was playing in his ninth game since making his season debut on Dec. 2.
“I was a little nervous,” Durant said. “But when I got up and started walking, it felt good.”
Durant would not rule himself out of Friday’s game in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
“We’ll take it a day at a time,” he said. “We’ll see (Friday) what it’s like.”
