Rough news for the Nets: imaging Monday showed that Kevin Durant suffered an isolated sprain in the MCL of his right knee during Sunday's win over Miami, and he will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Durant was hurt late in the third quarter Sunday, after Jimmy Butler fell into his right knee after Ben Simmons blocked his layup attempt with just over a minute left. He stayed on the court for a little bit before heading to the locker room during a time out with 36 seconds left, and was quickly ruled out.
"He didn't finish the game and just right knee, he'll get evaluated tomorrow and then hopefully I'll have some more info for you," head coach Jacque Vaughn said after the win. "Most likely, it will include imaging, just to make sure we're good. Don't want to speculate. I'm going to knock on some wood and see what happens tomorrow."
Durant was, however, in good spirits as he left.
"He dapped up everybody coming to the locker room," Vaughn said. "I just said, 'I wish we would've got the rebound on that play.' And it's a heck of a win with the group. And that was about it."
Durant had 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists over 30 minutes in the three quarters he did play. Brooklyn led by two when he left, and won by one on a last-minute bucket by Royce O’Neale.
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The Nets are 27-13, one game behind Boston for the best record in the East, after the win, but the timing of Durant’s injury is ominous. Last season, he suffered a sprained MCL on Jan. 15 in a win over New Orleans and missed seven weeks; the Nets were 27-15 after that win, but went 5-16 in the 21 games he missed, and finished 12-7 for a final record of 44-38 that got them into the play-in tournament.
They of course beat Cleveland in their first of two possible play-in games to make the playoffs proper, but were swept by Boston in the first round.
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