This season, Kevin Durant is the Nets’ leader in both scoring and shot-blocking.
As the Brooklyn Nets embark on a crucial road trip, forward Kevin Durant will be returning to the team.
Durant was back at practice on Friday after missing the Nets’ last three games for coronavirus health and safety protocols. Brooklyn went 1-2 during that stretch and is preparing for a five-game road trip that begins Saturday against one of Durant’s former teams, the Golden State Warriors (8:30 ET, ABC).
On Friday, Coach Steve Nash informed reporters that Durant is fully prepared to face the Warriors during the road trip. However, center DeAndre Jordan will be absent from the game against Golden State due to personal reasons.
Steve Nash stated that Kevin Durant will be fully ready to play in tomorrow’s game against Golden State.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) February 12, 2021
Steve Nash announced that DeAndre Jordan will not be playing in tomorrow’s game against the Warriors due to personal reasons.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) February 12, 2021
Today, Kevin Durant trained with the Nets and is scheduled to participate in their road trip, which starts this Saturday at Golden State.
— Brian Mahoney (@briancmahoney) February 12, 2021
Durant was initially held out of the start of the Nets’ game against the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 5, which Brooklyn lost 123-117. He entered the game as a reserve and then had to depart the game in the third quarter to eventually face seven days of quarantine.
According to The Associated Press, a source familiar with the situation reported that Durant was in a car with a team employee three times last Friday. The last trip was to the stadium, where he was initially taken out of the starting lineup, but was subsequently cleared to play. For the first time in his career, Durant entered the game as a substitute. However, he was withdrawn once more during the third quarter of the Nets’ defeat.
According to an anonymous source who spoke to The Associated Press, both Durant and the employee appeared to be without masks. This person remained anonymous as the details were not publicly disclosed.
Following their game against the Warriors on Saturday, Brooklyn will go head-to-head with several top-tier Western Conference opponents in a series of games. They are set to play the Sacramento Kings on February 15th, Phoenix Suns on February 16th, Los Angeles Lakers on February 18th, and the LA Clippers on February 21st.
Durant is the Nets’ leading scorer with 29.5 points per game. He is also the team’s second-best rebounder with 7.4 rebounds per game, third in assists with 5.2 assists per game, and leads the team in blocks with 1.4 blocks per game. He averages 35.9 minutes on the court per game. Meanwhile, the Nets are currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference, trailing the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers by 3.5 games.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
