Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant has been cleared to return for Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing Game 1 due to a knee tendon bruise, the team announced.
Durant suffered the injury in practice on Wednesday. He was seen getting shots up shortly before Game 2, and coach Ime Udoka said that Durant wouldn’t be on a minutes restriction if he plays.
Udoka said Monday that Durant’s biggest lingering issue is mobility.
“The pain tolerance is one thing, but actually moving and feeling comfortable doing all the movements is going to be the biggest thing,” Udoka said.
Durant, 37, averaged a team-high 26 points per game during the regular season, and the Rockets clearly missed his shotmaking in their 107-98 loss to L.A. Houston shot less than 40% from the field in the game and lost despite attempting 27 more shots than the Lakers.
