After not competing in a game since May 8, Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant worked his way back onto the court for a win-or-go-home Game 5 in the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. He scored 11 points in 12 minutes, giving his team not only an offensive lift but a morale boost.
In the second quarter, however, Durant stepped down awkwardly, tweaking the right calf originally injured in the Warriors’ semifinals series with the Houston Rockets. He was helped off the court by general manager Bob Myers and teammates Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry.
At halftime, Doris Burke reported that non-essential people were being kept out of the locker room due to the “raw emotion” Durant was experiencing at the heartbreaking turn of events. Burke reported that Durant will not return and is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday.
When Durant went down, the Toronto crowd cheered in a show of poor sportsmanship and classlessness.
The Warriors were amazing with Durant on the floor, leading by double-digit scoring. But the Toronto Raptors closed the gap to within a three-point deficit. At halftime, the Warriors were up by just five points, but led by Stephen Curry’s 23 first-half points.
Draymond Green, flooded with emotion after Durant’s exit, some questionable foul calls by the refs at the Warriors’ expense as well as some bad possessions, picked up his sixth technical foul. Seven techs in the Finals means automatic suspension, adding another obstacle to the Warriors’ already-heavy pile of burdens.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports Durant left the arena on crutches and in a walking boot.
