Kevin Durant left the Phoenix Suns’ blowout loss to the Houston Rockets early on Sunday night after rolling his ankle hard in the second half.
The injury came just a quarter after the Suns star got into it briefly with Rockets forward Dillon Brooks — who was then ejected from the game after the scuffle.
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Durant was driving to the basket in the third quarter at the Footprint Center when his left foot landed completely on Jabari Smith Jr.’s foot in the lane. Durant’s left ankle rolled hard, which sent him down to the court awkwardly, clearly in a lot of pain.
He was helped up and limped off the floor and back to the locker room. He did not return.
Durant will undergo an MRI on Monday, Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. He is expected to remain in Phoenix when the team leaves Monday for a three-game trip that starts in Milwaukee.
Durant drew a foul on the play he was injured, but he did not remain in the game to shoot the free throws. He ended his night with 11 points and seven rebounds.
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The injury came after an incident with Brooks in the second quarter, though Durant was far from the aggressor there. Brooks was called for a simple foul while trying to guard Durant at the top of the key late in the first half. But well after the initial whistle was blown, Brooks kept making a play for the ball — which led to a bit of shoving between Brooks, Durant and Nick Richards.
But when Brooks didn’t let it go and started yelling at the official, he was quickly hit with a pair of technicals and thrown out of the game. Once the official ejected Brooks, he briefly tried to charge at the official. An assistant held him back, and then the two left the floor for the locker room.
Brooks finished with eight points, one rebound and one assist in 11 minutes. He now has 15 technical fouls this season. He also entered Sunday’s game leading the league in fouls this season with 235.
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The Rockets, despite Brooks’ ejection, still took a huge 29-point lead into halftime. They outscored the Suns by 21 points in the second quarter alone. Things didn’t get any better for Phoenix in the second half, either. Houston cruised to a 148-109 win behind a 33-point night from Jalen Green, pushing the team to 49-26 on the season. The Rockets have won 12 of their past 13 games, and are fighting to hang on to the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings.
The Suns, on the other hand, dropped to 35-40 and are sitting 11th in the standings — which has them missing the playoffs entirely — with only seven games left in the regular season. Durant’s future with the Suns is unclear, too, after it seemed he was going to be traded at the deadline earlier this year. Durant has one year left on his four-year, $194 million deal with the Suns.
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Durant will stay behind when the Suns leave for a three-game road trip on Monday while he undergoes further testing on his ankle. The Suns are back in action on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, and won’t be home again until April 8.
If Durant’s ankle injury is significant and the team ends up shutting him down for the rest of the regular season, it’ll be difficult for the Suns to make a push to get into the playoffs. And if Durant’s time with the organization is truly coming to an end this summer, it’s possible that Sunday night was the last time fans see Durant in a Suns jersey.
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