Kevin Durant hopeful his injury is not too serious

Nick Friedell: KD just walked out of the Barclays Center with a little bit of a limp — but sounded hopeful that the injury wasn’t too serious. Didn’t think it was as bad as when Zaza fell into him. Doesn’t know if he’ll travel to Cleveland yet — will wait to see what MRI says.
Source: Twitter @NickFriedell

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Kevin Durant left knee sprain from Bruce Brown flying into it
sportando.basketball/en/kevin-duran… – 4:13 AM

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Nets lose KD to a knee sprain in win over the Pelicans. James Harden admitted the group feels a little snakebit right now.
And now they wait to see what the MRI says on Sunday morning.
espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 11:32 PM

Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Kevin Durant injures left knee, spoiling #Nets‘ victory nypost.com/2022/01/15/net… via @nypostsports teammate @GJoyce9 – 11:19 PM

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Kevin Durant leaves Nets’ game with sprained left knee nba.nbcsports.com/2022/01/15/kev… – 10:55 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
“I was just lifting weights, but I’ll call him — Hopefully it’s not bad at all.”
⁃James Harden on possibly losing Kevin Durant. – 10:22 PM

Kristian Winfield @Krisplashed
James Harden on Kevin Durant’s knee injury: “Hopefully it’s not bad at all.” – 10:22 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
James Harden said he spoke to Kevin Durant at halftime, told him he thinks someone ran into his knee. Said he’ll check in with Durant tomorrow after his MRI. – 10:22 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
Cam Thomas admits he doesn’t like it when he see’s someone hurt, especially Kevin Durant. – 10:06 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Cam Thomas plans to call Kevin Durant tonight to see how he’s doing. – 10:06 PM

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Nash on KD: “Of course it would be tough to lose him. No one wants to see that. We’ll obviously hope for the best outcome.” – 10:03 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
“He’s fine. Probably has a little bruise — It’s tough no Kyrie (Irving). No Kevin (Durant). No Joe (Harris). He’s going to have to play a lot.
⁃Steve Nash on James Harden. – 10:00 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
“It’ll be tough to lose him. No one wants to see that — We have to continue to work.”
⁃Steve Nash on possibly losing Kevin Durant in the coming days. – 9:58 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Steve Nash confirms Kevin Durant will have an MRI tomorrow morning. – 9:57 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Final: Nets beat the Pelicans 120-105. Never a doubt there, really. The rookies stepped up, again, and James Harden kept the ship on track after Kevin Durant went out with his knee sprain. We’ll see what Steve Nash has to say about the situation. – 9:53 PM

Will Guillory @WillGuillory
Final: Nets 120, Pelicans 104
Ingram 22 pts & 8 assts
Hart 14 pts & 11 rebs
Jones 13 pts
Pels get thrashed by the Nets despite KD missing the entire 2nd half. One of the ugliest losses we’ve seen in a while with BI on the floor. NOLA falls to 16-27. – 9:52 PM

Will Guillory @WillGuillory
Willie Green is pulling his starters with about two minutes left and the Nets leading 118-98.
The Pels just didn’t have enough to keep up with the high-powered Nets, even with KD leaving in the first half. – 9:46 PM

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
KD just walked out of the Barclays Center with a little bit of a limp — but sounded hopeful that the injury wasn’t too serious. Didn’t think it was as bad as when Zaza fell into him. Doesn’t know if he’ll travel to Cleveland yet — will wait to see what MRI says. – 9:34 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
End of 3rd QTR: Nets 95, Pelicans 77
James Harden (20 PTS, 14 ASTS), Patty Mills (15 PTS, 2 3PM) & the Nets had to withstand a third quarter offensive explosion by the Pelicans. Nevertheless, the Nets are sitting comfortably with a 18-point lead despite not having Kevin Durant. – 9:21 PM

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Nets say KD has a left knee sprain and will not return tonight. @Adrian Wojnarowski reports KD will get an MRI. Nets were hoping to build more chemistry with Kyrie on upcoming four game road trip. 11 of the Nets next 13 game are on the road. A lot of nervous faces around Barclays right now. – 9:08 PM

The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
Kevin Durant exited tonight’s game vs. the Pelicans with a left knee sprain. pic.twitter.com/4oCCvFTdDg – 8:55 PM

Jeff Stotts @InStreetClothes
Re: Durant: As @BrianSuttererMD pointed out, it looks like a valgus force was applied to KD’s left knee when Brown falls into the outside of his knee. This type of MOI stresses the MCL on the inside of the knee. Worth remembering KD has previously sprained his left MCL. – 8:55 PM

Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
With that reverse layup, Jayson Tatum just became the 5th NBA player this year to reach 1,000 points (Durant, Curry, Young, Antetokounmpo – earlier tonight).
He’s scored 1,000 points in each of his first five seasons. – 8:53 PM

Mike Mazzeo @MazzNYC
Kevin Durant out for the rest of tonight with a left knee sprain, per team. Durant right there with Stephen Curry to win MVP at sportsbooks – 8:52 PM

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Nets say Kevin Durant won’t return tonight because of a left knee sprain – 8:51 PM

Christian Clark @cclark_13
Kevin Durant is out for the rest of tonight’s game with a left knee sprain, the Nets say. – 8:50 PM

Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
From Nets PR: Kevin Durant is out for the remainder of tonight’s game due to a left knee sprain. – 8:50 PM

Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Nets ruled Kevin Durant out for the rest of the game due to a left knee sprain. – 8:49 PM

Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannix
Kevin Durant has been ruled out of the remainder of the Nets game with a knee sprain. – 8:49 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
Kevin Durant has been ruled out for the remainder of the game, the team says. – 8:49 PM

Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Nets say Kevin Durant is out for the rest of the game with a left knee sprain. – 8:49 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Nets rule Kevin Durant out for rest of the game with a left knee sprain. – 8:49 PM

Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The Nets say Kevin Durant is out for the remainder of tonight’s game due to a left knee sprain. – 8:49 PM

Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
HALF: Nets 69, Pels 41
– Woof.
– Ingram: 13p, 5a, 2r, 5/13 FG
– No other Pels player has more than 5p
– Harden: 13p, 11a, 5r
– Nets with 5 in double figures including KD (13p)
Pels: 34.1 FG%, 5/18 3P, 6/8 FT
Nets: 54.2 FG%, 8/16 3P, 9/10 FT – 8:42 PM

Will Guillory @WillGuillory
End of the 1st half: Nets 69, Pelicans 41
Ingram 13 pts & 5 assts
No other Pelican has more than 5 pts
Harden 13 pts & 11 assts
KD had 12 pts before leaving with a left knee injury.
Nets just stomped the Pels in that half. Wasn’t even close. – 8:42 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Halftime: Nets lead the Pelicans 69-41. Five Nets in double-figures, led by Kessler Edwards and Harden with 13. Kevin Durant left the game after banging knees and there’s been no update since. We’ll see what the deal is. – 8:41 PM

Oleh Kosel @OlehKosel
Felt like Pelicans had opportunity to at least somewhat get back in this game before halftime — after all the air was sucked out of Barclays with Durant going to locker room, but Brooklyn is up 67-37 with a little over a minute left in 1st half. Absolutely no shots have dropped. – 8:38 PM

Dave Early @DavidEarly
Kevin Durant checked himself out of the game and is heading back to the locker room rubbing his left knee. Bruce Brown fell into his leg a bit. Looked like maybe a hyper extension a bit as the leg straightened out. – 8:29 PM

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
KD hurt his left knee — looked like he bumped knees on the last play. He tried to stay in the game for a moment — but then walked off the floor and went straight back to the locker room. – 8:28 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
Kevin Durant is exiting the game holding on to his knee. – 8:28 PM

Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
Love that the refs allowed them to play the final 1.3 of the 1st quarter and then roll right into the 2nd quarter without another minutes-long break in between.
Pels officially down 32-22 now after the 1Q.
But KD is on one tonight. – 8:10 PM

Oleh Kosel @OlehKosel
The Pelicans trail the Nets, a notoriously mediocre 1st quarter team, 35-22 after one. Herb Jones picked up two relatively quick fouls on Durant and five team turnovers hurt. Steve Nash also noted New Orleans’ offensive rebounding in pregame, but the Pels only grabbed 2 of them. – 8:08 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Update: Durant’s shot was no-good. Was actually a shot clock violation. Still 1.2 seconds left in the quarter. – 8:08 PM

Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
KD with a real nice 1st quarter after resting on Thursday night. He’s got 15 points, three rebounds and two assists already in 12 minutes. Looks refreshed after sitting against OKC. Nets just need to keep their foot on the gas in this one. – 8:07 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
End of 1st QTR: Nets 35, Pelicans 22
Kevin Durant (15 PTS, 5-8 FG), James Harden (6 PTS, 4 ASTS) & the Nets are pretty much playing flawlessly. They’re taking care of the ball and have attempted 4 more shots than New Orleans. The perimeter defense could be better though. – 8:06 PM

Christian Clark @cclark_13
KD might go for 50. – 8:06 PM

Will Guillory @WillGuillory
End of the 1st: Nets 35, Pelicans 22
Ingram 6 pts
Graham 5 pts
Durant 15 pts (5-8 FG)
It’s starting to feel like this might be one of those games for KD. – 8:06 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
End of the first quarter: Nets lead the Pelicans 35-22. Kevin Durant with 15 points already. Durant just hit a shot-clock and buzzer beating 3 to end the quarter. It’s under review. Cam Thomas is 3-for-3 with seven points. – 8:06 PM

Will Guillory @WillGuillory
KD has come out very aggressive early in this one. He’s already up to 7 points. Just got Herb Jones out of the game with his 2nd foul. – 7:50 PM

Will Guillory @WillGuillory
Willie Green said earlier that Herb Jones will be guarding Kevin Durant to start tonight’s game.
In the Nets’ 1st game vs NOLA this year, Herb was the primary defender on 2 of KD’s 17 shots. Gonna be interesting to see how the rookie handles this matchup. – 7:11 PM

Ajayi Browne @ajayibrowne
The Nets’ Starters vs. the Pelicans:
👨🏿‍🍳James Harden
👷🏽‍♂️Patty Mills
🔒Kessler Edwards
🪣Kevin Durant
📈Day’Ron Sharpe – 7:02 PM

Alex Schiffer @Alex__Schiffer
Nets starters vs. NOLA: Harden, Mills, Durant, Edwards and Sharpe. – 7:01 PM

Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
“Whether he wins one in Brooklyn or not, the guy conducts himself as a champion.”
Jeff Van Gundy tells @Frank Isola & @Brian Scalabrine what makes Kevin Durant so good pic.twitter.com/o2jf0fpMx9 – 6:48 PM

Jim Eichenhofer @Jim_Eichenhofer
Willie Green said Herbert Jones will open the game matched up vs. Kevin Durant on defense. Green: “He embraces (difficult challenges)… this is great experience for Herb. He’s just going to get better and better, guarding the best players every night.” – 6:08 PM

Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Sports+: #Nets‘ midterm report card: Kevin Durant, supporting cast off to good start but bigger tests await nypost.com/2022/01/15/net… via @nypost – 10:21 AM

More on this storyline

Adrian Wojnarowski: Kevin Durant will get an MRI on left knee Sunday, sources tell ESPN. -via Twitter @wojespn / January 15, 2022

Will Guillory: Kevin Durant just walked off the court after reaching down at his left knee. Walked straight to the locker room. Not sure what happened. Looked like he may have bumped knees with one of the Pels players. -via Twitter @WillGuillory / January 15, 2022

Shams Charania: Nets say Kevin Durant is out for remainder of game vs. Pelicans due to left knee sprain. -via Twitter @ShamsCharania / January 15, 2022