Kevin Durant was forced to leave the court early during the Nets win over Miami, after the Brooklyn superstar picked up a knee injury following a collision with Jimmy Butler.
Durant managed to achieve yet another milestone in his extraordinary career during the Heat game, as the 34-year old surpassed Dominique Wilkins in the all-time scoring list for the NBA with 26,684 points in his 978 games so far.
Continuing to climb the ranks 📈@KDTrey5 is now 14th on the all-time scoring list! pic.twitter.com/pSj21Rdwhj
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 8, 2023
However after reaching the milestone for points, Durant was forced to exit the game shortly after the 30 minute mark following a heavy collision with Jimmy Butler that caused the Nets star some obvious discomfort.
The Nets say that Kevin Durant is OUT for the remainder of Nets-Heat due to a right knee injury after Jimmy Butler fell on his knee on this play.
Prayers up to KD 🙏 pic.twitter.com/v0PPP9Hfe1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 9, 2023
KD tried to play the next move however the veteran was clearly struggling and was forced to head back to the locker rooms after half an hour with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in yet another respectable performance in such a little amount of time.
The Nets confirmed shortly after that Durant would not return to the game, as the knee injury was enough to keep their best player sidelined for the remainder of the night.
Kevin Durant (right knee) is out for the remainder of tonight’s game.
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 9, 2023
Losing KD could be a huge problem for future games, as the Nets have well and truly found their stride with Durant at the helm this season having won 14 of their last 15 and Brooklyn still managed to hold on for a tight win against Miami without their talisman, as they saw out a 102-101 victory.
Nets fans will be hoping that Durant’s injury isn’t too serious, as they next face the Celtics on Thursday night in what could be one of the most exciting games of the season with the talent on display.
Durant will be hoping to make a speedy recovery for personal reasons also, as he moves up the all time scoring rankings in a season that could see him finish in the top 10 of all time.
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