Kevin Durant injured his left hamstring in the first half of the last night’s victory over the Wizards in Washington. He drove toward the basket and got fouled. When the play was over, Durant felt the pain and didn’t come in the second half.
In the absence of KD, Russell Westbrook took over and recorded a triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds and led OKC to a 125:101 victory.
Durant had injury issues throughout his career and missed most of the previous season with a broken right foot that required three surgeries. With “Durantula” sidelined, Westbrook emerged as the NBA scoring champion.
The 2013-14 MVP was the second amongst the lead scorer in the league before last night; he recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds in the first half before the injury. KD said that he is not worried about the injury and consider himself as day-to-day. Oklahoma has a couple of days off, so he should be okay for the next game.
He further added that this is the first ever hamstring issue he had in career and that he’ll have an MRI exam on Wednesday.
In the other game on Tuesday night, Anthony Davis also the match after a halftime with a bruised right hip. New Orleans Pelicans recorded the first win of the season against Dallas 120:105, and they led big after two quarters, so it wasn’t necessary for him to get back into the game. Davis had scored 17 points before he left and the team officials said X-rays on the All-Star forward’s hip were negative, but they were holding him out as a precaution.
His status for the Pelicans’ game Wednesday night against the Hawks is unknown, it will depend on how he responds to treatment and feels before the match. Now, ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande reports that Davis is day-to-day and will undergo further tests. It’s good news that they don’t believe the injury to be serious, and a bruised hip is pretty low on the list of things to be worried about. But with the Pelicans’ other injuries, the last thing they need is to add their franchise player to that list. New Orleans’ next game is tonight against the Hawks; Davis’ status has yet to be determined. Let’s remind, New Orleans is already without Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter, Norris Cole and Kendrick Perkins.
