Kevin Durant will again be unavailable to help his Rockets team.
Durant has been out for two of the three games during the bewildering series between the Lakers and Rockets, as he will also miss Game 4 due to an ankle injury, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Durant has a bone bruise that would typically sideline him for two to three weeks during the regular season, Charania reports, and the 19-year veteran will not be cleared in time for the Rockets’ possible final game of the season.
Durant, 37, has only been limited to one appearance during the playoffs, missing Game 1 due to a knee injury, and he was declared out of Game 3 with an ankle injury.
Kevin Durant will miss Game 4 of the Rockets-Lakers first-round series in the NBA’s Western Conference playoffs. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The Lakers are up 3-0 in the series, bordering a sweep behind the efforts of 41-year-old LeBron James as Luka Doncic continues to nurse a hamstring injury suffered late in the regular season, and Austin Reaves — who missed Game 3 despite being upgraded to questionable — has been dealing with an oblique strain.
The Lakers have won Games 1-3 by a combined 20 points, notably stealing what looked to be a Rockets win in Game 3, forcing overtime, where they won 112-108 in Houston.
James is averaging 25.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists in the series while shooting over 47 percent from the field and hitting close to 44 percent of his threes.
Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers center DeAndre Ayton (5) as he drives to the basket during the second half of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect In Durant’s only game played in the series, he managed to log 41 minutes, pouring in 23 points with six rebounds and four assists, though he did commit nine turnovers and four personal fouls.
The winner of the series, which will likely be the Lakers, will move on to face the NBA title favorite Thunder, assuming they don’t blow their 3-0 lead over the Suns.
