Rockets' Ime Udoka Gives Injury Update on Kevin Durant
The Houston Rockets were once again without superstar veteran Kevin Durant as they dropped Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Durant missed Game 1 after suffering a bruised right knee injury during a practice session earlier in the week. He returned to the court for Game 2, where he sustained a sprained left ankle injury midway through the fourth quarter.
The Rockets missed Durant’s veteran presence on Friday night. Houston held possession of the ball with a six point lead and just 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but a series of compounding mistakes resulted in a game-tying three pointer from LeBron James.
The Lakers went on to win with a 112-108 final score in overtime, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
On Saturday, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka provided an update regarding Durant’s ankle injury.
“Ime Udoka says Kevin Durant is receiving around-the-clock treatment for his ankle. Udoka says last night during the game, Durant was receiving treatment which included running on an underwater treadmill,” ESPN NBA reporter Vanessa Richardson reported.
Despite suffering his ankle injury in the fourth quarter, Durant stayed on the court for the remainder of Game 2.
“We’ve seen the play and found out when it happened. Just played the remainder of the game and obviously adrenaline and was still loose,” Udoka said after the game. “But afterwards, swelled up, some tenderness and got worse over the next day or so.”
Sunday’s Game 4 matchup will tipoff at 9:30 p.m. ET.
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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 11:42 AM.