The Houston Rockets will be without Kevin Durant for their next two games.
Durant will miss Monday’s contest against the Phoenix Suns and Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors due to a family matter, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Specifics of the family matter are not yet known.
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Presumably, Durant will rejoin the Rockets for the second half of their four-game road trip on Sunday. That marks the first of back-to-back contests against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
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Durant is in the midst of his first season with the Rockets this fall. He joined the franchise after a pair of rough campaigns with the Phoenix Suns after what was the largest trade in NBA history. He then signed a two-year, $90 million extension with the Rockets.
Durant has averaged 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this season, his 18th in the league. He had 13 points and eight rebounds in Friday night’s 112-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokić dropped 34 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Nuggets to that narrow three-point win in the NBA Cup. It snapped a five-game win streak for Houston.
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The Rockets enter their road trip this week with a 10-4 record. Durant, along with Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, will try to lead the franchise to a second straight playoff appearance this season — which is something the Rockets haven’t seen since the Mike D’Antoni head coaching era. D’Antoni’s final season with the team in 2020 was the last time they won a playoff series.
