Klay Thompson: Injured Kevin Durant 'Dying' to Return for Warriors vs. Blazers
Klay Thompson said Wednesday that Golden State Warriors teammate Kevin Durant badly wants to return during the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.
According to Matt Schneidman of the Mercury News, Thompson said: "Just him being back there in the locker room and being around practice, I know he's just dying to get out there on the court. But we definitely feel his energy, and we can't wait until he comes back. We miss him."
KD suffered a strained calf in Game 5 of Golden State's second-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets, causing him to miss Game 6 of that series and Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, he will not play in Game 2 on Thursday, either.
Durant has yet to return to on-court activity, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said there would be an update on his status Thursday.
Despite KD's absence, the Warriors beat the Blazers 116-94 in Game 1 on Tuesday, as Stephen Curry and Thompson combined for 62 points. That came on the heels of Curry and Thompson combining for 60 points in their Game 6 elimination of the Rockets.
Still, Durant—who's averaging an NBA-best 34.2 points per game during the playoffs—might be needed this series and would certainly be useful in the Finals versus the Kawhi Leonard-led Toronto Raptors or Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks.
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