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Warriors' Kevin Durant Out for NBA Finals Game 3; 'Ramping Up' Workouts
June 4, 2019
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed to reporters Tuesday that Kevin Durant will miss Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night.
Durant's absence was expected when he was not scheduled for media availability.
Kerr added that Durant will be at the Warriors' practice facility for an individual workout.
"He's ramping up his exercise routines," Kerr said.
Durant is yet to be cleared for practice. However, Kerr said it's possible the 10-time All-Star could return to the lineup with only one practice.
"It's feasible. But again, it's really a day-to-day thing," Kerr said ahead of Game 2. "If we had a crystal ball, we would have known a long time ago what we were dealing with. It's just an injury—there's been a lot of gray area."
Teams do not typically do five-on-five practices during the NBA Finals. That means Durant would likely only have to do walkthroughs and on-court drills to be ready for action.
Durant has been out since suffering a calf strain in Game 5 of the Warriors' conference semifinals series against the Houston Rockets. Golden State has won six of its seven games since, including a conference finals sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Before the injury, Durant was playing arguably the best basketball of his career. He averaged 34.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in the Warriors' first 11 playoff games.
Klay Thompson, who suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter of Game 2, is considered day-to-day. Thompson does have a media session scheduled Tuesday.