In a bizarre back-and-forth direction, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant’s night ended with him unexpectedly recovering from the 123-117 defeat to Toronto Raptors in the third quarter due to health and safety protocols has been drawn.
Durant was initially unavailable to start Friday’s game because someone he hung out with earlier in the day had an unconvincing Test result for COVID-19, the league explained in a statement. He comes off the bench later and watches the game at 4:13 in the first quarter.
“Durant was initially kept out of the game while the result was reviewed,” the statement said. “According to the league’s health and safety protocols, we do not have to quarantine a player before a close contact has a positive test.”
During the game, however, a positive result was produced for the person, and according to the league, Durant was removed from the game in the third quarter.
Durant has tested negative for COVID-19 three times in the past 24 hours, including two PCR tests on Friday, the league said. Contact detection is ongoing to determine if Durant was in close contact with the individual who tested positive.
The rest of the Nets have been approved to travel to Philadelphia for the game against the 76ers on Saturday, but Durant will not undertake the trip, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
While sitting on a bench during a break, Durant was notified by a Nets employee that he was being taken off the match. A visibly stunned Durant shook his head and as he walked through the tunnel to the dressing room, he threw a water bottle in frustration.
Durant tweeted “Free me” shortly after he was removed, the NBA criticized in another tweet after the match.
Yo @nba, your fans are not dumb !!!! You can not deceive them with your Wack ass PR tactics. # FREE7 https://t.co/78N1iKFAoc
– Kevin Durant (@ KDTrey5) 6 February 2021
Durant finished with just 8 points on 3-of-8 shooting in 19 minutes, plus 6 rebounds and 5 assists. It was only the second time in the last ten seasons that Durant could not score double figures, breaking a series of 166 games in a row. Durant scored no points against the Wizards on February 28, 2017, leaving the game 90 seconds behind after an injury to his knee.
Friday’s game was also the first time Durant came off the bench in his 13-year NBA career.
Moments before he was pulled out of the game, Durant was whistled for his fifth offense, but the Nets faced a challenge to stop the call on the floor. This is the first time in Durant’s career that he has completed a game with more offenses than field goals.
Durant, who had COVID-19 last March, is the second leading scorer in the NBA, averaging 30.8 points per game. He missed three games earlier in January due to health and safety protocols.