DURANT ‘OUT’ SA GAME 4; THOMPSON BALIK-LARO

OAKLAND, United States – Hindi makapaglalaro si Golden State star forward Kevin Durant sa Game 4 ng NBA Finals sa Biyernes (Sabado sa Manila) dahil sa right calf injury, ayon kay Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

Gayunman ay inaasahan namang balik-laro na si guard Klay Thompson.

Ang dalawang players ay hindi sumalang sa 109-123 pagkatalo ng Warriors sa Toronto sa Game 3 na nagbigay sa Raptors ng 2-1 bentahe sa best-of-7 championship series.

Ang two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player na si Durant ang leading playoff scorer ng koponan na may 32.5 points kada laro.

“Kevin will not play tomorrow,” wika ni Kerr. “He will continue to get treatment. He will continue to work.

“It’s about when the training staff tells me he’s ready.”

Umasa si Kerr na makapaglalaro si Durant sa Game 4 subalit hindi pa siya nakapag-eensayo kasama ang kanyang teammates.

“I think that’s something that will happen in the coming days,” ani Kerr. “The hope would be he could still make it back for the end of the series.”

Hindi nakapagalaro si five-time All-Star guard Thompson noong Miyerkoles dahil sa left hamstring, na tumapos sa career run na 120 consecutive playoff games. Subalit umaasa si Kerr na babalik na siya sa Game 4.

“Klay will plan on playing tomorrow,” ani Kerr. “We expect him to play barring something unforeseen.”

Ayon pa kay Kerr, maaaring pabalikin ng injury-hit defending NBA champions si forward Kevon Looney, na idineklarang ‘out’ sa kabuuan ng best-of-7 series dahil sa chest injury.

“We’re gathering information, second opinion-type thing,” aniya. “It’s sort of an open question. At this point there’s not any-thing to report. We’re looking at all our options and his options.”