Suns' Mike Budenholzer provides Kevin Durant injury update after loss to Rockets
03/31/2025 09:54 AM
A Phoenix Suns season that was already somewhat of a nightmare went from bad to worse on Sunday night during a 148-109 loss to the Houston Rockets. During the third quarter, star forward Kevin Durant drove to his left before collapsing to the ground and grabbing his lower left leg.
Durant turned his ankle badly, immediately left the game and did not return. Now, his status is a little bit clearer. Head coach Mike Budenholzer said that Durant will undergo an MRI on Monday and will miss the Suns’ upcoming road trip, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“Kevin Durant will undergo an MRI on Monday on his left ankle and stay behind in Phoenix when the Suns leave town for a three-game trip that begins in Milwaukee, Suns coach Mike Budenholzer says,” Stein reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Durant’s injury certainly throws a wrench into the Suns’ slim hopes for a playoff push. Phoenix is currently outside of the play-in picture, sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference at 35-40. However, Budenholzer and company are just 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the final spot in the play-in tournament, so they will feel like they have a chance to crack the top 10.
That task obviously gets much tougher if Durant is sidelined. On the court, the future Hall-of-Famer has been a rock for a Phoenix squad that has been very unsteady outside of him this season. For the year, he is averaging 26.6 points and six rebounds per game. Durant will now miss an upcoming road trip that includes very challenging games away from home against the Bucks, Celtics and Knicks.
The impending trade rumors surrounding Durant make this injury even more complicated for the Suns and their fans. He was nearly sent back to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline, but a potential trade this summer is still definitely on the table. While the severity of this injury is not yet known, Sunday could have marked the last time Durant plays for the Suns if he is forced to miss the rest of the season.
With or without Durant, the Suns must figure out how to lock in and get some better results out of their defense. Phoenix is currently in the bottom five in the league in defensive rating and that end of the court has been the primary culprit in its current three-game losing streak.
Without Durant, the margin for error defensively gets even smaller, so fixing that will be the first priority for Budenholzer and his staff.
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