On a strange back-and-forth, the night of Brooklyn Nets striker Kevin Durant culminated in the unexpected withdrawal from Friday’s 123-117 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the third quarter due to health and safety protocols.
For a start, Durant was unavailable to start Friday’s game because someone he interacted with earlier in the day had an inconclusive test result for COVID-19, the league said in a statement. He later left the bench and entered the game at 4:13 of the first quarter.
“During the start he stayed out of the game while this result was reviewed,” the statement said. “According to the league’s safety and health protocols, we do not require a player to be quarantined until close contact has a confirmed positive test.”
However, during the match, a positive result was returned for that person and Durant was withdrawn from the game in the third quarter “out of great caution,” according to the league.
For the past 24 hours, Durant has tested negative for COVID-19 three times, including two PCR tests on Friday, the league said. Contact tracking is underway to determine if Durant was in fact a close contact of the person who tested positive.
The rest of the Nets have been allowed to travel to Philadelphia for Saturday’s game against the 76ers, but Durant will not make the trip, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
While sitting on a bench during a break, Durant was briefed by a member of the Nets who threw him out of the game. A Durant, visibly stunned, shook his head and as he walked down the tunnel to the locker room, he threw a bottle of frustrated water.
Durant tweeted “Free Me” shortly after being eliminated, he criticized the NBA a another tweet after the match.
jo @nba, your fans are not stupid !!!! You can’t fool them with Wack ass PR tactics. # GRATU7T7 https://t.co/78N1iKFAoc
– Kevin Durant (@ KDTrey5) February 6, 2021
Durant finished with just 8 points on 3 of 8 in 19 minutes, plus 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He scored only the second time in the last 10 seasons Durant failed to double figures, breaking a streak of 166 games in a row. Durant scored zero points on February 28, 2017 against the Wizards, leaving the game 90 seconds after a knee injury.
Friday’s game also marked the first time Durant came off the bench in his 13-year NBA career.
Moments before he was withdrawn from the game, Durant was whistled for his fifth foul, but the Nets won a challenge to nullify the ground call. It is the first time in Durant’s career that he has finished a game with more fouls than field goals.
Durant, who had COVID-19 last March, is the second-highest scorer in the NBA, averaging 30.8 points per game. He previously missed three games in early January due to safety and health protocols.