After hurting his right knee in the third quarter against the Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets star player Kevin Durant was unable to participate in his team’s 102 to 101 victory.

According to Nets coach Jacque Vaughn, Durant will likely have an MRI on Monday.

With 1:05 remaining in the third quarter, Heat swingman Jimmy Butler was hurt after his shot was blocked by Nets center Ben Simmons as he went to the rim. Durant was hit by Butler as he retreated, and although he lay still for a little while, he continued to play.

About 30 seconds later, the Nets called a timeout because Durant was rubbing his knee all over the court and needed to be removed. After being checked out, Durant promptly left and did not come back.

Nets player Kyrie Irving said following the game, “I was right there. Those plays are terrifying. Because anything may happen in those moments when someone isn’t paying attention to what’s happening, I’m thankful that all the time he spent working out at the gym and positioning his body well allowed it to protect him from worse.

The Nets, who have won 18 of their previous 20, tried to maintain hope that Durant’s injury wouldn’t be too severe.

Their ability to support one another, regardless of who is in the lineup, is what makes us a good team, according to Durant, who added that Irving thought the bench and the way they assist one another is one of the finest things of the team. Like the rest of them he is joyful.

Although the severity of the injury is still unknown, Durant has had knee problems in the past. On January 15, 2022, Durant played against the New Orleans Pelicans while suffering an MCL injury to his left knee. Durant missed more than one month of action while recovering. The Nets were 5 to 17 without Durant throughout his recovery, including an 11-game losing streak. At the time, they were 27 to 15 and were still using Irving on a limited basis due to the vaccine requirement in New York City.

In 2017, Zaza Pachulia, a former member of the Golden State Warriors, unintentionally fell into Durant’s knee, injuring his MCL and causing a bruising to his tibial bone. Durant missed over a month of action as a result.

The Nets are aware that everything will change for the team on both ends of the court if Durant must miss a string of games.

The Nets’ Joe Harris remarked, “He is a focal point for us offensively, but even defensively he’s been an excellent rim protector this year.” “He guards the top players. It would obviously be a huge loss for us [if he’s out], but at the same time it gives opportunity for everybody else and we have a lot of depth for reasons like this, for everybody to just come up and collectively try and fill that vacuum.”

Nic Claxton of the Brooklyn Nets stated, “We’re hoping he’ll be available for the next game, but whatever happens, we’ll adjust, and we’ll be good.” This is not the first time he or Ky have been absent; everyone will simply need to step up a little bit, and everything will be OK, in my opinion.

Durant has pushed himself into the MVP discussion this season after having a tough start to the campaign both on and off the court. He is averaging 30 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists while helping the Nets return to the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Nets’ next game is against the Boston Celtics on Thursday at home, but a lot will depend on what the results of the knee exam on Monday show about the team’s season.

Irving admitted that seeing his pal Durant suffer a setback wasn’t emotionally satisfying. We could say every day, “With K, we know what we’re up against with him out of the lineup; we don’t have time for any excuses; we just have to keep pushing forward and, as I said, be mature about it.