Kevin Durant left the Warriors' 104-99 Game 5 victory over the Rockets in the third quarter with a right calf strain and did not return. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Durant mild calk strain in his right leg and will be re-evaluated in one week. TNT's Allie LaForce reported during Game 5 that Durant would undergo an MRI on Thursday. In addition, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr already made his decision on Thursday regarding Durant's playing status for Game 6 on Friday night -- he won't play, via Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. "He's not going to play Game 6 [in Houston]," Kerr told me late Wednesday. "We can all pretend and just say he's doubtful. But he's not playing Game 6." Here's the play where Durant was injured: Big picture, the Warriors did themselves a huge service by winning Game 5, as the team who wins Game 5 in a 2-2 series goes on to win the series 82 percent of the time. With Durant not able to go in Game 6, the Warriors at least have two chances to try and close out Houston, although they'd like to do it as quickly as possible. LaForce also reported that depending on the severity of the strain, there is a chance Durant's recovery could take 2-3 weeks.<doc-sep>Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant officially is out for the rest of the Western Conference semifinal series against the Houston Rockets with a strained right calf, coach Steve Kerr confirmed Thursday night. The decision was made after results of an MRI earlier in the day, hours after Durant was injured during Game 5. The Warriors said he'll be re-evaluated next week. In the past, Durant has needed about a week to recover from similar injuries. The Warriors lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 with Game 6 slated Friday night in Houston. Should the Warriors advance to the Western Conference finals, Durant may not be available for the opening games, but Kerr expressed hope he would be able to play. "If we’re able to win the series and move on, it looks good for his return in the not-too-distant future," Kerr said. MORE FROM THE NBA PLAYOFFS Durant has carried the Warriors, who are attempting to win a third consecutive NBA championship, so far in these playoffs. He has scored no fewer than 21 points in 11 games, with performances that also include 50, 46 and 45. "Well, we'll just find somebody on the bench to give us 35 points, two blocks and 11 boards and nine assists," Kerr joked about replacing Durant in the lineup. "He’s been the best player in the NBA in the playoffs. He’s been phenomenal, so it’s obviously a huge loss. But our team has a lot of confidence. They trust each other. They’ve won championships together. So we come out and we give it our best shot." Durant injured his right leg during the third quarter of Game 5 and hobbled off the court. The team reported via Twitter that Durant suffered a calf strain and he did not return. At the time of Durant’s injury, he had a game-high 22 points along with five rebounds and four assists. After making a mid-range jump shot with 2:11 to play in the third quarter that put Golden State up 68-65, Durant landed, turned upcourt and suddenly looked down at his right leg. He then grabbed his lower leg with his right hand, hobbled off the court and eventually went to the locker room. He had not returned when the fourth quarter started with the Warriors and Rockets tied 72-72. The Warriors won 104-99. "We’re in a great spot," said Kerr. "We’re up 3-2 and we’ve got championship rings on our fingers and a lot of experience and a lot of confidence that comes from that. So let’s go out there and let it rip." Durant did not travel with the team to Houston and instead remained in Oakland with one of the Warriors' trainers, Kerr said.<doc-sep>For the first time since injuring his calf in the third quarter of Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant returned to the lineup in Game 5 of the NBA Finals vs. the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately for KD, the Warriors and really basketball fans as a whole, Durant re-injured his leg, this time his achilles and he will miss the remainder of the NBA Finals against Toronto. For bettors, it is still very important to analyze how have the Warriors performed without Durant during his three seasons in the Bay Area, so we dug into our Bet Labs data to find out. The Big Picture on Kevin Durant’s Injury Golden State split Games 1 and 2 in Toronto without Durant and then ended up losing by double-digits at home in Games 3 and 4 without KD in Oracle Arena. In Game 5, Durant returned to the lineup, but re-injured his lower leg, but the Warriors were able to survive on the road in Game 5 without him. The Warriors have played 49 total games over the last three seasons without Kevin Durant. They are 36-13 SU and 26-22-1 ATS in those games. In the three playoff runs now with KD on the roster, Golden State has played eleven playoff games without the former MVP — The Warriors are 8-3 straight up and 6-4-1 against the spread. Before this injury in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Rockets, Durant last missed a playoff game for Golden State in 2017 against the Blazers. Ironically enough, Durant missed both of those games also with a left calf injury and ended up playing just 20 minutes of action in his return eight days later. Kevin Durant's left calf discomfort started late in the third quarter in Game 1. Played/scored through it, but issue apparently lingered pic.twitter.com/2ldgMclKYQ — Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 18, 2017 The Curry Effect One of the biggest questions surrounds how the loss of Durant affects Steph Curry. The Warriors have played seven total games without both Durant and Curry and are 1-6 SU and ATS in those matchups. On the flip side, the Warriors have played 42 total games without Durant, but with Curry healthy. Golden State is 35-7 SU and 25-16-1 ATS in those 42 games, winning by 10.1 points per game and covering the spread by 3.4 points per game. Can the Warriors Still Score? In the Kevin Durant era, the Warriors are averaging 115.4 points per game, the highest mark in the NBA by 2.5 PPG over the Rockets. With Durant on the floor, that number ticks up to 116.5 ppg. But without KD, that average plummets to 110, which would rank 21st in the league this season. So, how does the lack of scoring affect the over/under? In the 49 games without Durant, the under is 31-18 (63.3%), landing under the total by 5.6 points per game. When Durant is out and Curry is in, the under is 27-15 (64.3%), going under the total by 5.6 points per game. The Metrics Without Durant In the first two rounds of the 2019 playoffs, the Warriors played 151 minutes with Kevin Durant off the floor, compared to 430 minutes with him on the floor. Golden State was virtually the same team offensively when it comes to advanced efficiencies. In those 151 minutes, the Warriors have an Offensive Efficiency of 115.3 (points per 100 possessions), including a 56% eFG% (field-goal percentage that weighs 3-point field goals higher) and a 2.10 assist-to-turnover ratio. In all three categories, the Warriors were more efficient with Durant off the floor than with him on against the Clippers and Rockets. When he is on the floor, this is how they stack up: 115.1 Offensive Efficiency, 55.4% eFG% and 1.98. assist-to-turnover ratio. Since Durant’s initial injury in Game 5 of the Rockets series, including Game 5 of the Finals, the Warriors have an Offensive Efficiency of 108.4 and a Defensive Efficiency of 107.6 with an eFG% of 53.5% in 473 minutes of play with Durant off the floor. Let’s take a look at how the Warriors have performed as a whole with Durant on and off the floor in 2019 compared to Golden State’s previous two Finals runs… When you compare those figures to the previous two Golden State title runs, you notice a distinct difference. Right after Durant went out with his calf injury, the Warriors were able to keep up their efficiency numbers across the board. After the last few games against the Raptors, Golden State has looked mortal without KD. To be fair, if you compare the 2019 margins to 2017 and 2018, Durant’s impact becomes very clear, especially Golden State’s eFG% differentials. Can The Warriors Hold On? The Warriors are now down 3-2 against the Toronto Raptors after escaping Toronto in Game 5 with a 1-point win. Golden State has played five home games where it was listed as a favorite of 7 points or less and Durant missed the game. The Warriors are 1-4 straight up and 0-5 against the spread, failing to cover the number by 10.4 points per game. In the 2019 NBA Finals, the Warriors have an Offensive Efficiency of 104.1, a Defensive Efficiency of 111.2 and a eFG% of 50.5%. Let’s compare that to the Warriors efficiency numbers in their four previous trips to the NBA Finals… 2018 Finals (beat Cavaliers) 120.1 Offensive Efficiency | 104 Defensive Efficiency | 58.9% eFG% 2017 Finals (beat Cavaliers) 117.5 Offensive Efficiency | 111.6 Defensive Efficiency | 55.3% eFG% 2016 Finals (lost to Cavaliers) 104.7 Offensive Efficiency | 105.3 Defensive Efficiency | 51.2% eFG% 2015 Finals (beat Cavaliers) 104.4 Offensive Efficiency | 93.8 Defensive Efficiency | 50.3% eFG%<doc-sep>All season long, we’ve wondered what it would take to wake this team up. Chasing a different brand of history, the regular season lost some of it’s luster for this Golden State Warriors team as they dragged themselves through 82 game’s worth of prequel. Even in the playoffs, it was hard to miss: the old magic was changed. Though they had their individual moments, mostly it felt like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of the team were getting pulled through the playoffs as ancillary pieces behind the historic performance of Kevin Durant. And then KD went down. And then somehow, the old school Warriors pulled out the win anyways. Somehow, the ancient magic was returned. Curry was once again the dynamic driving force behind what felt like a inevitable winning machine. You could see the despair and hopelessness on Chris Paul and James Harden as they left the court shell shocked and vacant-eyed. It felt right. GAME DETAILS: WHO: Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets (Warriors lead series 3-2) WHEN: Friday, May 10; 6:00 p.m. WHERE: Toyota CenterHouston, TX WATCH: TNT RADIO: 95.7 The Game We Believe part whatever: Moving forward without Durant The funny thing about faith is that you don’t really need it if there’s evidence in front of you. With evidence, there’s no need for faith; it’s not until you are faced with a lack of evidence that you need to draw on your faith. While the Warriors steamrolled the entire league for consecutive years, Dubs Nation could simply bask in the majesty and splendor of it all. But after a few years, the league is starting to catch up. Even with Durant and Curry leading what is arguably the most talented starting five in the history of the NBA, there was a palpable air of concern. Meaningless losses in February were easier to write off, but as Golden State failed to separate themselves from the Los Angeles Clippers, and then ran into a Rockets team that was exactly as tough as advertised, a lot of fans starting doing the Doctor Strange face flick as they mentally forecast all the millions of permutations. “What if it’s not our year? What if Durant leaves and this is it?” With a loss last night, that could very well have been the last Warriors game at Oracle - ever. But that’s not how it went. Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala found another gear and managed to hold off the Rockets to win a pivotal game five, and now they march on Houston with serious intent to end the series on the road. We still don’t know how this ends, but we do know that this old school core has given fans every reason to have faith in them. Updated (through G5) raw +/- for the Rockets/Warriors starters: Draymond Green: +37 Steph Curry: +23 PJ Tucker: +14 Klay Thompson: +9 Andre Iguodala: +9 Chris Paul: +7 Kevin Durant: -1 James Harden: -3 Eric Gordon: -10 Clint Capela: -35 — Brady Klopfer (@BradyKlopferNBA) May 9, 2019 Doing whatever they can to help their team win, Chris Paul and James Harden ’s antics haven’t been enough James Harden is one of the best players in the NBA. He has routinely put up historic numbers while carrying a huge offensive burden for one of the top offenses in the league. Likewise, Chris Paul is a future hall of famer with a list of accomplishments taller than he is. And yet, once again in the playoffs, these two found themselves unable to lead their team to victory when it counted the most. And as Shakespeare says, “heavy lies the head that wears the crown” - these losses, and the importance are not lost on Houston’s biggest stars; the blame has nowhere else to go. From The Athletic: With 39 seconds left, and Kevin Durant long gone, the victim of a right calf strain, Chris Paul raised his head to look at the jumbotron in the middle of Oracle Arena. The Rockets were only down four, but it felt worse than that. He shook his head in disappointment as he walked towards the bench, mired in the worst playoff outing of his esteemed career. With 4.1 seconds remaining, James Harden crossed halfcourt unable to hide his frustration. “Fuck!” he yelled, clapping his hands together. They know better than anyone. This next game (or two) could very well be the defining moments of their respective careers. What to watch for in game six The Durant-sized hole Even as we await the MRI results, it’s assured that Kevin Durant will not play tomorrow. Facing a thin bench, coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors will have to get creative. My guess would be Kevon Looney starts, though perhaps we would go super old school and throw Bogut out there for a few minutes. As Anthony Slater suggests, it would allow us to match him up against Capella. Behind that, expect the Warriors to try Jonas Jerebko. He hasn’t been great in the series, but given Kerr’s complete lack of trust in Jordan Bell and the already heavy workload on the stars we just don’t have many other option to soak up the 42 minutes per night previously carried by Durant. Splash Bros vs. whatever we call the Rockets backcourt As Marcus Thompson write for The Athletic, that wasn’t just a momentous end to the game. For Stephen Curry, it was a timely reminder that the magic was still his to call upon: He overcame the Rockets relentless double-teams, his prolonged slump, the enormity of the moment, and carried the Warriors to the biggest win of the season. He accounted for half of the Warriors fourth-quarter points, scoring 12 himself and assisting on a pair of layups. And the attention his double-teams drew set up several other points, including Klay Thompson’s game-sealing layup, space and opportunity provided by the Rockets’ determination to keep the ball away from Curry. Both Curry and Thompson were superb in the final moments. And as good as they’ve been for the series, Harden, Paul, and Eric Gordon were unable to overcome it.<doc-sep>
The Warriors Can Breathe Easier — For Now But the Rockets could find new ways to attack if Durant is sidelined in the next two games. The Rockets-Warriors series has provided a steady diet of haymakers from both sides over the past week and a half, with two of the NBA heavyweight clubs duking it out for supremacy again. But the fight, and the future of the proverbial championship belt as a whole, seemingly hung in the balance late Wednesday when superstar Kevin Durant came up limping after hitting a jumper with just over two minutes left in the third quarter of Game 5 at Oracle Arena. The fact that he hadn’t been touched by anyone escalated fears even more: His reaction — to grab the back of his lower right leg — suggested that he might have severely injured his Achilles tendon. Durant walked gingerly to the locker room with Golden State clinging to a 3-point lead after holding a 20-point cushion just a quarter earlier. As he left, the basketball world wondered whether Golden State’s chances of adding on to its dynasty had exited with him. The Warriors staved off that more existential question for at least a couple of nights, digging deep for a gutsy 104-99 win without Durant to take a 3-2 series lead over Houston. They also got a reprieve in the sense that Durant avoided an Achilles injury, which would have ended his postseason and possibly jeopardized his next season. Instead, the club deemed the injury a right calf strain; Durant is set for an MRI on Thursday to determine the severity of the injury — and how much time he may have to miss. If Durant misses the rest of the series, at least some will compare his absence to that of Chris Paul a little less than a year ago, when the Rockets took a 3-2 lead but lost Paul to a hamstring strain for Games 6 and 7 of the conference finals. (Houston would drop each of those games, along with the series.) Yet losing Durant — the best player in the series, if not the world at this point — could have an even bigger impact, even though the Warriors have played without him before. Consider that Golden State has outscored opponents by 79 points this postseason with Durant on the court and has been outscored by 14 points in the minutes he’s been sidelined. Before leaving Wednesday’s game, he had led the Warriors in scoring for eight consecutive contests. His 34.2 points per game this postseason rank second over the past 25 seasons, trailing only LeBron James’s 2009 playoff run, according to ESPN’s Stats & Information Group. The Warriors’ reliance on Durant as of late left many of us wondering whether Stephen Curry and Golden State could step up and take out a tough opponent without Durant there. Both Curry and teammate Klay Thompson had struggled mightily with their jumpers earlier in the series, but Curry answered the bell, hitting 5 of 9 from the field for 16 points after KD’s injury, a vast improvement from the 9 points on 4-of-14 shooting he logged before Durant went down. (Thompson’s 27 points, after having 27 over the two prior games combined, were also huge — especially his bizarre turnover-turned-layup that sealed the game with four seconds left.) On the other side of this, Houston is going to have a handful of regrets from Game 5 — usually a bellwether when it breaks 2-2 series ties, as 82 percent of Game 5 winners advance — if it fails to get past the Warriors yet again. In many ways, this felt like the Rockets’ chance to pounce. In Game 4, P.J. Tucker terrorized Golden State by dominating the offensive glass. But on Wednesday, Kevon Looney seemed to come up with just about every key rebound, including five offensive boards. Meanwhile, Tucker was whistled for a particularly brutal out-of-bounds call with just under three minutes left in the game, when his heel was on the sideline just before he drained a shot that, had it not been waved off, would have cut Houston’s deficit to 2 points. It didn’t help that, at just 3 of 14, Chris Paul had the worst shooting night of his playoff career.