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Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant and big Nick Richards are both ruled out Wednesday, April 9, against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second of a home back-to-back at PHX Arena.
Durant will miss a fifth straight game with a left ankle sprain suffered March 30 against Houston.
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said Durant did some shooting after a morning shootaround on April 8, but isn't close enough to return to play on April 9. Averaging 26.6 points in 62 games, the NBA's seventh-leading scorer will fall short of the 65-game requirement for league awards.
Considering the Suns (35-44) are one loss or a Dallas (38-41) win away from being eliminated from play-in contention, Durant may very well miss the remainder of the regular season.
For Phoenix to secure the No. 10 seed and final play-in spot, they must win their final three games against Oklahoma City (65-14), San Antonio (32-47) and Sacramento (39-40), while Dallas has to lose its final three games against the Los Angeles Lakers (48-31), Toronto (29-50) and Memphis (47-32) to land the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the West.
The Suns own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Mavs.
The Lakers play on April 9 at the Mavs in Luka Doncic's return after being traded in a blockbuster deal involving Anthony Davis before the 2024-25 trade deadline.
Richards went into the April 8 game dealing with elbow pain and managed just four points on 2-of-5 shooting in just 20 minutes in the 133-95 loss to Golden State. The 7-footer is listed out with right elbow inflammation.
The Suns are mired in their longest losing skid of the season of seven consecutive defeats.
ave opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns injury update: Kevin Durant, Nick Richards out vs OKC Thunder
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Durant will miss a fifth straight game with a left ankle sprain suffered March 30 against Houston.
Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said Durant did some shooting after a morning shootaround on April 8, but isn't close enough to return to play on April 9. Averaging 26.6 points in 62 games, the NBA's seventh-leading scorer will fall short of the 65-game requirement for league awards.
Considering the Suns (35-44) are one loss or a Dallas (38-41) win away from being eliminated from play-in contention, Durant may very well miss the remainder of the regular season.
Postseason scenarios for Wednesday, April 9pic.twitter.com/lUPW1yKXce
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 9, 2025
For Phoenix to secure the No. 10 seed and final play-in spot, they must win their final three games against Oklahoma City (65-14), San Antonio (32-47) and Sacramento (39-40), while Dallas has to lose its final three games against the Los Angeles Lakers (48-31), Toronto (29-50) and Memphis (47-32) to land the 10th seed and final play-in spot in the West.
The Suns own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Mavs.
The Lakers play on April 9 at the Mavs in Luka Doncic's return after being traded in a blockbuster deal involving Anthony Davis before the 2024-25 trade deadline.
Richards went into the April 8 game dealing with elbow pain and managed just four points on 2-of-5 shooting in just 20 minutes in the 133-95 loss to Golden State. The 7-footer is listed out with right elbow inflammation.
The Suns are mired in their longest losing skid of the season of seven consecutive defeats.
ave opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns injury update: Kevin Durant, Nick Richards out vs OKC Thunder
Continue reading...
