The Golden State Warriors will have yet another game without Kevin Durant. Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed the news Thursday afternoon, but also went ahead and announced Klay Thompson will return for Game 4 of the 2019 NBA Finals. They will need his help if they want to stay in this series.
The announcement comes a day after the Warriors fell to the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, 123-109. With the loss at Oracle Arena, the Warriors have fallen to a 2-1 series deficit.
Durant has not seen action since suffering a calf strain in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Houston Rockets. The two-time NBA Finals MVP was averaging 34.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 4.9 apg in the playoffs.
After sitting out Game 3 due to a hamstring strain from the game prior, Thompson’s return is much needed. Having his 19.5 ppg and 41% from three-point range through the playoffs back will be of help to Stephen Curry, whose 47 point explosion in Wednesday night’s game was not enough to overcome the Raptors.
The Warriors are already without forward Kevon Looney, who was diagnosed with a non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture. However, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported the return of Looney may be possible.
If you haven not done it yet, you can check out our final preview right here