Southwest Notes: Durant, Rockets, Fox, Pelicans

Rockets star Kevin Durant is hoping to be ready for Game 4, but his status remains in doubt less than 24 hours before tipoff, Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle writes in a subscriber-only story. Durant sat out Friday’s Game 3 loss with a sprained left ankle, and coach Ime Udoka told reporters on Saturday that the swelling has eased but the ankle remains sore.

“Every day that goes by, the likelihood (of Durant playing) goes up,” Udoka said. “But I thought he might be OK (Friday) based on shootaround. And that’s different, going half-speed and ramping it up right before a game, so you really can’t tell, but doing everything he can to get back.”

Many questioned why Durant wasn’t on the Rockets’ bench for Friday’s game, but Udoka explained that he was getting treatments that involve “things you can’t do” on the bench. They included a session on the team’s underwater treadmill.

Udoka added that he didn’t realize Durant’s ankle was bothering him so much during Game 2 until swelling and soreness became evident the next day. Durant also sat out the series opener with an injured right knee, and Udoka said the decision on whether to use him in Sunday’s game won’t be affected by the team’s 3-0 deficit.

“I wouldn’t say for him or us,” Udoka said. “I think when he can get back, he’ll get back. And so it’s different, and you extend it a little bit, possibly, if it’s 2-1, to give him more time, but yeah, if he can play, he will.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

• Udoka went deep into his bench during the Rockets‘ loss on Friday, giving 11 minutes to little-used Dorian Finney-Smith and nearly eight minutes to 39-year-old center Jeff Green. Per Shankur, Udoka explained that Josh Okogie, who played four minutes, was dealing with back tightness, while Aaron Holiday, who saw five minutes, is experiencing an adductor issue.
• De’Aaron Fox is upset about a technical foul he received in the second quarter of the Spurs‘ win at Portland Friday night, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). It happened when Fox received an offensive foul for hitting Deni Avdija in the mouth with his elbow after releasing a floater. The ruling was overturned after San Antonio challenged it, but Fox still got the technical for arguing. “It was an awful call,” he said. “I mean, don’t play defense with your face. I have a vertical plane that I get to go up. I didn’t throw my elbows out or anything. It was a normal floater.”
• The Pelicans‘ sweeping changes throughout the organization over the past two weeks are part of executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars’ effort to change the culture of a losing franchise, explains Rod Walker of NOLA. Several long-time employees were let go, including some who had been with the team through its entire history in New Orleans. A source tells Walker that some of the positions could be filled in the next few days, but assistant coaches won’t be hired until the process of finding a head coach is complete.