Rockets’ Kevin Durant Expected To Miss Sunday’s Game 4
The Rockets are unlikely to have their leading scorer as they face playoff elimination on Sunday, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Kevin Durant is expected to be sidelined once again in Game 4.
Durant, who missed Game 1 due to a right knee injury, suffered a left ankle sprain when he returned for Game 2. According to Charania, the 37-year-old forward has a bone bruise in his ankle, which would typically sideline a player for two-to-three weeks during the regular season.
Durant has been receiving constant treatment on his injured ankle and participated in a film session on Sunday morning, but the bone bruise has caused “swelling, stiffness and lack of mobility” in his left ankle, sources tell ESPN.
The 16-time All-Star appeared in 78 regular season games in his first season with Houston in 2025/26, averaging 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 36.4 minutes per contest. He posted an excellent shooting line of .520/.413/.874.
However, the playoffs have been a different story, with Durant now expected to miss his third game in the first-round matchup against the Lakers. Los Angeles currently leads the best-of-seven series three games to zero.
More to come…
Victor Wembanyama Cleared To Return Sunday
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol and will return to action on Sunday for Game 4 of the first-round series vs. Portland, according to Shams Charania and Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Spurs confirmed the news in their latest injury report, tweets Mark Medina.
Wembanyama has been in the protocol since Tuesday, when he suffered a concussion after hitting his head on the court during a hard fall in the second quarter of Game 2. Portland was able to even the series by winning that night, but San Antonio responded by pulling away late in Game 3 to retake home court advantage.
The French star lobbied to play in Game 3 after going through his normal workout routine ahead of Friday’s contest, league sources tell Jared Weiss of The Athletic, but he wasn’t cleared by the Spurs or the NBA until Sunday, says Charania (Twitter link).
Wembanyama became the youngest player in NBA history to be named Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday. He was also the first unanimous winner in league history.
Wembanyama recorded 35 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 33 minutes in his playoff debut last Sunday. The 22-year-old big man had five points, four rebounds and a block in 12 minutes on Tuesday prior to the concussion.
With Wembanyama back in action, veteran center Luke Kornet will likely come off the bench for San Antonio after starting in Game 3.
Donte DiVincenzo Undergoing Surgery For Ruptured Achilles
Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo has formally been diagnosed with a ruptured right Achilles tendon after undergoing an MRI, the team announced in a press release.
ESPN’s Shams Charania first reported that DiVincenzo had suffered a torn Achilles. The injury occurred in the first quarter of Saturday’s Game 4 victory over Denver.
According to the Wolves, DiVincenzo is undergoing surgery on Sunday afternoon in New York. Dr. Martin O’Malley will be the surgeon after performing a similar surgery last year for Jayson Tatum, notes Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter).
The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, DiVincenzo started all 82 regular season games for Minnesota in 2025/26. The 29-year-old averaged 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 30.4 minutes per game while shooting 37.9% from long distance and providing his typical solid defense.
As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes, the Wolves had a mix of emotions after Game 4. They were sad after losing DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards, who is expected to miss multiple weeks due to a left knee injury, but pleased with the way they performed in their absence to take a 3-1 series lead.
“Just proud of the guys, stepping up, fighting for each other — literally and figuratively,” head coach Chris Finch said. “These teams don’t like each other, there’s just no secret. You play each other this many times where things are at stake, even a Christmas Day game is a battle, felt like a playoff game. It’s how it goes.”
Backup big man Naz Reid said the Wolves will be thinking of DiVincenzo and Edwards as they look to close out the first-round series against their Northwest Division rival on Monday, Krawczynski adds.
“I think they’ll be with us,” Reid said. “They understand. We understand. We know what it takes. It’s not going to be easy, not at all. We gotta go out there and do what we gotta do.”
DiVincenzo is entering the final season of his contract, which will pay him about $12.5MM in 2026/27. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next year unless he signs an extension before then.
NBA Reviewing Nuggets-Wolves Altercation At End Of Game 4
After struggling in Game 3 — he shot just 7-of-26 from the field in the loss — Nuggets center Nikola Jokic praised Minnsota’s defense and acknowledged he needed to score much more efficiently ahead of Game 4, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
Jokic didn’t find much more success in Game 4, however, scoring an inefficient 24 points and failing to convert any of his six field goal attempts in the fourth quarter, per Anthony Slater of ESPN. The three-time MVP’s frustration boiled over in the closing seconds of Saturday’s 16-point loss, when he was ejected for angrily confronting Jaden McDaniels, who decided to make an open layup rather than run out the clock (Twitter video link via ESPN).
“I don’t regret it,” Jokic said of McDaniels postgame. “Because he scored after everybody stopped playing.”
Timberwolves forward Julius Randle was also ejected as part of the incident, which occurred in front of Minnesota’s bench, Slater notes. The league is actively reviewing the altercation to determine if additional penalties are warranted, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).
As Slater writes, McDaniels has been an antagonist in the series, calling a number of Nuggets poor individual defenders after the Wolves pulled out a comeback win in Game 2.
“I don’t know,” McDaniels said when asked if he was in the Nuggets’ heads. “I said what I said, and I just come hoop every night.”
The Nuggets were up four at halftime on Saturday and were thoroughly outplayed in the second half by a Wolves team missing its starting backcourt — Donte DiVincenzo tore his right Achilles in the first quarter, while Anthony Edwards hyperextended his knee in the second period.
Jokic is averaging 25.0 points, 14.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 39.0 minutes per game in the series, but he’s also committing 4.0 turnovers and his shooting line is just .391/.185/1.000. The Serbian big man called his performance in the series “average,” then later credited Rudy Gobert‘s outstanding defense, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic.
“It’s a little bit of everything. You know, I’m not shooting the ball really well, especially from the three, and you know, Rudy is doing a good job with being physical, testing the officials, contesting shots,” Jokic said. “You know, he’s a really good defender. And not just him, they play very good … they’re big, long, tall, handsy, trippy, they’re bumping you, so… I think I answered (your question).”
Here’s more on the Nuggets, who are in a 3-1 hole ahead of Monday’s Game 5:
- Although Aaron Gordon was able to play 23 minutes on Saturday, he was clearly limited physically and head coach David Adelman suggested after the game the veteran forward might not be active for Game 5, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette. “It was unfair for me to keep him out there,” Adelman said. “I felt like he was really laboring in the first half. … We’re going to have to decide what we do for Game 5.” Gordon, who was one of the players who appeared to leave the bench during the fracas, missed Game 3 due to a left calf injury.
- Both Gordon and Christian Braun said after Game 4 that the Nuggets were still frustrated after blowing a 19-point lead in Game 2, when they had a chance to go up 2-0, according to Quick. “It’s incredibly frustrating, just dwelling on Game 2,” Gordon said. “You know, not taking care of home court. So that’s the hard part about trying to let go, um, and focus on the next game, but knowing that we’ve let opportunities slip.”
- “Just an embarrassing first four games of the series,” Braun said (Twitter link via Durando). “We’ve just gotta show up in Game 5 and play well in front of our crowd. We owe that to them. We owe that to them to show up and play well.”
Raptors Notes: Lawson, Quickley, Barrett, Battle
Raptors guard/forward A.J. Lawson has been upgraded from questionable to available ahead of Sunday’s Game 4 against Cleveland, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.
According to Murphy, head coach Darko Rajakovic said Lawson has been battling a back issue for a couple weeks and has been missing practices. However, the impending free agent will be good to go this afternoon.
Lawson played 14 minutes off the bench in Game 1, but his playing time has dwindled over the course of the first-round series, playing five minutes in Game 2 and just two minutes in Game 3. The Cavs won both of their home games to open the series, but the Raptors bounced back with their own home victory in Game 3.
Here’s more from Toronto:
- Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley was ruled out for the rest of the series on Friday after aggravating a right hamstring injury. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Quickley re-injured his hamstring when he was doing on-court drills on Thursday. There’s no official timeline for the 26-year-old’s return.
- RJ Barrett played a huge role in helping the Raptors win Game 3, recording 33 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 39 minutes. Brandon Ingram praised his teammate’s mentality on Saturday, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter video link). “His name has been everywhere (in trade rumors) this year,” Ingram said of Barrett. “His name hasn’t been brought up a lot on the positive side. His mindset is to prove to people that he belongs on this floor.”
- In a video for TSN.ca, Lewenberg and analyst Jack Armstrong consider whether second-year forward Jamison Battle could emerge as a trusted shooter off the bench with Quickley sidelined. The 24-year-old only received three combined minutes in the first two games of the series, but he was a significant contributor in Game 3, converting all five of his field goal attempts — including four three-pointers — en route to 14 points in 16 minutes.
Anthony Edwards To Miss Multiple Weeks With Knee Injury
Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been diagnosed with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Edwards underwent an MRI after injuring his left knee in Saturday’s Game 4 victory over Denver. While the four-time All-Star avoided ligament damage, he’s still expected to be sidelined multiple weeks, according to Charania.
The former No. 1 overall pick sustained the injury late in the second quarter (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). Edwards jumped to contest a layup by Cameron Johnson, and Johnson’s forward momentum caused Edwards to move backward in the air. Edwards landed awkwardly and his left knee buckled. He immediately grabbed at his knee on the ground.
Edwards entered the playoffs dealing with a nagging right knee injury, which caused him to miss extended time at the end of the regular season. He averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocks through four playoff games, but struggled with efficiency, posting a shooting slash line of .358/.258/.857.
It’s another tough blow for the Timberwolves, who lost starting guard Donte DiVincenzo to a torn right Achilles tendon early in the first quarter of Saturday’s win. Head coach Chris Finch was emotional when he discussed DiVincenzo’s impact after the game, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
“I mean, it’s …,” Finch’s voice cracked as he talked about DiVincenzo. “Yeah, I feel completely devastated for Donte. He was playing so well. He’s having such a great season. He’s the heart and soul of so many things that we do. You could just see the look in his eye when it happened. You kind of knew.”
With DiVincenzo and Edwards out, trade deadline acquisition Ayo Dosunmu carried Minnesota’s offense in the second half, finishing with a career-high 43 points ahead of unrestricted free agency this summer, Thompson writes. Dosunmu was 13-of-17 from the field, including 5-for-5 from long distance, and knocked down all 12 of his free throws.
“I didn’t know he was that damn good,” Julius Randle said of Dosunmu. “I don’t remember playing against him as much. I feel like when I was in the East and he was with Chicago, that was those DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine teams. … I don’t know if the opportunity was there as much. But damn, I’m glad we got him.”
Minnesota will look to close out its first-round matchup against the Nuggets on Monday, when the series returns to Denver. The Wolves hold a 3-1 lead, but will be missing two of their best players for the rest of the series.
Motiejus Krivas Returning To Arizona For 2026/27 Season
Lithuanian center Motiejus Krivas has decided to return to Arizona for his senior year, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Krivas was viewed as a potential first-round pick ahead of the 2026 draft, but he decided not to declare as an early entrant and instead will return to the Wildcats for the 2026/27 season. The 7’2″ big man confirmed the news in an announcement, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.
Krivas went No. 28 overall in Wasserman’s latest mock draft and was No. 27 on ESPN’s best available players list prior to Friday’s deadline for early entrants to declare for the draft. He’ll be looking to boost his stock and solidify his status as a first-round pick in 2027.
As a junior for Arizona in 2025/26, Krivas became a full-time starter, appearing in 39 games while averaging 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 25.4 minutes per contest. He was named first-team All-Big 12 and also earned a spot on the conference’s all-defensive team.
The Wildcats won both the Big 12 regular season and Big 12 tournament titles en route to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Their 36-3 season ended in the Final Four, when they were eliminated by eventual champion Michigan.
In other 2026 draft news, Jeremy Woo of ESPN has updated his big board after Friday’s deadline. Several projected first-round picks have moved up a few spots after potential lottery selections like Braylon Mullins and Thomas Haugh decided to return to college.
Former NBA Forward Sasha Vezenkov Named EuroLeague MVP
Olympiacos forward Sasha Vezenkov has been named the EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player for the 2025/26 season, per a press release.
Vezenkov, who also claimed EuroLeague MVP in ’22/23, joins Anthony Parker as the only players who have won the award two times. Parker, a former NBA shooting guard, is currently the general manager of the Magic.
The 57th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Vezenkov spent several years overseas prior to signing a multiyear deal with the Kings in the summer of 2023. The 30-year-old only spent one season in Sacramento, averaging 5.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game across 42 appearances, prior to being traded to Toronto the 2024 offseason. He gave up his full 2024/25 salary in a buyout with the Raptors to return to Olympiacos on a new multiyear deal.
Vezenkov, the runner-up for last year’s EuroLeague MVP award, helped guide Olympiacos to a 26-12 record this season, which was the top mark in the league. The 6’8″ forward led the league in scoring at 19.4 points per game on an excellent shooting slash line of .543/.396/.892. He also contributed 6.6 rebounds per contest in his 34 appearances (28.4 minutes).
The EuroLeague’s Most Valuable Player award is voted on by head coaches (35%), team captains (35%), media members (20%), and fans (10%). Vezenkov beat out Zalgris Kaunas guard Sylvain Francisco and Hapoel Tel Aviv wing Elijah Bryant, who finished second and third in voting, respectively.
Vezenkov, Francisco and Bryant headline the All-EuroLeague First Team, which was rounded out by Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov and Valencia Basket guard Jean Montero, who claimed the Rising Star award. Five former NBA players — Wade Baldwin, Tyler Dorsey, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and Walter Tavares — were voted to the All-EuroLeague Second Team.
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 tip-off, 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 Shankar, 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 longtime 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.
Lakers Notes: Game 3 Comeback, Smart, Reaves, Bronny
The Lakers hold a 3-0 lead in their series with Houston after pulling off one of the most remarkable comebacks in their long playoff history, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Trailing by six points with less than 30 seconds remaining, L.A. rallied to tie the game before claiming a 112-108 win in overtime.
Marcus Smart made a game-changing play by picking off a pass from Jabari Smith Jr. in the backcourt with 27.8 seconds left. He immediately shot an errant three-pointer, but sank all three free throws after being fouled by Jae’Sean Tate.
“It was a smart play,” said Smart, who had five steals in the game. “My vet savvy. Been in the league for 12 years. I picked up some tricks.”
On the next possession, LeBron James knocked the ball away from Reed Sheppard, then drilled a three-pointer after Rui Hachimura passed it back to him.
The Lakers became the second team in the past 30 years to win a playoff game after trailing by six or more points in the final 30 seconds of regulation, McMenamin notes. They are remarkably on the verge of sweeping a series with Luka Doncic (left hamstring) and Austin Reaves (left oblique) sidelined by injuries.
“The last week of the season, the last thing you would want or even want to imagine or think about is, s–t, two of your best players going down with injuries and not being ready for the postseason,” James said. “So it was a shift for all of us, it’s challenging for all of us … and we’re figuring it out together on the fly.”
There’s more on the Lakers:
- In its Last Two Minutes Report, the NBA determined that Smart stepped over the line before the ball hit the rim on his final free throw and should have been whistled for a lane violation, McMenamin adds in a separate story.
- Reaves is listed as questionable for Sunday’s Game 4, per Khobi Price of The California Post (Twitter link). Reaves was also questionable for Game 3 and wound up not playing.
- Bronny James admitted being nervous when he made his playoff debut in Game 1, but he’s getting more comfortable as the series wears on,