In media availability the day before Game 3, Steve Kerr told reporters that Kevin Durant will not play for the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Durant injured his calf towards the end of the third quarter of Game 5 of the Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets. The Warriors won Game 6 of that series before sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the Conference Finals. They are 6-1 over their last seven games without Durant.
Over the last three seasons, the Warriors are 35-5 including the regular season and playoffs in games they've played with Stephen Curry in the lineup without Kevin Durant.
Prior to his injury, Durant was enjoying one of the most prolific postseasons by a scorer in NBA history. Not including Game 5 against Houston in which he scored 22 points in 32 minutes prior to leaving with the calf injury, the two-time reigning Finals MVP was averaging 35.4 points per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from the 3-point line and 90.6 percent from the free throw line. No player in NBA history has ever averaged 35 points per game on 50/40/90 shooting.
Durant's career scoring average of 31.7 in the NBA Finals is the third-best ever trailing only Rick Barry (36.3) and Michael Jordan (33.6).
