Rockets star Kevin Durant ruled out for crucial Game 5 vs. Lakers

Rockets star Kevin Durant won’t be available for Game 5 of the Lakers-Rockets first round playoff series on Wednesday.

Durant was ruled out due to a left ankle sprain, the same injury that sidelined him for Games 3 and 4.

Kevin Durant will miss Wednesday’s Game 5 of the Lakers-Rockets first round series in the NBA’s Western Conference playoffs. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

He suffered the injury during the Lakers’ Game 2 win on April 21 in Los Angeles.

Durant also missed Game 1 of the best-of-seven series because of a right knee contusion.

He made his return in Game 2, but the Lakers beat the Rockets, 101-94, with Durant suffering the ankle injury late in the game before missing both matchups in Houston.  

Houston star Kevin Durant, who led the Rockets in scoring at 26 ppg this season, will miss Game 5 vs. the Lakers Wednesday night recovering from a left ankle injury. NBAE via Getty Images

Durant was the Rockets’ leading scorer for the 2025-26 season, averaging 26 points in 78 games. 

“Talking to him about it is tough when you play the amount of games he has this year, really one game due to the ankle injury, and playing the minutes that he did and competitor that he is and commitment that he’s made to the team with a lot of guys being in and out this year,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said ahead of Game 4. “And so unfortunate for us and him that he’s missing this time of year, but it’s hard, no doubt, for a guy that wants to play and plays as much as he does to be out at this point in the season, this is very tough. So feel bad for him and our team in general. But like I said, we’ve proven we can do it without him.”

Game 5 of Lakers-Rockets will tip off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.