Rockets star Kevin Durant set to return from knee injury for Game 2 vs. Lakers

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LOS ANGELES -- Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant will play in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday after missing the opening game of the series due to a knee injury suffered in practice last week. Rockets coach Ime Udoka said before the game that Durant was testing his knee during pre-game warmups and that if he did play, there would be no minutes restriction.

Durant, who popped up as questionable on the injury report last week, went through his warmup routine at Crypto.com Arena less than two hours before Game 1 but was ruled out shortly after. The Rockets lost Game 1 107-98 and fell behind 1-0 in the series against the Lakers, who are playing without Luka Dončić (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique).

Udoka said last weekend that Durant, 37, underwent imaging and "nothing major" came up. Durant's "limited movement" was more the cause of missing Game 1 than pain tolerance. After the game, Udoka said the team was not surprised that Durant was unable to play in Game 1.

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Cameron Salerno