Durant questionable as Nets visit Suns

Former Brooklyn superstar nursing ankle ahead of reunion

December 13, 2023 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Former Brooklyn superstar Kevin Durant is questionable to make his first appearance against the Nets since they traded him to Phoenix in February. AP Photo by Rick Scuteri

Share this:

The Brooklyn Nets have waited 10 months for a potential reunion with former superstar Kevin Durant.

They might have to wait until next year if the two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player is unable to suit up due to an ankle injury when the Nets visit Durant’s Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center Wednesday night.

Durant, who came to Brooklyn along with Kyrie Irving during general manager Sean Marks’ historic offseason haul in the summer of 2019, was dealt to the Suns (13-10) on Feb. 9 in the swap that landed Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.

Currently a candidate for MVP honors with the Suns, Durant sat out Phoenix’s 119-116 win over visiting Golden State on Tuesday after missing last Friday’s defeat in Sacramento with a sore left ankle suffered during pregame warmups.

Devin Booker scored 32 points Tuesday and Bradley Beal, returning from a back injury that sidelined him since Nov. 12, added 16 points for Phoenix, which had lost four of its previous five.

Durant, who has yet to play alongside Beal this season, is averaging 31.0 points per contest in 19 starts for the Suns, but his status for Wednesday’s game remained day-to-day at press time.

He played 129 games for the Nets and averaged 29.0 points.

However, Brooklyn never managed to go any further than the Eastern Conference semifinals during his tenure, and Marks managed to move both Durant and Irving during last season’s trade deadline.

The Nets opened their five-game West Coast swing with Monday night’s 131-118 loss to the Kings despite 22 points from Bridges.

The defeat snapped Brooklyn’s season high-tying three-game winning streak, and left the Nets (12-10) looking for answers after they allowed a franchise-record 25 3-pointers to Sacramento and only put up two fast-break points, well below their 16.9 average per game.

“They hit a lot of 3s. You’re trying to slow down (De’Aaron) Fox,” Johnson lamented. “It’s on us. We only shot 29 3s and they made 25.”

Brooklyn hasn’t visited Phoenix since Jan. 19, when Durant sat out with a knee injury while Bridges put up 28 points and Johnson added 19 off the bench to lead the Suns to a 117-112 victory.

The Nets hosted Phoenix at Barclays Center two days before Durant was traded to the Suns, but dropped a 116-112 decision despite 43 points from Cam Thomas.

Brooklyn will be without injured regulars Dennis Smith Jr. (back), Lonnie Walker IV (ankle) and Ben Simmons (back).

Durant’s return to Barclays Center is slated for New Year’s Eve at 8:30 p.m., and will be televised by ABC.

After Phoenix, the Nets will visit defending NBA champion Denver on Thursday before heading to Golden State Saturday and wrapping up their trip Monday in Utah.

***

On the Downtown college hoops scene, junior Tana Kapa scored a season-high 17 points and freshman Nikola Djapa posted his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but the Long Island University men’s team absorbed a 78-63 loss at UMass-Lowell Tuesday night.

LIU freshman Nikola Djapa’s first career double-double wasn’t enough to help the Sharks past UMass-Lowell Tuesday night. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

Tai Strickland, son of LIU head coach Rod Strickland, added 10 points for the Sharks (1-8), who dropped their fourth in a row.

LIU will return to the hardwood Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.

The LIU women (1-8) will try to snap a three-game slide when they host Manhattan College Thursday afternoon at the Steinberg Wellness Center. That game will be televised on SNY at noon.

***

In local Division III action, the Brooklyn College women’s basketball team is entering its holiday break on a two-game losing streak.

But at least the three-time defending CUNYAC champions got a feel for how tough the sledding might be if they return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive campaign.

Ericka James scored a game-high 19 points, but the Bulldogs proved no match for top-ranked and undefeated New York University Tuesday night, suffering a 91-46 loss in front of 91 fans at the John A. Paulson Center.

BC (5-4, 1-0 CUNYAC), which dropped a 73-46 decision to No. 10 Smith College on Saturday afternoon at the West Quad Center, fell behind 24-8 after one period to the Violets (9-0), who opened the game on a 7-0 run before James drained the Bulldogs’ first basket.

Senior Ericka James scored a game-high 19 points, but Brooklyn College lost at No. 1 NYU on Tuesday night in Manhattan. Photo courtesy of BC Athletics

The senior guard finished 8-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

She also grabbed eight rebounds and picked up a pair of steals for BC, which will be off until Dec. 29, when it begins participation in the Nazareth Tournament in Rochester, N.Y.

The Bulldogs will open against SUNY-Poly before taking on host Nazareth on Dec. 30.

Morgan Morrison scored a team-high 10 points in only 16 minutes for NYU, which forced 20 BC turnovers and won by double-digits for the eighth time in nine games this year.

The BC men’s squad will be out to snap a four-game losing streak when it visits CUNYAC rival Baruch College on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs (1-11, 1-0 CUNYAC) are coming off Monday night’s 90-72 loss at Kean University in Union, N.J.

Junior guard Malik Dale scored a season-high 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting, including 4-of-7 from long range, for BC, which completed the non-conference portion of its schedule without a single victory.

However, the Bulldogs did top John Jay in their CUNYAC opener in Brooklyn on Dec. 1.