The Brooklyn Nets said star point guard Kyrie Irving will not play in Game 5 of the team's Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks because of a right ankle sprain.
The Nets forged a 2-2 tie in the series with a 107-96 victory on Sunday, despite Irving leaving in the second quarter with his ankle injury. He scored 11 points with five rebounds and two assists in just 17 minutes and has averaged 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the series.
The Nets have also been without James Harden, who injured his hamstring after playing just one minute of Game 1 and has not seen action in the series since.
The pivotal Game 5 will take place Tuesday in Brooklyn.
Irving had X-rays on his ankle Sunday that came back negative. His timetable for a return is not known. Harden has been working out on a court in recent days, but his status remains up in the air for Game 5.
Brooklyn did not announce the severity of Irving's ankle injury but multiple reports stated he left the arena with crutches and a walking boot.
With their trio down to Durant, the Nets gradually allowed Milwaukee to surge ahead and even the series with a 107-96 victory.
Durant scored 28 points but shot 9 of 25 from the floor and had little help as Irving's 11 points were the second-highest total for the Nets, who shot 43.4 percent, missed 23 of 33 3-point tries and committed 17 turnovers.
The worst-case scenario of being down to Durant is occurring after the Nets had their stars on the floor together for eight regular-season games. All three played in the five-game series against the Boston Celtics in the first round, and the Nets posted four double-digit wins. They got an eight-point win in the series opener against Milwaukee before posting a 39-point win in Game 2.
"We've had an adverse season," Nash said.
"A lot of things have happened, we remained positive and that's what got us through the season, so we have to have that same mentality here and find a way to solve some puzzles and persevere."
Milwaukee hopes the things that proved successful in the previous two games can help them get a chance to clinch the series Thursday.
The Bucks survived nearly blowing a 21-point lead to post an 86-83 victory in Game 3 and then pulled away in the third in Game 4 when Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 34 points.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/15/21/nba-nets-kyrie-irving-ankle-out-for-game-5-vs-bucks
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