Rockets Lakers Basketball

Houston coach Ime Udoka says injured star Kevin Durant is doing better but his status for Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night is still unclear with the Rockets facing elimination. Durant missed Game 3 on Friday night with a sprained left ankle as the Rockets blew a six-point lead with less than 30 seconds to go in regulation of an eventual 112-108 overtime loss to fall to 0-3 in the series. Udoka said Saturday that Durant is “getting treatment still around the clock.”

Kevin Durant missed Houston’s win over the Lakers in Game 4 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series with an ankle injury. But afterward coach Ime Udoka said he could return now that the series has been extended. Udoka said Durant has a bone bruise on his ankle that is painful and has limited his mobility, but didn’t rule out his return this season. “Yeah, a possibility for sure,” Udoka said Sunday night.

Houston’s Kevin Durant is out for Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers with a left ankle sprain. Durant didn’t participate in practice with the Rockets on Tuesday before they left for California, trailing 3-1 in the first-round series. But he was seen running on an antigravity treadmill as the team wrapped up its work before heading to the airport. Coach Ime Udoka was asked if there was a possibility that Durant would play in Wednesday's Game 5 after missing the last two games with a sprained left ankle and bone bruise.