TORONTO -- Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant appeared to reinjure the right calf that had kept him out for a month during the second quarter of a 106-105 win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
The Warriors said Durant would have an MRI on Tuesday to further evaluate the injury, which they announced as a right lower-leg injury.
"I'm hurting deep in the soul right now I can't lie," Durant wrote as a part of an Instagram Story post. "But seeing my brothers get this win was like taking a shot of tequilla, I got new life lol."
The play in which Durant was hurt happened with 9 minutes, 51 seconds left in the second quarter as he tried to drive by Raptors big man Serge Ibaka. Durant was just above the 3-point line on the right side, dribbled between his legs and went to drive with his left hand when his leg appeared to give, causing him to lose the ball.
Durant went down in pain after taking a couple of steps, grabbing the lower part of his calf on the sideline. Durant remained on the floor for a few moments as the Raptors came down the floor and made a basket. The Warriors called timeout as Rick Celebrini, the Warriors' director of sports medicine and performance, raced to the floor to check on Durant.
Durant was then escorted straight to the locker room for further evaluation. As he made his way off the floor, both Warriors and Raptors players offered him some well wishes as the crowd inside soldout Scotiabank Arena chanted, "KD! KD!" Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala was by Durant's side with Celebrini as Durant was helped off the floor. Warriors guard Stephen Curry followed Durant into the locker room as well.
Durant walked by the media workroom inside Scotiabank Arena on crutches wearing a walking boot on his right leg on his way to exit the arena. He was accompanied by Celebrini and Warriors general manager Bob Myers.
Meanwhile, the Warriors also lost Kevon Looney, who aggravated his shoulder injury and was also ruled out to return.
Durant had not played since injuring his right calf on May 8 against the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. He went through Sunday's light practice and Monday's shootaround and was initially listed as a game-time decision before Steve Kerr confirmed before the game that Durant would start.
Kerr said Durant would play in "short bursts," but Durant left the game after playing 12 of the first 14 minutes of the game and scoring 11 points.
Kerr acknowledged after Monday's shootaround that the uncertainty surrounding Durant's status has been a tedious process for all involved.
"It's been frustrating," Kerr said. "We talked about it when the injury occurred. Pretty vague. A lot of gray area. One of the first things Rick [Celebrini] told me was, with calves, it could be a couple weeks, it could be a couple months. It's not often you have injuries like that. Usually you kind of get that four-to-six week thing or two-to-three weeks. So, calves, Achilles, muscular stuff is a little tougher to gauge than a joint. When you combine that with the scrutiny and the media coverage of the Finals, you've just been in the spotlight -- he's been in the spotlight -- and it's been tough."
Kerr was asked if he had been told that Durant was also dealing with an Achilles injury. Kerr previously stated initially after Durant's injury in May that he was assured it was not an Achilles injury that Durant was dealing with.
"No," Kerr said. "I just threw out 'Achilles.' I didn't mean Kevin's Achilles. I mean when you get non-joint issues, muscular issues are tougher to input in terms of how long a recovery will be. That's my understanding."