Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant will return from a foot injury Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, Thunder coach Scott Brooks announced. Durant will come back to the court just over six weeks after suffering a Jones fracture in his right foot.
Kevin Durant to return from injury Tuesday against Pelicans
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Durant’s return, coupled with Russell Westbrook’s recent clean bill of health, will assuredly give the Thunder a jolt. Oklahoma City has started just 5-12, mostly without both players, and there was talk that they wouldn’t return in time for the Thunder to make a playoff push in the deep Western Conference. But Oklahoma City is just 4.5 games behind Phoenix for the No. 8 seed with 65 games to make up ground.
Durant's return comes just after Westbrook made his return to the court on Friday night against the New York Knicks after missing 14 games with a broken right hand. His impact was immediate: Westbrook had 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in 24 minutes.
Reggie Jackson was asked to carry Oklahoma City while the team's two stars recovered from injury, although that was after he returned from his own injury that kept him out of the first three games of the year. While Jackson has averaged 20 points and nearly eight assists, the Thunder are the lowest scoring team in the NBA and also second-worst in offensive rating.
Westbrook’s return changed the outlook of the Thunder team and led to a dominant win on Friday, and bringing the reigning MVP back should provide a similar boost as Oklahoma City tries to work its way back into playoff contention.
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