The NBA injury hits keep on coming. That now includes Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving already being ruled out for Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Nets head coach Steve Nash broke the news to the media one day after Brooklyn took a 3-2 series lead by virtue of an historical performance from Kevin Durant.
Kyrie Irving suffered a sprained ankle on this ugly-looking play midway through the second quarter of Game 4. The All-NBA Third-Team performer was seen leaving the arena on crutches while sporting a walking boot. It stands to reason that the series is over for Irving.
On the other hand, James Harden returned for the Nets in Game 5 after reaggravating his hamstring injury in the series opener. The former NBA MVP responded by shooting 1-of-10 in 46 minutes of action. It’s abundantly clear that Harden is nowhere near 100%.
Even then, Brooklyn sports a 3-2 series lead against the Bucks heading into Milwaukee for Game 6. That was made possible by the aforementioned Durant, who dropped 49 points on 16-of-23 shooting while grabbing 17 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists Tuesday evening.
The hope here for these Nets is that they can close out the Bucks Thursday evening and have a bit of time for both Kyrie Irving and James Harden to get healthy before the conference finals.