NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant couldn’t start a game and then couldn’t finish it, removed in the third quarter because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Durant wasn’t available at the beginning of Friday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors, eventually being cleared to enter in the first quarter. Once he did, it became his first appearance as a reserve in his 867 NBA games.
The strange situation — Durant had originally been listed in the starting lineup before being removed — had the Nets dealing with a number of emotions.
James Harden wondered why the game wasn’t postponed because Durant had been around the players beforehand.