Odd Night For Kevin Durant due to COVID-19

It didn't seem as though Kevin Durant was having fun on Friday night. After initially being ruled out of the starting lineup for Brooklyn's matchup against Toronto due to contact tracing, KD checked into the game at the 4:13 mark of the 1st quarter. For the first time in Durant's career, he was coming off the bench (he had previously started all 866 games in his career).  

Kevin Durant will not start tonight for the Nets due to Health and Safety protocols, team says.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2021

After playing just over 19 minutes, and scoring only 8 points, Durant was then pulled from the game for good.  

Kevin Durant is out for the remainder of the game due to health and safety protocols. After missing the beginning of the game and subsequently being cleared to play, Durant is unable to play at the direction of the league, a source told ESPN.

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) February 6, 2021

Below is a statement from the league on what happened.

Statement from NBA on Kevin Durant situation: pic.twitter.com/S6XvLUhAH2

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2021

Brooklyn ultimately lost the game to the Raptors, 123-117, as Pascal Siakam had 33 points, 11 rebounds & 6 assists while Kyle Lowry chipped in 30 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. After tonight's game, KD took to Twitter to share his feelings on the situation. 

Free me

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 6, 2021

Durant has already been ruled out of the Nets game on Saturday versus Philadelphia, and it remains to be seen if he will miss anymore time after that.

Yo @nba, your fans aren’t dumb!!!! You can’t fool em with your Wack ass PR tactics.. #FREE7 https://t.co/78N1iKFAoc

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 6, 2021

Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports