TL;DR
- NBA schedules nine games the night before Thanksgiving, as the holiday is a league-wide day off.
- Kevin Durant is out against the Golden State Warriors due to personal family matters.
- Durant has missed two consecutive games, both against his former teams, the Suns and Warriors.
- Houston Rockets aim for another win without Durant, who averaged 24.6 points this season.
Every year, the night before Thanksgiving is a prime time for NBA games. Since the league observes Thanksgiving Day as a holiday with no games, they usually pack the schedule for the preceding evening. This year, nine contests are scheduled for the night before Turkey Day, featuring a game between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.
Kevin Durant is out against the Warriors due to personal matters.
The star forward Kevin Durant won't be playing with His Rockets teammates when they face his previous team. Durant is set to miss his second game in a row because of a family matter. He's been officially ruled out for the game.
Durant also missed Houston’s 114-92 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, which was Durant's first absence of the season. Ironically both of his absences this week come against teams he previously played for.
The exact reason for Durant’s absence wasn’t disclosed, and we don’t want to speculate. It’s important to remember that the players have lives outside of basketball, and sometimes things pop up.
Houston secured a victory against Phoenix without Durant, and they aim for a similar outcome versus Golden State. Before sitting out the Phoenix matchup, Durant had played in every one of Houston's 14 contests this season, averaging 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.