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Houston Rockets<\/a> head coach Ime Udoka has shed light on Kevin Durant\u2019s<\/a> surprising injury diagnosis to begin the playoffs.<\/p>\n Durant was sidelined on Saturday for the Rockets\u2019 series-opening loss against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. The 16-time All-Star was questionable coming into the contest<\/a> due to a knee contusion and was eventually ruled out right before tip-off<\/a>.<\/p>\n Udoka spoke to reporters<\/a> before the contest and shared some insight on Durant\u2019s injury, which the former MVP tried to play through<\/a> before deciding to sit for Game 1.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very tender. Tough to bend in certain ways,\u201d Udoka said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a lot of swelling, but hit it in a very awkward spot. \u2026 [If it were] a regular bumped knee, I think he could kind of play through that. But right above the knee, patella tendon area, up there, it\u2019s very tender and sore.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Udoka added that it was more than just a matter of pain tolerance. Durant was dealing with \u201climited movement,\u201d which Udoka described as the biggest factor in the team\u2019s decision to hold back its top scorer. Durant is considered day-to-day going forward, and his status for Game 2 remains uncertain.<\/p>\n The Rockets sorely missed Durant\u2019s offensive production in the team\u2019s 107-98 Game 1 loss to the Lakers. Houston was held to under 100 points for just the eighth time this season, dropping the team to 0-8 in such contests.<\/p>\n Durant only missed four games in the regular season, and none were due to injury. The Rockets went 4-0 without the All-Star forward and won by an average margin of 15.3 points. Saturday\u2019s result with KD out was a reminder that postseason basketball is a different beast altogether.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n