Durant out Christmas Day vs. Lakers; Brown, Johnson return
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is still in health and safety protocols and won't play in the Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Nets announced Friday, according to ESPN's Malika Andrews.
However, Bruce Brown and James Johnson cleared protocols and will return.
A total of eight Nets players are listed as out for Saturday. LaMarcus Aldridge, David Duke, Kessler Edwards, Kyrie Irving, Day'Ron Sharpe, and Cam Thomas are still in the COVID-19 protocols as well, while Joe Harris continues to recover from ankle surgery.
On Thursday, Brooklyn guards James Harden and Jevon Carter as well as forward Paul Millsap cleared health and safety protocols, but Duke, Edwards, and Thomas entered them. Nets head coach Steve Nash said at the time that he didn't expect any more players to clear before Saturday's contest.
The Nets placed Durant and Irving in the COVID-19 protocols last Saturday. On Dec. 13, Millsap was the first Brooklyn player to earn that designation during the club's current outbreak. Harden and Carter were among the players who joined him one day later.
Durant is the NBA's points-per-game leader this season with 29.7 over 27 games. He's also averaging 7.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists while playing 37 minutes per contest. The 33-year-old is in his second campaign with the Nets. He missed what would have been his first with Brooklyn in 2019-20 due to injury.