Thanksgiving eve is annually a great night for NBA basketball. The league doesn't play any games on Thanksgiving Day, so they typically stack the schedule the night before. This year, there are nine games on the night before Turkey day, including a matchup between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.
Kevin Durant won't play vs. Warriors for personal reasons
Unfortunately, star forward Kevin Durant won’t be out on the court with his Rockets teammates when they take on his former franchise. Durant will miss his second consecutive game due to a family issue. He's been officially ruled out of the contest.
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.
The Rockets were able to win without Durant against Phoenix, and they’ll look to do the same against Golden State. Prior to missing the game against Phoenix, Durant had appeared in all 14 of Houston’s games on the season and posted averages of 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals per performance.