Durant likely to miss Suns' road games after ankle injury

Durant was helped off the court after injuring his left ankle in the Suns' blowout 148-109 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

The 15-time All-Star, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, appeared to twist his ankle as it looked like he stepped on Jabari Smith Jr.'s foot during an awkward collision in the third quarter.

It was a third consecutive defeat for Phoenix, whose chances of making the playoffs were dented by this result as they now sit 11th in the Western Conference with a 35-40 record.

And Budenholzer expects them to be without Durant for at least the next three games, though he admitted they will not know the full extent of the injury until Monday.

"We'll get an MRI on it on Monday. He'll stay back [on the road trip], and we'll assess," he said.

"I think for right now, until we see the MRI, I know he's not going to fly with us.

"After that, I don't think it's fair to say anything, but he won't be flying to Milwaukee."

pic.twitter.com/bObIBd8N8e

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 31, 2025

The Suns endured a torrid time on Sunday, giving up 78 points in the first half against Houston, with Jalen Green providing the spark with 33 points.

Devin Booker was the Suns' lone bright spot in a game which the Rockets dominated, getting 28 points, and Budenholzer was left lamenting their defensive lapses.

"There was a run at the end of the first quarter that continued into the second quarter," he added.

"We gave up 78 points at half-time. Just defensively, I think 32 and 46 in the first and second quarters, it's just not good enough.

"A couple of days ago, we won four games in a row, so we gotta find a way to get back to that. We were not good. We've got to find a way to flip it and be better.

"We do [have the requisite fight]. It's a group that's got fight. [Sunday] was a bad night. There's no other way of painting it - urgency or anything else you want to put on it - it just wasn't good enough."