Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant drives past Pascal Siakam of the Raptors during the first half Friday in New York. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
NEW YORK — With Kevin Durant forced out of the game in the third quarter because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Toronto Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 123-117 on Friday night behind 33 points from Pascal Siakam.
Durant’s first game against the Raptors since rupturing his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA finals was a frustrating one for him and a confusing night for everyone. The superstar forward wasn’t available to start the game – entering as a reserve for the first time in his 867-game NBA career – then was told he had to depart in the third quarter.
“It was confusing, frustrating, bizarre,” said Joe Harris, who finished with a team-high 19 points. “For him to not start, then play, then he couldn’t play, just doesn’t make any sense. But, I don’t make the decisions. I just work here.”
The Nets had rallied from a 17-point deficit to take the lead, but couldn’t hold on without the NBA’s No. 2 scorer.
Durant finished with eight points in 19 minutes.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said in a statement that Durant tested negative three times in the last 24 hours, including two negative PCR tests Friday. He said someone whom Durant interacted with in the afternoon had an inconclusive test result return shortly before the game. Durant was initially held out while that result was being reviewed.
“Under the league’s health and safety protocols, we do not require a player to be quarantined until a close contact has a confirmed positive test,” Frank said. “During the game, a positive result was returned for the person Durant interacted with. … Once that test was confirmed positive, out of an abundance of caution, Durant was removed from the game.”
Frank said contact tracing is underway to determine if Durant was in close contact of the individual who tested positive.
PELICANS 114, PACERS 113: Brandon Ingram scored 30 points to help New Orleans win in Indianapolis.
Lonzo Ball added 20 points and nine rebounds as New Orleans won for the fourth time in six games.
MAGIC 123, BULLS 119: Nikola Vucevic scored a career-best with 43 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as Orlando won at home, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Trailing by as many as 14 points early in the fourth period, Chicago used a furious rally behind standout guard Zach LaVine, tying the game twice. Evan Fournier hit a baseline jumper and two free throws in the final 81 seconds to give the Magic enough breathing room for the win.
HEAT 122, WIZARDS 95: NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal missed his first 13 shots and finished with only eight points, and Miami rolled to a win at home.
Bam Adebayo scored 21 points for Miami, which got 17 points from Kelly Olynyk, 17 more from Tyler Herro and a 14-point, nine-assist, eight-rebound night from Jimmy Butler.
Beal, who was averaging 34.8 points, was held below 25 for the first time this season.
BUCKS 123, CAVALIERS 105: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Jrue Holiday added 17 and Milwaukee won the opener of a six-game road trip.
TIMBERWOLVES 106, THUNDER 103: D’Angelo Russell made a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining to lift Minnesota to a win at Oklahoma City.
JAZZ 131, HORNETS 121: Bojan Bogdanovic had 31 points on seven 3-pointers, Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, and visiting Utah got its 14th victory in 15 games.
NOTES
ALL-STAR GAME: On the same day teams learned of an expected agreement between the NBA and its players’ association to hold an All-Star Game in Atlanta on March 7, Lakers star LeBron James trashed the idea, calling it a “slap in the face.”
“I have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game this year,” James said. “I don’t even understand why we’re having an All-Star Game.”
If selected, he said, he’d reluctantly participate.
James cited the compressed offseason between his Lakers winning the title on Oct. 10 and opening their defense on Dec. 22, along with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the reasons why he was unhappy with the decision.
“And then coming into this season, you know, we were told that we were not having an All-Star Game, so we’d have a nice little break,” James said. “Five days from the 5th through the 10th, an opportunity for me to kind of recalibrate for the second half of the season. My teammates as well. Some of the guys in the league. And then they throw an All-Star Game on us like this and just breaks that all the way up. So, pretty much kind of a slap in the face. And we’re also still dealing with a pandemic. We’re still dealing everything that’s been going on, and we’re going to bring the whole league into one city that’s open?
“Obviously, the pandemic has absolutely nothing to do with it at this point when it comes to that weekend.”
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Indianapolis, but All-Star weekend was canceled because of the pandemic before the season began. Indianapolis will now host the event in 2024.
There’s been no formal announcement about a 2021 game from the league or the NBPA, the union that represents the league’s players.
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