Disaster struck the Warriors near the end of the third quarter Wednesday night.
Moments after Kevin Durant made a jumper to give the Warriors a three-point lead in Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, the Golden State superstar limped off the Oracle Arena court to the locker room after injuring his right leg.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Warriors announced that Durant had suffered a right calf strain and would not return to the NBA playoff second-round series contest, which Golden State eventually won 104-99 to grab a three-games-to-two lead in the best-of-seven set.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that it doesn't appear to be an Achilles injury.
Yahoo's Chris Haynes echoed Wojnarowski's report during an in-game FOX Sports Radio interview, with the added tidbit that "the Warriors feel good about where things are," with more tests coming Thursday.
After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr assured reporters that Durant did not have an Achilles tear. Durant will have an MRI exam Thursday, and his travel status for Game 6 in Houston is to be determined.
The Athletic's Tim Kawakami reported that Kerr told him it's incredibly unlikely that Durant will play in Game 6.
"Maybe he can bounce back soon, and we can win another game in this series and move forward and maybe get him back," Kerr told NBC Sports Bay Area's Kerith Burke. "But we’ll see how it all pans out."
ESPN's Marc J. Spears reported that Durant "seemed in good spirits" in the locker room, although he walked "slowly with a slight limp."
Golden State Warriors
Durant finished the game with 22 points in 32 minutes. He shot 8 of 18 from the field, including 2 of 7 from 3-point range, and added five rebounds and four assists.