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The NBA has a COVID-19 problem, and it was clearly evident during Friday night’s (Feb.5) Brooklyn Nets versus Toronto Raptors game.
Brooklyn Nets fans had no idea they were in for a whirlwind of a night when they tuned into last night’s game. Before tipoff, Kevin Durant was scratched from the starting lineup before being “cleared” to play, marking the first time the superstar came off the bench. Durant played for 19 minutes before he was pulled from the game by Nets head coach Steve Nash leaving fans absolutely confused.
We would eventually learn that due to a close contact that Durant was with earlier in the day tested positive for COVID-19 while he was in the game. NBA spokesman Tim Frank explained in a statement why the Nets had to pull him from the game.
“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. 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 also revealed that KD tested negative for the virus three-times before the decision to put him in the game and “including two negative PCR tests Friday.”
An understandably frustrated Durant took to Twitter to voice his frustration with the league’s decision to pull him from the game.
Per NBA protocols, players have to undergo five consecutive days of twice-daily lab-based testing and daily point-of-care testing while contact tracing is underway. Durant, who already has missed three straight games from Jan. 5-8 due to COVID-19 protocols, could miss even more time.
Durant will not be traveling with the team for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets will also be heading to Detroit to take on the Pistons before returning to Brooklyn for a home game against the Indiana Pacers.
Following the developments, Twitter has been roasting Adam Silver, who was originally being lauded as a genius becuase of the NBA bubble, now he has lived long enough to see himself become the villain becuase of the recent announcement of the NBA All-Star Game happening in Atlanta and the Durant situation.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Kevin Durant’s Wild Night In Brooklyn Explained, Likely To Miss More Games Due To COVID-19 Contact Tracing was originally published on cassiuslife.com
