Kevin Durant Played Just 11 Minutes in 2019 NBA Finals, But That Was the Only Time Pascal Siakam & The Raptors Panicked

Akash Murty | 07/04/2023
Kevin Durant Played Just 11 Minutes in 2019 NBA Finals, But That Was the Only Time Pascal Siakam & The Raptors Panicked

Kevin Durant is now with the 3rd team since the 2019 NBA Finals and is leading them to the 2023 Playoffs on the back of an 8-0 run with him in the lineup. The Suns Forward has had plenty more injuries since that Achilles tear when the Warriors had the chance to three-peat, but he manages to come back stronger every time.

But what he did with a sprained ankle in those Finals must still haunt the 2019 Champs like his current comeback would be doing with contenders in the Western Conference in a few days.

Pascal Siakam spoke about it recently in his appearance on the podcast of a 4x NBA champion with the Warriors, and one of Durant’s biggest frenemies in the NBA.

Pascal Siakam remembers Kevin Durant not touching the rim once while balling out against the Raptors

The latest episode of The Draymond Green Show had one of the key pieces of the Raptors squad that upset the Warriors and stopped their three-peat— Pascal Siakam.

Green asked the Toronto forward about how his team felt when KD was back in action in Game 5 after missing out on the first 4-games with an Achilles sprain.

Siakam remembers it like it was yesterday and told how the only time he felt like his team panicked during their championship run was in that game when the Slim Reaper was swishing all his jumpers from the perimeter.

Durant could just play over 11 minutes in that game

Trailing the series 1-3, it was the Warriors and KD’s to the shot at the ultimate price. Although he could just play for 11 minutes and 57 seconds in the game before tearing his Achilles, Durant created havoc in the Raptors’ otherwise solid defense.

He made all of his three shots from the downtown and the two free-throws without touching the rim, as Siakam remembered. But just after scoring 11 points, he had to take early leave because of the massive injury which will keep him out for the next year as well.

The Warriors still won that game 106-105, taking it to Game 6. However, that would be the last where they could get without Durant. They even lost Klay Thompson to an ACL injury in the series, which would set the Warriors back for two seasons without — the Playoffs and KD, who took his talents to the Brooklyn Nets that very year.

 

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
2019 NBA Finals Kevin Durant

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

Don’t miss these