Kevin Durant injured ACHILLES: Warriors GM Bob Myers holds back tears as he takes blame
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS GM Bob Myers held back tears at a press conference as he revealed Kevin Durant had suffered an Achilles injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
There was immediate jubilation at the final buzzer for the Warriors after forcing a Game 6 in a pulsating match-up in Toronto.
But those celebrations were dampened by the news of Durant's injury.
The 30-year-old was cleared to start Game 5 after returning to team practice on Sunday.
And the reigning two-time Finals MVP looked great in the opening quarter, finishing with 11 points.
But then something popped in his right leg at the start of the second quarter, forcing him to fall to the ground clutching his Achilles.
Myers confirmed in a post-game press conference that Durant had indeed suffered an Achilles injury.
And it was clear that the injury was just as devastating to him as it likely is for Durant as he fought back tears throughout his statement.
"Kevin has an Achilles injury," Myers said.
"I don't know the extent of it.
"He'll have an MRI tomorrow.
"Prior to him coming back he went through four weeks with out medical team and it was thorough with expert and multiple MRIs and doctors and we felt good at about the process.
"He was cleared to play tonight. That was a collaborative decision.
"I don't believe there was anybody to blame.
"But I understand that's this world and if you have to, you can blame me.
"I run our basketball operations department.
"Let me tell you something about Kevin Durant. He loves to play basketball and the people that questioned whether he wanted to get back to this team were wrong.
"He's one of the most misunderstood people... He's a good team-mate and a good person. It's not fair."