Is Kevin Durant playing tonight against Portland Trail Blazers? Latest on 2x Finals MVP's status (Dec. 19)

Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns will begin a short road trip, starting with a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Durant will be playing tonight. He was out for two games after the Suns' 106-103 In-Season Tournament quarterfinals loss to the LA Lakers on December 5.

Durant dealt with an ankle injury. He returned on December 14 and has played the last three games. Durant was on the injury report for those contests but is not there ahead of the Suns-Trail Blazers showdown.

It's a positive sight for Phoenix, one of the worst-hit teams when it comes to injuries. It is yet to see Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal play significant minutes for a brief stretch.

The three stars have played a combined 24 minutes together across two games. Beal is out again because of an ankle sprain after a scary landing on Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo's foot on a 3-point attempt on Saturday.

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What happened to Kevin Durant?

Durant had sustained an ankle sprain on December 5 against the LA Lakers. He apparently sustained the injury in the fourth quarter. While Durant finished the game, he wasn't healthy enough to play in the Suns' next two outings. Durant returned shortly and is now 100%.

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Kevin Durant vs Portland Trail Blazers stats

Kevin Durant has played 41 games against the Trail Blazers. The former MVP has averaged 27.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game against Portland.

Durant has faced them once this season before tonight's game. He scored 31 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished nine assists, shooting on 62/100/100 splits as the Suns registered a 120-107 win.

Durant is favored to go under 29.5 points against the Trail Blazers. It's a shade below his 30.6 ppg average for the season and his point tally in the last game against them.

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Kevin Durant and Suns have struggled of late

Durant and the Suns entered the season among the favorites to win the West. But the first 26 games of the season haven't gone according to plans. The Suns are 14-12, 10th in the West. Apart from their injury issues, the Suns have glaring weaknesses on multiple fronts.

The health of their stars hasn't been good. Durant, Booker and Beal have missed a combined 33 games. Two of their most productive bench players, Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen, have also missed eight games.

The Suns are struggling defensively, too. They are 18th in defensive efficiency. In the last game vs the Wizards, with Booker and Durant struggling in the first half, the Suns happened to face a rough patch, as they dropped just 48 points. The Wizards are the second-worst team defensively, so it was a shocking display from the Suns.

They did come out with a 114-112 win, but the Suns were given a run for their money by one of the worst teams. These issues might stay on until the Suns get fully healthy.