Durant has been hurt the way Jokic was. He hopes the Nuggets star doesn’t also become ‘injury prone’

NEW YORK — Kevin Durant left what ended up being his final game with the Brooklyn Nets after getting hurt similar to the way Nikola Jokic just was.

In fact, Durant missed time two seasons in a row with a knee injury caused when someone fell into his leg.

“One thing I don’t want to see with Nikola is like, they started calling me ‘injury prone’ after that, but hopefully they don’t start with him because it’s one of those freak injuries that you can’t really control,” Durant said Thursday night after the Rockets beat the Nets 120-96 in his return to Brooklyn.

“You can do all the work you can, but somebody falls into your knee, that’s just tough.”

Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, was hurt Monday night in Miami when Denver teammate Spencer Jones stepped on the center’s left foot while defending a drive by Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. as time was about to expire in the second quarter. Jokic’s knee buckled a bit and he collapsed to the court, grabbing at the knee.

The Nuggets said Tuesday he will be evaluated again in four weeks.

Durant sprained the medial collateral ligament of his left knee in January 2022 when teammate Bruce Brown was knocked backward and fell into his knee. He ended up missing 21 games with that injury.

Then, Durant was hurt on the same court as Jokic when then-Heat star Jimmy Butler fell backward into his right knee in a Jan. 8, 2023, game, causing another sprained ligament. He never played again for the Nets, who traded him to Phoenix a month later. He finally got on the court for the Suns in March after a 20-game absence.

Jokic’s injury was a hyperextension, perhaps allowing him to return more quickly.

“So it’s good to see it’s only four weeks and it’s not anything too big,” Durant said. “It wasn’t an MCL sprain or Level 2, it felt like it was just a tweak and he’s going to be back out there soon. He’s great for the game and you want to see the best players on the floor at all times.”