Kevin Durant Out for Game 5, but Lakers Could Get Austin Reaves Back

{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kevin-durant-game-5-lakers-154210488.html","headline":"Kevin Durant Out for Game 5, but Lakers Could Get Austin Reaves Back","datePublished":"2026-04-28T15:42:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-28T15:42:10.000Z","keywords":["Los Angeles Lakers","Kevin Durant","Austin Reaves","Houston Rockets","Golden State Warriors","Western Conference semifinals","sprained ankle","Los Angeles","Cleveland Cavaliers"],"description":"The Los Angeles Lakers are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors. After allowing the Houston...","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Yahoo Sports","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://s.yimg.com/cv/apiv2/default/icons/favicon_y112_112.png","width":112,"height":112},"url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Garcia","url":"","jobTitle":""},"creator":{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Garcia","url":"","jobTitle":""},"provider":{"@type":"Organization","name":"LA Sports Report","url":"https://lasportsreport.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":100,"height":100,"url":"https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2026-01/b7465c90-f7ad-11f0-bffb-61fd87969a57"}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/FMUiBZwEQggDyXzSH0OXMg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTIwNDg7aD0xMzY2O2NmPXdlYnA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/la_sports_report_articles_451/50ff7c12e65a4f57db79bf0fb8599a44","height":683,"width":1024},"thumbnailUrl":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/FMUiBZwEQggDyXzSH0OXMg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTIwNDg7aD0xMzY2O2NmPXdlYnA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/la_sports_report_articles_451/50ff7c12e65a4f57db79bf0fb8599a44"}Story byKevin Durant Out for Game 5, but Lakers Could Get Austin Reaves BackSam GarciaTue, April 28, 2026 at 3:42 PM UTC·2 min readThe Los Angeles Lakers are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors. After allowing the Houston Rockets to stay alive in Game 4, the Lakers hold a 3-1 series lead going into Game 5 on Wednesday.In addition to being back at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers have a few more advantages over the Rockets that could help them secure the series victory.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_33iudcaanpfiv65bH1_ { display: none; } @media screen and (max-width: 767.95px) { #_R_33iudcaanpfiv65bH1_ { display: flex; } iframe { max-width: 100vw; } }Rockets superstar Kevin Durant is expected to miss Game 5 with a bone bruise on his left sprained ankle. Durant has only played in Game 2 of the series against the Lakers. He missed Game 1 with a right knee injury, then sprained his ankle when he returned in Game 2, causing him to miss Games 3 and 4.Shams: Kevin Durant (ankle) not expected to play on Wednesday.pic.twitter.com/v1oeIi8Rb5— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) April 28, 2026Even without Durant in Game 4, the Rockets managed to defeat the Lakers 115-96.But now, the series is returning to Los Angeles, and the Lakers could be getting back star guard Austin Reaves.Reaves Is “Optimistic” He Will Play in Game 5Reaves has missed the entire first-round series against the Rockets with a Grade 2 oblique strain. The Lakers listed him as questionable for Games 3 and 4 before ultimately deciding to keep him off the court during those games.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_3aiudcaanpfiv65bH1_ { display: none; } @media…

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