Kevin Durant Injury Update: Warriors star likely to play Game 3 against Trail Blazers

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant is optimistic about playing Game 3 of the ongoing first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Durant sat out of Game 2 with a strained left calf after dropping 32 points and 11 rebounds during Sunday's Game 1 victory at the Oracle Arena.

Durant provided an update on his injury through his personal YouTube channel Thursday evening. "I miss being out there with them, and hopefully I'm out there the next game. Speaking of that, I have a little calf injury, Unfortunate that I pulled my calf in Game 1 in the third quarter. It felt good to finish the game, but afterward it tightened up on me a little bit and I was sore for the next few days," the star small forward said (watch below).

Kevin Durant injury update: Star forward keen to return

The former MVP missed a quarter of the regular season after suffering a left knee injury during the loss to Washington Wizards on Feb. 28. Durant returned for the final three regular-season games and looked ready to take his game to a new level in his first postseason with the Warriors.

"It felt like I could go yesterday (in Game 1), but Coach (Steve) Kerr and the training staff and the whole organization told me it would be best to give it a few more days of rest, so hopefully I'll see how I feel these next couple days. We have one more extra day before the game starts, we'll see how I feel. But I'm getting better every day. Hopefully I can be out there with my teammates grinding it out, trying to move forward and get a W in Game 3. We'll see what happens," added Durant.

The Warriors clinched a comfortable 110-81 victory in Game 2 despite Durant’s absence. Centre Zaza Pachulia feels that Durant missing 19 regular season games helped the team prepare for postseason injuries. "We've been in that situation and hopefully it's a very short absence for him and he'll be back soon. But health is very important, obviously. Yeah, every game matters, but at the same time we're looking far into the future where we're playing for another two months. Hopefully it's just a little problem, not a big deal," Pachulia said after Thursday's practice session, via ESPN.