Nets avoid the worst with Kevin Durant’s knee injury

The Nets may have avoided the worst with Kevin Durant, but it doesn’t sound like he will be playing any time soon.

Durant underwent an MRI exam on Sunday morning, which revealed a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee, the team said. The Nets declined to provide a timetable for Durant’s absence, but said their star would “return to full strength following a period of rehabilitation.”

That timeline could be a 4-to-6 week rehab and return, ESPN reported.

Durant was injured midway through the second quarter of Saturday’s blowout win over the Pelicans, when Bruce Brown fell awkwardly into his knee, appearing to hyperextend it. Durant hobbled around on the court momentarily before taking himself out of the game and heading straight to the locker room.

While Durant avoided a major injury — or anything with his ACL — his absence is a setback for the Nets. They are about to begin a four-game road trip and play nine of their next 11 games away from Barclays Center, which was going to give their Big 3 of Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving the chance to establish some consistency for the first time this season, now that Irving is allowed to play road games.

Instead, it looks like Harden and Irving will be leading the way at least for the time being.