Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Nets star Kyrie Irving ruled out for Game 6 vs. Bucks

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Vincent Frank | Last updated 6/16/21

The NBA injury hits keep on coming. That now includes Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving already being ruled out for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

Nets head coach Steve Nash broke the news to the media one day after Brooklyn took a 3-2 series lead by virtue of an historical performance from Kevin Durant.

Kyrie Irving is OUT for Game 6, while James Harden will be available to play: pic.twitter.com/4oC6BjCBJA
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) June 16, 2021

Irving suffered a sprained ankle on this ugly-looking play midway through the second quarter of Game 4. The All-NBA Third-Team performer was seen leaving the arena on crutches while sporting a walking boot. It stands to reason that the series is over for Irving.

On the other hand, James Harden returned for the Nets in Game 5 after reaggravating his hamstring injury in the series opener. The former NBA MVP responded by shooting 1-of-10 in 46 minutes of action. It’s abundantly clear that Harden is nowhere near 100%.

Even then, Brooklyn sports a 3-2 series lead against the Bucks heading into Milwaukee for Game 6. That was made possible by the aforementioned Durant, who dropped 49 points on 16-of-23 shooting while grabbing 17 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists Tuesday evening.

The hope here for these Nets is that they can close out the Bucks Thursday evening and have a bit of time for both Irving and Harden to get healthy before the conference finals.

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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