Report: Warriors hopeful Kevin Durant will return during regular season

Kevin Durant has been out since March 1 with a knee injury.

The Warriors are “hopeful” that forward Kevin Durant will be able to return to the court before the regular season ends, ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chris Haynes report.

Durant has not played since injuring his knee on Feb. 28 against the Wizards. He was diagnosed with an MCL sprain and bone bruise, which the team said would keep him out at least four weeks. 

The Warriors’ last regular-season game is three weeks from Wednesday. 

The team said when Durant was injured that he would be re-evaluated after four weeks. He was seen taking jumpshots before Tuesday’s game in Dallas. 

Durant looked pretty comfortable shooting jumpers before the Mavericks game. didn't see him doing anything more explosive than this, though. pic.twitter.com/E51raIkkeY

— tim cato (@tim_cato) March 21, 2017

Golden State is 7–4 since Durant went down, winning its last five games after going through a three-game losing streak. 

Durant is averaging 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists this season. The Warriors have the best record in the NBA at 57–14 and hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Spurs for first place in the Western Conference.