Report: Suns’ Kevin Durant progressing toward return vs. Timberwolves

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is progressing toward a Wednesday return against the Minnesota Timberwolves, barring a setback, after missing the last seven games with a sprained ankle, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Durant, who went down with the injury during pregame warmups ahead of a 132-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, hasn’t played since March 5.

After Durant underwent further testing and an MRI a day after the injury, the team put a three-week reevaluation timeline on the forward.

A return on Wednesday puts Durant a day ahead of the three weeks with seven games left to go in the regular season.

That’s a good sign for a Suns squad that has lost five of their last six matchups.

As of Friday afternoon, the Suns (38-34) sit fourth in the Western Conference standings. They are five games back from the No. 3-seeded Sacramento Kings and are tied record-wise with the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers. Phoenix owns the tiebreaker over Los Angeles.

When Durant has been healthy, the forward has been as advertised.

In his first three games with the Suns, Durant averaged 26.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 69% shooting.

The Suns are back in action Friday night against the Kings with a tipoff slated for 7 p.m. Tune to Arizona Sports, the app or online.

Follow @AZSports