Eric Gordon sits out with knee soreness in Oklahoma City

Rockets guard Eric Gordon is expected to sit out Thursday’s road game with knee soreness, but Mike D’Antoni says it isn’t a big concern.

Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon will sit out Thursday’s game at Oklahoma City with right knee soreness, per a pregame announcement. He was first listed on the team’s injury report earlier in the day.

It’s the same knee the 6-foot-3 reserve guard had surgery on earlier in the season, and he’s still working his way back into optimal condition.

In an interview Thursday afternoon, head coach Mike D’Antoni referred to Gordon’s soreness as “normal” and “nothing out of the ordinary.”

Gordon did work out on the court at Chesapeake Energy Arena before Thursday’s nationally televised game between the Rockets (25-11) and Thunder (21-16), but Houston appears poised to play it safe with Gordon coming off an extended absence of more than six weeks.

Per D’Antoni, Gordon reported some soreness in the knee after Wednesday’s game in Atlanta, when he scored 17 points in 30 minutes during a 122-115 Houston victory. The 31-year-old helped secure the game with a big 3-pointer with just over two minutes left.

Since returning from surgery on Dec. 29 in New Orleans, Gordon has averaged 15.3 points per game in 27.1 minutes on an efficient 38.7% shooting clip from behind the 3-point arc.

That’s much improved from his production prior to surgery, when Gordon averaged 10.9 points in 29.4 minutes on 28.4% shooting on 3-pointers.

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In Gordon’s absence, reserve guard Ben McLemore could see more playing time. McLemore hit six of nine 3-point attempts at Atlanta on Wednesday night, scoring a bench-high 18 points in the victory.

The Rockets entered Thursday’s game with a three-game winning streak.

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