The Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 120-116, on Friday night to end their seven-game homestand with a 6-1 record.
Kevin Durant was a big part of that, scoring a game-high 34 points to give Brooklyn their 15th win of the season and put them in sole possession of the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Durant has filled up the stat sheet all season in his last five games. In those games, including Friday night, he only scored less than 30 points twice and in one of those games he scored 29. Unfortunately for the Nets, the minutes are also pilling up.
In that same stretch, Durant has played 37, 38, 40, 36 and 36 minutes.
“The minutes are adding up,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said after Friday’s win. “I’m not sure where he sits at. Him and Royce [O’Neale] are probably top five or seven [in the league] in minutes. I’m going to be honest with you. We will always be smart, short-term, long-term. I’ll see how they came from this game, but the minutes are adding up.”
Entering Friday, Durant was tied for fourth in the league in minutes (36.8) but he's played more games than the top three in that category.
And while Vaughn and the Nets would love to rest Durant, they've needed every second of KD’s offensive firepower in this stretch. Looking at the final scores may not show that, but just about every game has been close in the final minutes.
A big reason for that has been the defense and rebounding. The Nets are 16th in the NBA in defensive rating and last in defensive rebound percentage (68.1%), which has forced Durant and Kyrie Irving -- who scored 33 points Friday -- to outscore opponents.
The Nets’ next game is Saturday against the Indiana Pacers, who are a half-game behind Brooklyn in the standings. When asked if he was playing in that game, Durant deferred to his coach.
“As of right now. You’ll have to talk to Jacque about that,” he said. “I just listen. They have my best interest at heart. I listen to what they say and go with it.”
Fans won’t know the status of Durant until Saturday afternoon, but Vaughn is looking ahead at the Nets’ schedule as a possible reprieve for his superstar.
“If we get through tomorrow the schedule is in our favor to get a little break,” Vaughn said. “But I’ll see how these guys feel after this.”
After Saturday’s game in Indiana, Brooklyn faces the Wizards in Washington D.C. on Monday. The Nets then get three days off before taking on the Raptors in Toronto on Friday.
Can Vaughn and the Nets go one more game of likely high minutes from Durant before this easy stretch? We’ll just have to wait and see.