The Nets, down by as many as 17 against the Mavericks on Tuesday night, couldn't afford to sit their two superstars in Kevin Durant and James Harden.
As a result, the two both played more than 40 minutes, with Durant playing the entire second half, in Brooklyn's comeback victory to move back into the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
While Durant and Harden helped lead the charge in the furious rally for the Nets, the team's success is accompanied with a lingering concern that their best players might be worked too hard this early in the season.
But that concern isn't coming from Durant or Harden.
"I know people may be concerned about my minutes and that I got injured before and all this extra sh*t, but we'll figure that out if I get there," Durant said after scoring 24 points in Tuesday's victory. "Right now, I want to play basketball."
Durant and Harden both rank in the top 10 in the league in minutes so far this season, with Durant averaging more than 36 minutes per game, while Harden is averaging just under 36 minutes at 35.9.
At 32 years old, and with a major Achilles injury not too far in the rearview, Durant's durability could become a growing concern as the season progresses, something that is not lost on head coach Steve Nash.
"I think there's enough distance from the injury that we feel more confident," Nash said. "At the same time, we don't love it. We can do all this talk about improving through the year, but there's always the risk of sometimes overburdening him and James as well. We have to be careful. I'm not sure if tomorrow's the day, but there will be times in the season where we have to be really smart and make difficult decisions."
Harden had a lengthy absence last season due to recurring hamstring issues, which also drastically affected his preseason work and, in his eyes, contributed to his slow offensive start. But like Durant, he isn't paying any mind to his workload.
"One thing about me and KD is we love to play basketball," Harden said. "So it doesn't matter. We can play a whole 48. You know we're exhausted but we let coach know we want to stay in the game. We're going to play. Steve has been in that position before so he kind of knows and got a feeling for the game. When it's go time, you got to put your big dogs out there to go win the game. Simple."
Durant and Harden won't have much time to recover from Tuesday's workload, as Brooklyn is right back in action on Wednesday night against the Rockets. But again, minutes won't be on their mind.
"I might play 48 [minutes] tomorrow. Just cause," Durant said. "Give you something to talk about."
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