Nets' Kevin Durant says Game 5 will be 'just like any night' despite no Kyrie Irving or James Harden

A pivotal Game 5 between the Nets and Milwaukee Bucks won't feature two of Brooklyn's Big Three: Kyrie Irving (ankle) and James Harden (hamstring). 

That leaves Kevin Durant as the lone member of that group to take the court with the rest of his teammates at Barclays Center following two straight losses to the Bucks to even out the second round series. 

But, as an MVP would naturally do in these situations, Durant doesn't seem to be putting anything extra on his back -- at least not before tip-off.

"I picture me doing everything out there just like I do every night," he told reporters via Zoom on Monday. "Some more than others, I might have to handle the ball more, might have to post up more, just gotta be prepared to do everything out there, just like any night.”

Durant doesn't want to make this situation about him at the end of the day. Irving suffered an ankle sprain, as head coach Steve Nash said following his MRI, and Harden has had trouble getting his hamstring right to play in the playoffs. 

The dynamic forward is thinking about them instead because he would obviously rather his All-Star teammates on the floor with him.

"It’s got nothing to do with me. I wish my brothers were out there playing, I wish they were healthy, but that’s a part of the game," Durant said. "We all understand that. We wish they were out there playing, but I know they’re gonna be doing their best to get back on the floor and get healthy as fast as possible, and that’s all that we can hope for."

Whether Durant wants to say it or not, a lot of the offensive burden will likely fall on his skilled back. He's averaging close to 30 points per game in this series and close to five assists as well. No Harden or Irving means the offense will be running through him more than normal, with others like Joe Harris needing to step up.

But Nash doesn't believe these ill-timed injuries leaves Durant out to dry. It takes the entire team to get the job done on Tuesday night in Brooklyn.

"I think you try to stick with our principles and our fundamentals, which is connectivity, competitive spirit, embracing the opportunity and going out there and playing together as a team," he said. "This doesn’t fall on Kevin, this falls on the Nets. We gotta find a way together to play good basketball on both ends of the floor.

"This is what it’s all about in the playoffs. You’re going to have ups and down, you’re going to have momentum shifts. You’re going to have adversity. It’s about how you respond."

Durant holds that exact same mindset.

"We can have as many speeches as we wanna give, but pretty much around this time, every team is just going out there and just playing the game," he explained. "We got a game plan we want to execute, it’s as simple as that. We try not to add too much extras on anything. We all know what this game is about, we all know what this time is. It’s the playoffs.

"I trust in everybody on this team, and we trust in each other."