Nets' Kevin Durant reflects on win over 76ers, says he has to 'be ready to do anything on the offensive end'

The Nets went on a 16-1 run in the final five minutes to rally from behind on Friday night in Philadelphia, beating the Sixers 114-109 thanks to Kevin Durant's triple-double.

After the win, Durant spoke to reporters about how he came prepared to go up against a tough team like the 76ers, and was proud of how everyone on the team stepped up to contribute to the win.

"I think every game is different, you know how some of these contending teams like Philly will play defensively, they're so versatile defensively," Durant said. "So going into the game I got to just be prepared to do anything. It might not be my night scoring, it might not be my night assisting. So I just got to be ready to do anything on the offensive end. I think I started off scoring for us, but my role tonight I felt was more getting into the paint, making plays, rebounding, and knocking down shots that I have. I wish I would've made a few late, but I felt like I rushed a lot of shots too.

"It was a great team win for us, everybody came and stepped up defensively. LaMarcus [Aldridge] was incredible for us tonight, so happy that he got his legs up under him to get more comfortable. We got to keep building on this."

Durant finished the game with 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists, while Aldridge scored 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench. Guards Patty Mills and Jevon Carter both stepped up on defense, pressuring the Sixers guards throughout the game. Durant credited both of them for contributing to the team win, as Mills logged 30 minutes off the bench and Carter played 23 minutes.

"The league is small now, so we have two guards like Patty and JC that can either get in the paint, shoot the three," Durant said. "Then we have handlers like James [Harden] and myself that can also get into the paint, and then LaMarcus who can roll to the rim or shoot the jump shot. I think just makes us versatile on the offensive side of the ball. But JC and his ball pressure was huge for us, and Patty with his ball pressure as well was huge for us. Those two play well with just about anyone on the team, coach did a good job with sticking with that lineup and we was able to get a good one."

The Nets outscored the Sixers 29-18 in the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the game. Durant spoke about how the Nets adjusted defensively with a smaller lineup to stop center Joel Embiid, holding the MVP candidate to just 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting.

"It's very helpful when we can force a team to shoot over us, or force them to play one-on-one and get rebounds, I think that was huge for us," Durant said. "We were able to force Embiid off the paint a little bit, off the spots a little bit. We were able to get into the passing lanes and just show bodies a little bit more, and then finish it with a rebound, that's all we've been preaching.

"We got to build on this effort. We got a young Charlotte team coming in, young athletic team coming into Barclays, so hopefully we bring that same type of intensity."

The Nets play their home opener on Sunday against LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets at 4:00 p.m.