The Brooklyn Nets set off to Texas for a back-to-back set against the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. In the first bout Kevin Durant and the crew were trailing by as many as 17 points. But Steve Nash and the coaching staff asked the team not to get discouraged at the half. They listened, storming back with a switch-heavy defense and won, 102-99. But the team continued to ask for big minutes out of their superstars.

As usual, Durant and James Harden led the way. KD chipped in a team high 24 points, to go with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, a block and a steal. Harden had 23 points, 12 assists, and 9 boards, in a near triple double.

The Nets were hot, and finished the game shooting over 50 percent from the floor. And while the Nets only shot 30.8 percent from downtown, their surprisingly stifling defense held the Mavs to a lowly 19.6 percent from distance. Luka Doncic had a game high 28 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis doubled over with 17 points and 12 boards, but the Nets did a good job and held him to just 6 of 17 from the floor.

One key stat the Nets have kept track of this season has been rebounding, as they were mashed on the glass in losses earlier in the year. But on Tuesday,  they cleaned the glass winning that battle 50-39.

Brooklyn came in ranked 5th in total assists per game with 25.5, and they didn't do anything to lose their place. They totaled 28 dimes to the Mavs 21.

Here, Patty Mills (10 points, 4 rebounds) records a key dime, playing catch with Durant before the unstoppable fade makes it a 3 point game with a minute to play.

KD played 41 minutes and Harden played 42 for Brooklyn on the evening. The minute totals for Durant in particular have been a big topic of conversation as he is logging his most minutes since 2015-2016. KD ranks 3rd in the entire NBA with 36 minutes per game and Harden isn't far behind, ranked 10th with 35.6. It's not ideal, but without Kyrie Irving around to remove the pressure offensively, they haven't had much choice.

After the contest, Durant got honest about how much he loves to play.

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“I know people may be concerned about my minutes, and I got injured before and all this extra s–t,” said the Nets star. “We'll figure that out if I get there, right now I wanna play basketball. I might pay 48 tomorrow, just cause….”

In some ways it is a rather easy rest spot for Durant, who is 33, as the team is visiting the 7-16 Houston Rockets in their second of a back-to-back. But it certainly won't be easy for Steve Nash to convince his top star to sit one out.

“We don't have the luxury of taking anybody for granted,” said Harden who is set to visit his former team in what should be an emotional game for the former league MVP. “One thing about me and KD we love to play basketball, so it don't matter we can play the whole 48. You know we exhausted, coach wanna-nope, we want to stay in the game. We want to play.”

If Harden and KD had their way, it sounds like they'd both play the entire 48 minute game for the Nets in Houston on Wednesday. Steve Nash will never allow that to happen, and the Rockets young core may appreciate that as much as any of us.