The Brooklyn Nets are resting nearly their entire rotation Saturday against Indiana on the back end of a back-to-back.

Eight Nets were ruled out for the matchup with the Pacers: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Joe Harris, Royce O'Neale, Seth Curry, and T.J. Warren. The game comes as a much-needed rest night for a Brooklyn team managing several injuries early in the season.

Saturday will mark Durant's first absence of the season. The 34-year-old is leading the league in minutes while often carrying the load as Brooklyn's lone go-to scorer. Head coach Jacque Vaughn emphasized the importance of getting Durant rest earlier this week.

“Yeah, it’s priority number one in all honesty,” Vaughn said of scaling Durant’s minutes back. “We looked at the short-term and long-term piece of it. There is vision going ahead of hopefully getting some of those minutes down.”

Royce O'Neale is not far behind Durant in minutes, ranking second in the league while starting every game for the Nets. The wing has struggled over his last seven games, shooting 15 of 53 (28.3 percent) from the field and 10 of 34 (29.4 percent) from three.

“It definitely is a part of the workload, I will attest to that,” Vaughn said of O'Neale's struggles. “Just cumulative games and minutes he’s played and what we’ve asked him to do. Whether that’s guard the best player out there, whether it’s initiate our offense at times, whether it’s rebound the basketball. He’s kind of that bucket that we talked about earlier with the guys who do need some time off and reduced minutes. He’s definitely on the list.”

Irving will miss his first game since returning from an eight-game suspension earlier this season. The fourth-year Net has steadily improved since returning, averaging 24.2 points on 51.7 percent shooting in eleven games. Irving turned in two of his best performances of the season this week for the Nets, scoring 33 points on 25 of 45 (55.6 percent) shooting in Brooklyn's last two games.

Simmons returned from a four-game absence Friday vs. Atlanta. The three-time All-Star posted 6 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in the win while playing on a minutes restriction. Simmons has dealt with several injuries after a year-long layoff. The 26-year-old underwent offseason back surgery and missed four games earlier this season with soreness in his left knee before suffering a calf strain in the same leg.

Nic Claxton missed his second game of the season Friday with hamstring tightness. Vaughn said he did not anticipate the injury becoming a long-term issue. Harris, Curry and Warren are all returning from injuries to lower extremities. Brooklyn has managed Harris and Curry after both underwent offseason ankle surgeries.

Warren appeared in his first game of the season last week after missing the last two seasons with a stress fracture in his left foot. The forward has provided a much-needed scoring punch off the bench for the Nets since returning, posting 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting in Friday's win.

Yuta Watanabe will make his return Saturday after missing Brooklyn's last 10 games with hamstring tightness. Watanabe had been one of the surprise stories of the season while leading the league in three-point percentage (57.1) prior to the extended absence.

The Nets will have nine available players against Indiana. Edmond Sumner, Cam Thomas, Patty Mills, Markieff Morris, Day'Ron Sharpe and Watanabe have all received extended minutes in Brooklyn's rotation at points this season. David Duke Jr., Kessler Edwards, and Alondes Williams will round out the rotation.

Brooklyn comes into Saturday's game with sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference after winning nine of their last 12. The recent hot streak has the Nets at 15-12 after a 1-5 start.