Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving hung 40 points on the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, but he will not play in the second leg of the team's back-to-back Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns.

The Nets announced Irving would be out with lower back tightness.

Brooklyn will be without two members of the Big 3 as they prepare to challenge the Suns.

Irving will join Kevin Durant—who did not play Monday—on the sidelines, with Durant prepared to miss his second consecutive game with a hamstring injury.

The onus will be on James Harden to be the team's do-it-all offensive playmaker Tuesday night, a mantle he had been glad to shed after coming to the Nets from the Houston Rockets.

Indeed, Harden has been more of a facilitator in Brooklyn. He is averaging 11.8 assists in 15 games with the Nets, including 30 dimes combined in the team's last two games. But it could be difficult for Harden to control the tempo against a Suns team that has been stingy on the defensive end of the floor.

Phoenix ranks fourth in defensive scoring and fifth in defensive rating, seemingly bolstered by the arrival of Chris Paul. The Suns are also allowing just 21.8 assists per game—the best mark in the NBA.

Perhaps ball movement would not be an issue for Brooklyn if all three of their shot-creators were available. But the Nets will have to find buckets, and they could be hard-pressed to do so without Irving or Durant in the rotation.