Nets' Kevin Durant on Turnovers: 'Every Night I'm Guarded' by 5 Guys; Get Used to TOs

Kevin Durant had six turnovers in Tuesday's 108-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center, and he had a pretty simple explanation as to why he had so many giveaways.

"Every night I’m guarded by five players, so I’m going to turn the ball over," Durant told reporters after the loss. "I’m trying to be aggressive and trying to create stuff. The whole team is going to guard me throughout the whole season, so get used to my turnovers.”

Aside from the turnovers, Durant also notched 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocks in a loss that dropped Brooklyn to 2-6 on the season. He entered the game averaging 3.4 turnovers this season.

For comparison, Durant has never averaged more than 3.8 turnovers per game in his NBA career. That came in 2011-12 when he was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 34-year-old didn't get much else from his other superstar teammate, Kyrie Irving, on Tuesday night. Irving finished with just four points, six rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes in an uninspired performance.

Tuesday's game marked Brooklyn's first without Steve Nash, who was fired and replaced with interim head coach Jacque Vaughn. Firing Nash could have reinvigorated the squad, but it did anything but as the defense continues to struggle mightily.

Durant added after the game that he enjoyed working with Nash despite the ups-and-downs.

"Let's be real. We're pros. We're veterans," Durant told reporters. "We had a tough start ... We knew that everybody was being evaluated. That's just how it is in the league. I liked working with Steve."

The Nets have the NBA's third-worst defensive rating at 118.3, and unless the defense tightens up, it's hard to imagine Brooklyn competing with some of the Eastern Conference's top teams, such as the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brooklyn will look to turn things around against the Washington Wizards on Friday before facing the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.