Kevin Durant on Kyrie Irving: 'We Support Him 100 Percent and Pray for the Best'

Kyrie Irving has missed the last three games because of personal reasons, but his Brooklyn Nets teammate and fellow star Kevin Durant expressed support following Sunday's 129-116 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

"I wouldn't speak for Kyrie; I'll let him do that for himself," Durant said, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. "I'm sure you guys will see him soon after he comes back. We support him 100 percent and pray for the best."

Head coach Steve Nash did not offer a timetable for Irving's potential return but suggested he is not worried about the point guard struggling to reestablish a rhythm when he comes back to the team:

"Right now, I don't [know when he will return]. I'm just focused on the game. I'm trying to get our guys ready to go and make sure we're clear on our game plan tonight. So that's not something I can answer right now. No, I don't worry about Kyrie falling out of rhythm. He's a brilliant basketball player and when he comes back I'm sure it won't take him long to be himself. So you know, whenever he's back, you know, I think he'll be himself relatively quickly. So that's not a concern."

Brooklyn is 1-2 in the last three games without Irving, although Durant returned for Sunday's contest after missing the previous three.

A double-double of 36 points and 11 rebounds from Durant was not enough, as Brooklyn turned the ball over 17 times and struggled to make stops on the defensive side.

OKC shot 54.4 percent from the field and outscored the Nets 37-18 in the third quarter as it seized control on the road. Six Thunder players scored in double figures, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points, seven assists and six rebounds) and Hamidou Diallo (25 points, four assists and four steals).

Perhaps Irving could have helped slow down Gilgeous-Alexander in the point guard battle, but the Nets fell to 5-6 on the season.

While it is still early, Brooklyn is expected to contend for a title out of the Eastern Conference in large part because of the Durant and Irving pairing. Yet it has not established much consistency with them in and out of the lineup.

Next up for the Nets is a Tuesday matchup with the Denver Nuggets.