The Portland Trail Blazers’ newfound passion for defense will face a huge challenge in Brooklyn on Friday. Or will he do it?

The Nets sport the seventh offense (119) and took advantage of Kevin Durant’s recent comeback after a calf injury. He scored 42 points Thursday night in a 130-113 victory at Indiana. Kyrie Irving, however, did not play due to groin pain.

James Harden, who remains out with a hamstring injury, led the Nets to a 116-112 victory in Portland on March 23 without Irving or Durant. Harden did not shoot well (7 of 24) but finished the game with 25 points and 17 assists.

There’s a chance Durant won’t play against the Blazers on Friday given he’s second in a back-to-back and the Nets have been careful with him this season. If he doesn’t play and Irving and Harden don’t return either, the Blazers would be in a good position to clinch their third straight win.

Nets coach Steve Nash told reporters Thursday he believes Irving could come back against the Blazers, but maybe Durant not.

“I would say my vote would be likely if Kevin doesn’t play the second game in a row,” Nash said.

It doesn’t matter this season which Nets stars were in the roster. Durant missed 36 games. Irving missed 17. Harden, acquired from Houston, missed 29 games for the Nets. Yet they have the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Regardless of Brooklyn’s lineup, the best route to victory for the Blazers might be to take advantage of Brooklyn’s defense, ranked 24 (114.4).

List of climbs CJ MCCOLLUM

McCollum led the Blazers with 26 points in Wednesday’s win at Memphis. His points total left him eighth on the Blazers’ career scoring list with 9,745 points. He is ahead of Geoff Petrie (9,732).

BLAZERS TRAIL AT BROOKLYN NETS

What: Trail Blazers (34-28) at Nets (43-20), 5 p.m., Friday.

Or: Barclays Center, Brooklyn.

TV channel: NBC Sports Northwest (in Portland: Comcast 37/737).

Radio: Rip City Radio (KPOJ 620 AM)

How to watch the live stream online: You can watch this game live with the connection of your cable provider, or you can watch the match live for FREE with FuboTV (free try). If you already have a cable plan, you can watch the game live on NBC Sports NW with the connection information from your cable provider.

CHANCES

Broadcast: Nets by 1.5 | Total: 241.5

Moneyline: Blazers (+100) | Nets (-122).

INJURIES

Blazers: F / C Zach collins (left ankle stress fracture) came out.

Nets: g James harden (hamstrings) goes on and on. More information is expected to be released on Friday.

FOLLOWING (Blazers schedule)

The Blazers play in Boston at 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Celtics (33-30) on April 13 won 116-115 in Portland. The Blazers then play at 5 p.m. Monday in Atlanta (34-29).

– Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).

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