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Kevin Durant injures his right knee after a collision with Jimmy Butler (0:29)

Jimmy and Kevin collide on the play and Kevin goes off the field with a knee injury. There is a 0:29

8:08 PM ET

Kevin was hurt in the third quarter of the Nets' victory over the Heat. He is going to have an exam on Monday.

The injury occurred with 1:05 left in the third quarter when the Nets' Ben Simmons blocked the shot of the Heat's Jimmy butler. KD stayed on the ground for a few moments but remained in the game after he was felled by a teammate.

When the Nets took a timeout about 30 seconds later, he had to be taken out because he was rubbing his knee up and down. After walking back to the locker room, he did not come back.

I was close to it. Nets guard Kyrie Irving said those plays are frightening. I'm thankful that his body was able to save him when he wasn't looking at what was happening.

The Nets, who have now won 18 of their last 20 games, were trying to be positive about the injury.

Irving said that he was in good spirits. Our strength is that we pick each other up. Being prepared for whatever comes our way. Our bench and the way we support each other is one of the greatest qualities of our team. It's time to go out and demonstrate that until we know when K will be back. We need to be mature about it.

This isn't the first time that Durant and the Nets have dealt with a knee issue. He had to miss over 112 months while recovering from an injury to his left knee. The Nets went on an 11-game losing streak while he was out and were 5-17 in his absence.

When Zaza Pachulia accidentally fell into his knee while playing for the Golden State Warriors, he missed over a month.

Everything will change for the Nets if they have to play without KD for a period of time.

Nets guard Joe Harris said that he's been an elite rim protectors this year. The best players are guarded by him. If he's out, it would be a huge blow for us, but at the same time it presents opportunities for everybody else and we have a lot of depth for reasons like this.

Nets center Nic Claxton thinks everyone will have to step up He and Ky have been out before. Everyone will have to step up a bit and we will be fine. We don't know if he will be available for the next game, but we will adjust and be fine.

After leading the Nets back towards the top of the Eastern Conference after a tumultuous start to the season on and off the floor, Kevin Durant has vaulted himself into theMVP discussion.

The Nets' next game is Thursday at home against the Boston Celtics, but the tenor of their season will be determined by what Monday's test say about KD's knee

Irving said seeing his friend go down made him sad. We know what's at stake with K not in the lineup. It was possible for us to say it every day. We don't have time for excuses and we have to keep moving forward.