#Kevin Durant on track to return Thursday against Heat

The Nets hope Tuesday’s loss in Toronto was the last game they have to play without Kevin Durant for awhile.

Durant is still on pace to return from his sprained left MCL, possibly as soon as Thursday at Barclays Center against the visiting Miami.

Before entering health and safety protocols, Steve Nash said he expected Durant back either against the Heat or three days later in Boston. And before taking on the Raptors, assistant Jacque Vaughn reiterated Durant is still on schedule.

“Yeah, the Steve update that he gave you guys, he did not tell me anything differently,” Vaughn said. “And so the last update he gave the group, we’re going to continue to abide by that.”

The Nets were 27-15 (.643) and second in the Eastern Conference (sixth in the league) when Durant went down. In his absence from Jan. 16, they were just 5-16 (.250) after Tuesday’s 109-108 loss to the Raptors.

Nash can clear health and safety protocols if he records two negative tests 24 hours apart. He is believed to be asymptomatic and feeling well.

“Yeah, I got a chance to talk to him again [Monday] night and a few times [Tuesday] checking on him. He’s doing good both physically and personally he’s just bummed that he can’t be with us,” Vaughn said. “I don’t know any specifics. Like I said, when I talked to him, he was in good spirits. He didn’t intimate any other symptoms. But overall, he was feeling OK.”

Cam Thomas (left hand sprain) suited up Tuesday despite being questionable before the game. But center Andre Drummond (left knee soreness), who’d also been questionable, was held out.

“Yeah nothing serious, just precautionary on our part and especially with a back-to-back so just being safe, precautionary for the long haul,” Vaughn said. He wouldn’t commit to Drummond playing Thursday, but it seems feasible if not downright likely.“I’ll leave that to our performance staff. I think overall, we took the approach tonight just be precautionary. And so hopefully as we can get back home he responds well to treatment.”

Thomas finished with 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting in 18 minutes.

Drummond ranks first in the league in rebound percentage (.232) and defensive rebound percentage (.322), and second only to Steven Adams in offensive rebound percentage (.145).The veteran center leads the Nets in plus-minus (+22), Net Rating (7.8) offensive, defensive and total rebounds since debuting Feb. 14.

The Nets started Patty Mills, Seth Curry, Bruce Brown, James Johnson and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Nets’ 35th different starting lineup of the season.

Patty Mills in a funk, averaging .262 shooting and a minus-8.1 (worst among the Nets regulars) in his previous nine games coming into Tuesday. He scored just eight points on 3-of-7 shooting and was a minus-nine in 32 minutes against the Raptors.Before that skid, he’d been posting .436 shooting and a plus-3.0.