When the injured Seth Curry had to sit on the bench and watch alongside everybody else as Kevin Durant got double- and even triple-teamed was a stark lesson in how other NBA teams could — and should — play the Nets when Curry is off the floor.

Curry’s winning return Friday night underscored his importance over the rest of the season. He drove that point home with every point he scored in the Nets’ comeback win over the Trail Blazers at Barclays Center.

“Watching the last few games, the way they’re guarding [Durant], sending two, three people at him no matter where he is on the floor,” was tough, Curry said. “It’s my job to step on the floor, be aggressive, knock down shots. And like I said, just try to create space for him, make the game easier for him. Just keep the game simple.

“You shouldn’t be able to run two, three guys at a player the entire game without having to pay for it. We did a good job of taking advantage of it [Friday].”

Curry came back Friday after sitting out the previous three games with a sore left ankle that he’ll likely be dealing with all season. And when the Mavericks were in Wednesday, they took full advantage of both Kyrie Irving, who is unvaccinated and unavailable at home, and Curry being sidelined.

Durant faced constant double-teams any time he got the ball across half court, sometimes even getting blitzed by a third defender. The result was a Nets loss as a frustrated Durant was held to 40.0 percent shooting, his worst since Nov. 30.

In his return Friday, Curry ensured that didn’t happen again.

The most accurate active 3-pointer shooter in the NBA, Curry’s gravity spaced the floor and made sure the Trail Blazers couldn’t double Durant with impunity. And Curry punished them when they did.

In his most potent scoring performance as a Net, Curry had a season-high 27 points on 9-for-14 shooting, including white-hot 7-for-11 from behind the arc.

“It was huge … he had 27, 9-for-14, efficient from all angles on the floor,” Durant said. “We needed that, and it was good to see him back out there. Missed a few games with that ankle, but I’m glad it’s getting better and he’s able to come out here and play. And we needed all those points.”

That same could be said ever since the Nets acquired Curry from Philadelphia at the Feb. 10 trade deadline. His plus-50 since that point trails only Durant and Irving on the Nets.

It’s unclear if Ben Simmons, the centerpiece of the deal with the 76ers, will suit up at all in the regular season. But Curry is averaging 16.8 points with the Nets, and hitting 47.6 percent from 3-point range.

“He’s just a really good NBA player,” coach Steve Nash said. “He’s an elite shooter who can score off the bounce, can handle in pick-and-roll, and has a high IQ. He adds a lot to our team. Obviously, we needed all of his points.”

Curry’s career .4392 percentage from deep is third-best all time, and just edges injured teammate Joe Harris (.4390) for the best among all active players. And that kind of elite floor spacing transforms the Nets’ offense when he plays.

Without Curry on the floor, the Nets entered Saturday with an offensive rating (113.5) that was tied for seventh in the league and an effective field-goal percentage (.533) that was tied for 13th. Their 119.3 and .567 marks with Curry playing were both runaway leaders.

Curry is under contract for $8.6 million for next season, and extension eligible, so it’s hard to overstate how important he is to the Nets right now.

With Irving only eligible for three more games this regular season, keeping Curry on the floor is even more vital. Though he has suffered ankle pain since before his arrival in Brooklyn, and he logged 38 minutes on Friday, Curry insisted he can muddle through.

“I was dealing with it probably a month before the trade. It’s been a while. It’s something I’m just going to have to manage and deal with until the offseason,” Curry said. “It’s not something that’s going to go away. So as long as it’s not getting worse, I should be good.”