Kevin Durant dribbled the ball 377 times in Game 3, about 240 more dribbles than he averaged per game for the season, according to data from SportVU.

Durant played the first game since his rookie season without Russell Westbrook on Saturday.

Durant touched the ball 111 times in the game, almost double his season average.

The front office of the Chicago Bulls supports Tom Thibodeau’s philosophy of doling out big minutes to star players.

Luol Deng leads the NBA with an average of 38.7 minutes a game while Joakim Noah (36.8) is also over 35 minutes a game. Derrick Rose, likely out for the season while recovering from a torn ACL, also has been near the top of the leaderboard in minutes played.

Gar Forman said the Bulls have an analytics department and that minutes played in correlation with injuries is studied.

‘‘It’s hard to generalize,’’ Forman said. ‘‘Different players’ minutes will affect [things in] different ways, so it’s hard to generalize that assumption in whole. We have studied that. I mean, different body types, different years, how many years you’ve played, the age, all those things are factored in.’’

Forman is fully behind how Thibodeau hands out playing time.

‘‘In our scenario, Tom paces the team throughout the year, and we think he does a good job at that,’’ Forman said.

Thibodeau has heard the complaints that he relies on his stars too much.

‘‘What people have to understand is it all depends on where you are with your team, whether you’re a young team or an old team,” Thibodeau said. “How you pace your team is important. . . . I mean, if you look at Tim Duncan, everybody talks about him now, but when he was younger, he was playing 41 minutes a game. You look at [Michael] Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen, they were big-minutes guys. That was always intended in Phil [Jackson’s] coaching — to always keep two of his three best players on the court at all times. Each team is different.’’

Andrew Bogut and Carl Landry played just 53 minutes together during the regular season, which is a low output for two of the Golden State Warriors' top seven players.

Landry's success this season has come when paired with David Lee, who is out for the season with a torn hip flexor.

Bogut was limited by injury, but the fact that the Warriors held him and Landry to just 53 minutes nevertheless is a clear indication they concede the pairing is far from optimal.

Landry will likely assume a bigger role for the Warriors with Lee out.

Jeremy Lin's numbers were approximately the same this season as they were last season, but he was unable to duplicate his three-week 'Linsanity' streak.

Lin signed a three-year, $25.1 million contract with the Houston Rockets in the offseason that the New York Knicks declined to match.

“It seems like everybody’s perception of me is very bipolar,” Lin said. “To one group, it’s overpaid, overrated; to another group, it’s underpaid, underrated, underdog. It’s funny to me because there’s no real balance. Why can’t I just be a young player who’s shown some potential and has a lot of learning to do?”

Rajon Rondo is taking on the role of a de facto coach for the Boston Celtics as he is out for the season with a torn ACL.

"He probably coaches as much as anybody," said Doc Rivers. "I don't know if it helps, I think it does. As a player you tend to listen to the players in the uniforms over the suits and ties. So we'll see. He was great today in shootaround. He knew every set the Knicks were running. When we called out a set to talk through it, he was pointing where everybody should be."

"It's amazing. He's always been that way. He's not playing and yet he studied the book."

Rivers has always spoken highly of Rondo's basketball intelligence.

"He's always been on another level," said Rivers. "I always tell him that if he wasn't so crazy he'd be a great coach."

With one game remaining, Stephen Curry is just two three-pointers shy of breaking Ray Allen's single-season record of 269 made threes.

"He should be done with that by the end of the first quarter," Jarrett Jack said.

Curry is shooting 45.5 percent on three-pointers and is averaging almost 3.5 baskets from long range over the 77 games he has played.

"I don't know who second place is for the best shooter in the world," Mark Jackson said. "But he certainly has first place tied up."

Curry admits he wants Allen's record. The biggest challenge against the Portland Trail Blazers, he said, might be just trying not to think about the mark every time he shoots.

"You just hope it happens. Obviously, I know about it," Curry said. "You just try to play your game, and obviously shooting the ball is a part of it. I'm not going to force it. But it'd be nice to do it."

Doc Rivers was asked if he plans on leaving Jeff Green in the starting lineup when Kevin Garnett returns.

 “Yeah, I think Jeff has earned that,” Rivers said. “When your confidence is high you can do everything. You think you can jump off of a building. That, and knowledge. I just think being around longer in our system has helped us as well.”

Green has started 11 games for the Celtics this season and averaged 22.5 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game in those contests.

Green has played well alongside Paul Pierce, giving the Celtics an interchangeable combination at the forward positions.

“I don’t know who’s at the 2, but I’m comfortable with that lineup,” Rivers said. “I don’t think we have a 2. We’re playing a 2, two 3s and two 4s, if you wanted to really be honest.”