NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets have enough players to fly to Los Angeles and play their Christmas showdown against the Lakers, though Kevin Durant might not be among them.

Coach Steve Nash said Thursday that James Harden has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols, but he said the Nets don’t expect any of their players still in the protocols to come out in time for the game. That would include Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer.

Brooklyn planning to play on Saturday is an obvious positive sign, as was Chicago Coach Billy Donovan announcing after practice Thursday that the Bulls no longer have any players on the protocols list. The Bulls had as many as 10 on that list last week, when the league postponed two of their games.

The Nets have had their last three scheduled games postponed – among the NBA’s nine postponements thus far – when a coronavirus outbreak left them with a league-high 10 players in protocols. Nash said Harden, Paul Millsap and Jevon Carter had cleared protocols, though rookies Cam Thomas, Kessler Edwards and David Duke Jr. have since entered.

Teams need a minimum of eight players to start a game. Nash said the Nets have more than enough to do that.

But it’s unclear if they will have another practice before Saturday. Nash said it’s only in the last day that healthy players have been able to return to the practice facility for individual workouts.

“It’s tricky,” Nash said. “We haven’t been able to do a lot, but we do what we can and we’ll continue to just adapt as the rules and mandates come in.”

By Thursday afternoon, based on team injury reports or similar disclosures, there were 92 players from 22 teams dealing with a virus-related issue – often a positive test, though not always.

The list included stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks, Luka Doncic of the Mavericks and Trae Young of the Hawks. Their teams are all scheduled to be part of the NBA’s five-game holiday schedule.

Later Thursday, the Washington Wizards announced star Bradley Beal would miss that night’s game at the New York Knicks because of health and safety protocols. Beal, who missed out on the chance to play in the Olympics last year after testing positive, said before this season he was unvaccinated.

The Detroit Pistons said on Thursday evening they had added four players to the protocols, where they joined rookie Cade Cunningham, the team’s leading scorer.

It is important to note that players can enter and exit the health and safety protocols list quickly in some cases, some teams do not release updated numbers except when mandated by league rule, and not everyone on the list has tested positive for COVID-19.

Also important: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this week in an interview with ESPN that positive-testing players who have received booster shots tend to show, at worst, very mild symptoms. The league says 97% of players are fully vaccinated; the National Basketball Players Association says 65% are boosted, and it is a top priority of the union right now to get that number much higher.

Meanwhile, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said the NBA and the NBPA are continuing discussions on whether to change the current protocols about returning to play after a positive test – something that typically has taken 10 days or more in most cases. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because nothing had been finalized.

Durant was placed in protocols last Saturday along with Kyrie Irving, a day after the Nets said they were bringing the point guard back to play in road games. There’s still time for him to return two negative tests 24 hours apart to be cleared, though Nash said the Nets weren’t expecting that.

With the Lakers’ Anthony Davis already sidelined because of a sprained left knee, Durant’s absence would remove another superstar from what was expected to be one of the marquee games of the regular season when it was scheduled.

The Nets have the best record in the Eastern Conference, but Nash said it’s going to be difficult to pick up where they left off after not playing for a week.

“We’re one of the few teams around that league that’s had a pause, so to jump back into the rhythm of the league is a difficult task,” he said. “But we have to approach it with excitement and opportunity, and also not put too much pressure on ourselves to re-enter.”

Besides Durant, Nets starters LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre’ Bembry remain in the protocols, along with Bruce Brown, James Johnson and rookie Day’Ron Sharpe. Nash said all of the players were experiencing nothing more than mild symptoms.

Teams are being allowed to sign players to replace those sidelined by positive tests, and at least 40 such hardship contracts – which won’t count against a team’s salary cap or luxury tax numbers – have been executed in the last few days. Some of the players are relative unknowns or new to the league; others, like Boston’s Joe Johnson, Atlanta’s Lance Stephenson and the Lakers’ Isaiah Thomas, have largely been out of the league for years. Johnson, 40, played on Wednesday, his first NBA game since 2018. Stephenson also debuted for the Hawks on Wednesday, his first NBA game since 2019.

BULLS: Chicago used the NBA’s COVID-19-related hardship allowance to sign veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova and guard Mac McClung to 10-day contracts.

The 6-foot-9 Ilyasova has career averages of 10.1 points and 5.6 rebounds over 825 NBA games. He appeared in 17 games with Utah last season, averaging 3.8 points.

McClung, who turns 23 on Jan. 6, is looking for his NBA debut. He started 13 games for the G League’s South Bay Lakers this season, averaging 19.6 points and 5.9 assists.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

PELICANS 110, MAGIC 104: Brandon Ingram scored 31 points, Josh Hart hit two clutch 3-pointers in the second half to thwart an Orlando rally, and visiting New Orleans got its fourth straight victory.

Hart scored 22 points and hit two straight 3s after Orlando had climbed within 93-90 with 5 minutes remaining. Devonte Graham added 20 points and five 3-pointers for the Pelicans. Ingram hit 12 of 23 shots and topped 30 points for the fifth time this season.

Cole Anthony returned after missing three games because of a sprained ankle to score 22 points for the Magic, who also got 22 points from Gary Harris.

HAWKS 98, 76ERS 96: Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 10 of his 15 points in the final 3:44, leading short-handed Atlanta to a win at Philadelphia.

Joel Embiid missed a 21-footer at the horn in one of the Sixers’ worst regular-season losses in Coach Doc Rivers’ two seasons.

The Hawks were without seven players because of health and safety protocols and lost two others to injuries – Cam Reddish sprained his right ankle and Delon Wright sprained his left ankle.

PACERS 118, ROCKETS 106: Myles Turner had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Caris LeVert had 24 points and 11 assists, and Indiana beat visiting Houston.

Christian Wood scored 22 points for Houston, and Jalen Green added 20 in his return after missing nearly a month because of a strained hamstring.

HEAT 115, PISTONS 112: Tyler Herro scored 29 points, Max Strus added 26 and Miami rallied at home to beat short-handed Detroit.

Trey Lyles scored a career-high 28 points for the Pistons.

WIZARDS 124, KNICKS 117: Washington withstood a 44-point effort from Kemba Walker and a fourth-quarter rally from the Knicks, holding on for a win at New York.

Spencer Dinwiddie had 21 points and 12 assists to lead the Wizards.

BUCKS 102, MAVERICKS 95: Khris Middleton scored 26 points and Milwaukee won at Dallas.

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