OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant participated in a full practice session Friday and said he's "excited to go out there" and make his return after missing the last five weeks with a knee injury.
"Today was one of those days where I went out there and played, and practiced with the guys and I felt normal," said Durant, who will return to the Golden State Warriors' lineup Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans. "I've been waiting for that feeling for a couple of weeks now."
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after consulting with the training staff, there will not be a minutes restriction placed Durant since his knee is completely healed.
"If he gets fatigued, then I'm going to take him out," Kerr said.
The team conducted a scrimmage for the first time in a month in order to get Durant a good run leading up to his return, and Kerr said his All-Star forward "looked good."
Durant said at times during his rehabilitation that he nearly went "over the deep end" with not being able to play. He credited the training staff, coaching staff and his teammates for keeping him sane.
"I play basketball for a living," he said. "That's what I've been doing my whole life. If somebody takes your job away, something happens and you can't be able to do what you want to do every single day, sometimes your patience runs thin a little bit.
"Obviously I wanted to be out there playing. That's my favorite thing to do, to play basketball. So to be away, it was different. It was tough, but I looked at the big picture man and I figured at some point I'll get better. So, that day is here and I'm thankful." According to those close to Durant, he is ahead of schedule but he insists that he's not rushing back.
"If I had to wait until the playoffs, I would have waited," he said. "At some point, I would just have to throw myself in the fire. It doesn't matter if it's the regular season or playoffs. It's still basketball. Guys are still out there competing. No matter if it's the 80th game or the first game of the playoffs."
Durant is tied for the team lead in points (25.3), and is the top rebounder (8.1) and shot blocker (1.6) for the club. Prior to him going down on Feb. 28, the Warriors were defeating opponents by an average of 12.5 points. That's the best rate in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The Warriors have three games remaining on the schedule. They are winners of 13 straight and have clinched the best record in the NBA, securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
"It's perfect for him to get three games before the playoffs start to get his conditioning, his timing, his rhythm," Kerr said. "It's good for our team because we can blend rest and rhythm."
Warriors star guard Stephen Curry is listed doubtful for Saturday's game with a left knee contusion, but Durant is not concerned about accumulating reps with the two-time MVP before postseason play.
"I played 58 games with Steph. That's a lot of games. I just didn't get here yesterday," Durant said. "I've been here the whole season. I just happen to miss 20 games. I know a lot of people may seem like I just go there but I've been here the whole year and we've been playing well the whole season."
No one knows how long it will take for Durant to regain his mid-season form, but he was adamant that he's not going to hold anything back on Saturday.
"I'm just going to go out there and be me," Durant said. "I can't think about how I'll feel because I'll end up holding back. I just want to go out there full throttle and see what happens."