After five weeks away, James Harden is finally back on the court.

The Brooklyn star was cleared to play Wednesday against San Antonio, his first action since suffering a hamstring strain on April 5 against the Knicks.

Though Harden was on a minutes restriction against the Spurs and being treated with kid gloves, having him back on the floor after he missed 18 straight games — the longest injury absence of his career — was a huge lift for the Nets.

“He’ll be on a minutes restriction. We’ll monitor that and make sure that we can try to mitigate the risk as much as possible as he gets back into play,” coach Steve Nash said. “But that’s the plan, similar to when Kevin [Durant] returned.”

The Nets have insisted that Harden’s health is paramount, and they won’t take any risks with their MVP candidate. But with just two regular-season games left after Wednesday, Harden had said he intends to play “a couple games” before the playoffs start. And with Harden, Durant and Kyrie Irving having logged just 186 minutes together, the Nets need to take every opportunity to build cohesion.

“A little bit of everything. James just wants to play. He wants to get his rhythm and prepare for the playoffs,” Nash said. “For us we can go either way. We support him in that he’s cleared to play and he wants to play. At the same time we’d be really happy [either way].

“But there is importance in him finding his rhythm and his confidence and getting back to playing, and it’s difficult to do that without game time. These are the risks you have to take, and you take a deep breath. He’s done all the work and he’s cleared. He’s done his high-intensity loads and workouts and responded. People smarter than I would say this [is] safe.”

The Nets were 27-7 when Harden played this season and just 11-11 when he didn’t.

Without Harden on the floor, the Nets have a .566 Effective Field Goal percentage and a 117.2 Offensive Rating, according to Basketball Reference, both of which are solid. But with him playing the attack is downright spectacular, those numbers vaulting to .583 and 121.2.

The Nets are banking on Harden’s return to help them continue to build some sort of positive momentum headed into the playoffs, with just three games left on the schedule. Harden simply makes the job easier for everybody around him.

“If you just look at his numbers, just the next time he plays just look at his stat line at the end of the first quarter,” Landry Shamet said. “I feel like every time I look up, he’s got like six assists, or seven assists or something in the first quarter, rebounds, and he’s taken like maybe one or two shots.

“So that’s just who he is: He’s smart, he knows the game, he enjoys that aspect of kind of playing chess and trying to get guys involved early. That’s just who he is. … So, we’re obviously excited to have him back. … He makes it easier for everyone.”

Harden entered Wednesday averaging 25.4 points, 11 assists and 8.7 rebounds.

But with Irving out due to a facial contusion, the Big 3 didn’t get a reunion, and still haven’t played together since a Feb. 13 win in Golden State. Finally getting everybody healthy is all the Nets want out of these last few games.

“Well, first is that everyone remains healthy, or is healthy going into the playoffs — that’s the No. 1 priority. Second, is that they just get a rhythm and confidence with themselves and their game,” Nash said. “And then third, if they can form any sort of cohesion or speed up that process, that’s great, too.

“But we recognize there’s no perfect solution here. They’re not going to be totally formed and cohesive on one or two games. But could it help? Sure. But more than anything, it’s about them continuing to build their level and their confidence and their rhythm going into the playoffs.”