Andrei Kirilenko suffers back spasms
Washington Wizards forward Martell Webster, right, fouls Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko during the first half. (Nov. 8, 2013) Credit: AP
As some of his teammates were out on the court preparing for Saturday night's game against the Pacers, Andrei Kirilenko was headed to a different place: home.
Kirilenko didn't play because of back spasms, an injury that flared up Saturday morning, according to Nets coach Jason Kidd. Kirilenko saw 12:47 of action in Friday night's 112-108 overtime loss in Washington but never got into the game after halftime.
"Yeah, this morning when he woke up, [he had] back spasms," Kidd said. "So we'll see how he feels as it goes on."
Back spasms forced Kirilenko to miss the Nets' final five preseason games and their season opener against the Cavaliers in Cleveland. He played in the team's next four games before missing Saturday night's contest. Asked on his way out of the building if he's going to be all right, Kirilenko said he will be.
He could benefit from a break in the Nets' schedule. They don't play again until Wednesday in Sacramento, giving him five days between games.
The Nets recalled Tornike Shengelia from their D-League affiliate in Springfield, Mass., to serve as an extra body.
Kidd fine with KGKevin Garnett was shooting only 30.4 percent from the field entering Saturday night's game. He made only 14 of his first 46 attempts, going 9-for-22 on shots from 15 to 19 feet, before shooting 3-for-7 against the Pacers.
Kidd insists he's not at all concerned about his 37-year-old starting power forward.
"They are great looks," he said. "The game of basketball is about making shots. You are not going to make every shot. We encourage the shots that he's taking. They are wide open and he's getting great looks. Some nights they go in and some nights they don't."
Net-cetera
Only once in their NBA history have the Nets knocked off the league's last unbeaten team. That came Nov. 21, 1982, when they took down the 12-0 SuperSonics behind Buck Williams' 23 points. With their 96-91 win over the Nets, the Pacers moved to 7-0.
