Kenny Atkinson relieved that Kyrie Irving wasn't hurt worse
Nets guard Kyrie Irving lies on the court after he was injured during the second half against the Wizards on Saturday in Washington. Credit: AP/Nick Wass
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson was still exhaling on Monday about the relative good news regarding the knee injury Kyrie Irving suffered on Saturday.
“After watching it — it was quite a fall,” Atkinson said before the Nets hosted the Suns at Barclays Center. “So we dodged a bullet. Obviously, you want him for every game. But considering the fall he took, I think we really dodged a bullet there.”
Irving suffered the injury in a collision with Wizards guard Bradley Beal midway through the fourth quarter in Washington. An MRI taken Sunday confirmed that Irving suffered a sprained medial ligament in his right knee. The team said he will be re-evaluated in one week.
Monday’s game was the 29th Irving has missed this season. Twenty-six were because of a right shoulder impingement. The Nets have four more games before the All-Star break.
In 20 games, Irving is averaging 27.4 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds in 32.9 minutes. He played 28:38 and scored a season-low 11 points in the loss at Washington after scoring a season-high 54 against Chicago the previous night.
With Irving out, Atkinson moved Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert into the starting lineup and brought Garrett Temple off the bench.
Harris to defend crown. Joe Harris announced that he has accepted an invitation to defend his three-point shooting contest title at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago.
“He certainly didn’t ask me,” Atkinson joked when asked if he would prefer that Harris get some rest. “No, Joe’s a competitor. Joe would go down to the Y if you told him there was a pickup game or a three-point shooting contest. I don’t think any of us would dare hold him back. It was such a joy, such a big positive for our organization, too. Really hope he wins it again. He’s more than capable.”
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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