Paul Pierce, Andrei Kirilenko join Kevin Garnett as Nets' walking wounded
Paul Pierce leaves a game early in the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Barclays Center on Sunday, Mar. 9, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Add Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko to the Nets' list of injury concerns.
On a night when Kevin Garnett missed his fifth straight game because of back spasms, Pierce left the floor with a shoulder injury just 1:13 into the Nets' 104-89 win over the Kings Sunday night and never returned. Kirilenko sat out the bulk of the second half with a sprained right ankle, putting the status of both in jeopardy for Monday night's big game against the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors.
"They're both day-to-day," coach Jason Kidd said. "So we'll see how they are [Monday].''
Pierce took a hard hit by Jason Thompson on his shoulder, and after a quick timeout, he went back to the locker room to get examined.
Kirilenko said he stepped on Deron Williams' ankle in the first quarter, felt something and initially believed he could play through it.
"I thought I could keep going, but obviously the injury stopped me," said Kirilenko, who was unsure if he'll be able to go against the Raptors. "I don't think it's a serious injury, but it's still tweaked. I still want to take care of it. I assume it's going to be a couple of days."
Pierce didn't stick around to discuss his injury. He said last week that he's been dealing with the problem for a while now and that it's something that's been cropping up more recently. "It's just a little stinger," Pierce said after Friday's loss in Boston. "Like [Wednesday] night, it's been a problem for me the last few years. It's weak right now. Whenever I get hit in that shoulder, I guess the constant years of banging, especially now that I'm playing the 'four' now."
Reggie returns
Probably no one was happier than Reggie Evans when the Kings' charter plane touched down in the wee hours Saturday morning.
"As soon as we got in from Toronto, I went home ASAP," Evans said. "I ain't looking at the hotel room."
Evans was a fan favorite in Brooklyn and received cheers when he checked into the game early in the second quarter. But he still isn't sweating the trade that sent him to Sacramento along with Jason Terry for Marcus Thornton. However, there's one aspect of the trade that's difficult for Evans to cope with: not being able to see his children all that often. "That's the harder part about it, knowing I've got four kids," Evans said. "I'm into my kids' life, hard. Real hard . . . So that's hard."
