Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko leave game early; status unclear for tomorrow

Paul Pierce played just 1-minute and 13 seconds tonight before leaving with a right shoulder injury. Pierce took an elbow from Jason Thompson to an area right under his shoulder that caused him to go back to the locker room. This was the third consecutive game that Pierce left early with a shoulder/neck injury.

The Nets continued to get more banged up as the game progressed. Andrei Kirilenko was ruled out towards the end of the third quarter with a sprained right ankle. Kirilenko said after the game that he initially injured his ankle in the first quarter, but played through it.

Kirilenko said he injured himself in the first quarter and tried to play through it. Stepped on someone's foot. Not sure about tomorrow.

— Rod Boone (@rodboone) March 10, 2014

Kirilenko doesn't believe it will be an issue for long.

Kirilenko said he didn't think it would be a long-term issue, but could linger for a couple days. Unclear about tomorrow.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 10, 2014

As for Pierce, the Nets ruled him out for the rest of the game quite quickly, so his shoulder is probably really bothering him. I wouldn't be surprised if he sat, especially considering how cautious the Nets have been with handling their players' injuries this season. With so much on the line heading into tomorrow's game against the Toronto Raptors, though, who knows how much Jason Kidd will invest into the game.

Saw Pierce, Garnett walking out of the arena postgame. Both looked OK. Could see one or both playing tomorrow, but we'll see if they do.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 10, 2014

Both Kirilenko and Pierce are listed as day-to-day as of now.

• Nets' Pierce leaves game against Kings - AP
• Paul Pierce, Andrei Kirilenko join Kevin Garnett as Nets' walking wounded - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Kirilenko on Brooklyn's performance (Video) - YES Network