Thaddeus Young out vs. Lakers

haddeus Young will miss his second straight game Sunday vs. the Lakers with a strained left knee, the Nets announced at Saturday's practice. Lionel Hollins did not say if he would stick with the starting lineup that helped beat that Cavaliers, but said he would be playing Earl Clark.

#Nets Lionel Hollins re: Earl Clark: "We got him because Thaddeus is hurt & we wanted a more experienced guy...so he’s going to play."

— Fred Kerber (@FredKerber) March 28, 2015

Deron Williams didn't practice because of an unspecified illness. No word on his status.

Against the Cavaliers, Hollins started Mason Plumlee in place of Young and gave Clark 11 minutes. Young sustained the knee injury Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets, and it was later diagnosed as a hyperextended knee by Nets team doctors. X-rays were negative, but Young underwent further tests Thursday, which showed the strain in his knee. Young was immediately ruled out of the Cavs game but had been doubtful for the Lakers.

The practice also featured word that Brook Lopez had joined his brother in the war on mascots. Three nights ago, in Charlotte, Brook felt dissed by Hugo the Hornets mascot and reacted like a Lopez brother should.

Asked about it, here's what Brook told beat writers...

Brook Lopez said altercation w Hugo the Hornet inspired 34 pts in Cha:"It was definitely motivating.He might have brought that on the team."

— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) March 28, 2015

More Brook on dust-up w Hugo the Hornet:"I’d been getting along with him so well, too...but he brought out the Robin Lopez in me, for sure."

— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) March 28, 2015

Lopez also said the Nets never thought they were out of the playoff race.

"As bad as it got in the lowest points, we still were in the race.It was just baffling to us, crazy."  The Nets go into Saturday night a half-game out of the eighth and final spot.

• Nets hope to cash in on momentum - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Nets keep even keel as they crawl back into playoff race - Mitch Abramson - New York Daily News
• Good luck figuring out these up-and-down Nets - Fred Kerber - New York Post