TORONTO — Kris Humphries played for the Raptors for a while and still has his fans.
But that didn’t stop the joint from booing.
“All I heard was ‘I love you. I love you. I love you,’ ” joked Humphries who grabbed a season-high-tying 16 rebounds (nine offensive) in the Nets’ 97-85 victory after sitting two games with a sprained left shoulder. “No, I know I still got some fans here in Toronto, so I always like coming back here.”
They couldn’t have been too happy to see him though, the way he dominated the glass. And obviously, the shoulder felt fine.
“I don’t know, those free throws,” Humphries said with a smile, referring to his 2-of-6 foul line showing. “I felt pretty good out there. Timing felt a little off offensively. But I was able to play hard and get rebounds, which is my primary focus out there anyway. So it worked out.”
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The latest Nets’ AMA News:
Damion James, who started the first seven games for the Nets at small forward, is set for an MRI exam today. He said the latest right foot injury not related to break from last year and stressed that this injury, though affecting the same foot, is not related to the break he suffered last season. And James is hopeful he won’t miss significant time.
“I don’t think so [but] I sprained it pretty bad,” said James, the only Net who had started all of the first seven games. “Last year, I couldn’t move my toes. I got motion in my toes, I just can’t explode.”
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MarShon Brooks was scratched before game time.
“I tried to go, but couldn’t,” Brooks said.
Ironically, last night was supposed to be Brooks’ first start of his career. But circumstance (Deron Williams’ injury) forced the move up to Wednesday in Boston.
“This is a weird and whacky year,” coach Avery Johnson said. “This is the game we had circled on our calendar as a coaching staff to start MarShon Brooks and then we were forced to start him a game earlier.”
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Anthony Morrow started for Brooks, and DeShawn Stevenson made first start, for James. That gave Nets their fifth different starting lineup in eight games.
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Deron Williams really wants to see Dwyane Wade and LeBron James on the floor for Miami when the Nets play the Heat in Newark tonight.
Hearing that, you might also figure he likes the smell of low tide and the sensation of electric currents through his body.
“I like playing against them,” Williams said. “I don’t want to beat a team when they’re down. I like when everybody’s out there. Hopefully, those guys play. We’ll see where we’re at.”
But Miami could be without James and Wade, which was little consolation to Johnson.
“Obviously, they won a triple overtime game with them against a team that’s beaten us twice this year [Atlanta],” Johnson said.
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Johnson on Brooks: “MarShon is a terrific passer. He really does a nice job of seeing over defenses. And when he’s drawn double teams, he’s gotten guys on the back side some good looks. So when he gets rid of it he may not get the assist it may be another guy, which you [Canadian] guys love to hear, a hockey assist.”
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Johnson called the firing of Paul Westphal in Sacramento “ver disappointing.”
“Paul is a good man, a good basketball coach,” Johnson said. “He was trying to resurrect a pretty dire situation. Obviously the last year or two has been pretty rough. I thought this year he’d get a chance to get it back on track. So very disappointing. I did talk to him and I wish him well,” Johnson said.
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Mehmet Okur, who was lost to back spasms after three minutes, has nothing but the highest praise for Williams.
“He is our best player and the best point guard in the league. Once he is on the floor, everybody feels better. He is our leader. He’s going to come out there and play and win the ball game,” Okur said.
fred.kerber@nypost.com