Paul Pierce returned to Brooklyn’s lineup Monday night, but he didn’t bring his shooting touch with him. After missing Saturday’s loss against the Clippers with a sore groin, he missed shot after shot in Monday’s 108-98 loss to the Trail Blazers.
He was hardly the only culprit in the Nets’ loss, but he may well have been the most culpable. He missed 10 of his dozen shots from the Barclays Center floor, finishing with 11 points and just two rebounds in 32 horrid minutes.
Afterwards, Pierce refused to speak with the assembled media, so it’s hard to say just how badly his injury impacted him. But head coach Jason Kidd said Pierce got the shots he normally takes, but just missed them, hearing third-quarter boos from the sellout crowd of 17,732.
“He had good looks,’’ Kidd said. “Again, he’s a pro. And he probably never will admit if he’s 80 percent, 90 percent. He’s just going to go out there and try to help his team win. That’s what the great ones do. Again, it’s not always about making shots; it’s about playing a total game. I thought he had a pretty good game, even if he’s not 100 percent.’’
Pierce was likely forced to do more than he normally would, with the Nets woefully shorthanded. Point guard Deron Williams, center Brook Lopez and backup forward Andrei Kirilenko all sat out with various ailments, injuries Brooklyn can scarcely afford, falling to 3-7 so far this season.
After Kevin Garnett had missed Saturday’s loss at the Clippers with a sprained right ankle and had sat out with his sore left groin, the Nets had hoped their championship Celtic imports would give the lineup a lift with their return. It didn’t happen.
Pierce missed all five of his 3-point attempts from behind the arc, and appeared out of sync all night.
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One of the one brights spots for the Nets Monday night was Shaun Livingston, who has continued his stellar play so far this season.
Livingston, who scored a team-high 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal, has arguably been the team’s most consistent player since signing for the veteran’s minimum this summer to backup Williams.
“I’m just trying to stay aggressive. I talk to the coaches and just try to be an extension of them while I’m on the floor, just get their advice, just trying to do the best I can in my roll to try and help us win games.”