TORONTO — It was one of the great mysteries of Game 1. Where in the world was Andrei Kirilenko? His wife wondered on social media. But the Nets won that game and coach Jason Kidd said Kirilenko’s did-not- play status was a matter of matchups and game situations.
Tuesday in Game 2, the question of where Kirilenko was became sort of easy to answer. It seemed he was everywhere when on the court..
Coming off the bench for nearly 20 minutes, Kirilenko played with his trademark style which is best likened to him running around as if he were on fire. Kirilenko had four points, four steals, three in the first half when he helped keep the Nets within six points, impressive really since they shot just 37.5 percent.
“I’m a professional player. My job is to play the game and not to coach,” Kirilenko said. “We have a coach. I spoke with Jason and whatever minutes I have, I have to be ready and prepare myself to play those minutes. So no hard feelings. We’re in the playoffs and we won a lot of games so we’re good.”
That good refers to the relationship between player and coach of course. Not how the Nets played down the stretch of the first-round series-tying 100-95 Game 2 loss to the Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
“It was a pretty equal game at the end,” Kirilenko said. “There were a couple shots we should have made.”
And some rebounds they should have gotten. And some stops they should have made, particularly on 30-point detonator DeMar DeRozan.
“Give credit to Toronto, they have played a great fourth quarter,” Kirilenko said. “They forced a lot of fouls and got on the free-throw line.”
“DeRozan did a great job of closing that fourth quarter. But still, I think if we make couple shots down the road we will be fine.”