Injuries pile up as Williams, Lopez ruled out vs. Clippers

According to the Brooklyn Nets Game Day Alert sent out to fans, the Nets will play the Los Angeles Clippers tonight without Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, after both suffered ankle injuries in Friday night’s victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Williams injured his ankle in the first quarter of Friday night’s contest, landing awkwardly on Miles Plumlee’s foot and laying on the ground for several seconds. Lopez injured his ankle in the fourth after landing awkwardly while chasing a rebound, then colliding with Kevin Garnett. Williams did not return to the game after his accident, while Lopez continued to play without a substitution.

Shaun Livingston and Andray Blatche would be the team’s likely replacement starters.

Nets head coach Jason Kidd has also said he has a “plan” for Garnett’s rest schedule, which may include resting him in back-to-back games, but with Lopez out, Garnett may have to play some minutes at center against the Clippers, who boast a fearsome frontcourt in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Kidd has yet to comment on his team’s health publicly, and since he makes the final decision, it’s possible that plans could change.

Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) also did not make the trip.