Kirilenko hopes he’ll go vs. Miami

Andrei Kirilenko

Andrei Kirilenko
Andrei Kirilenko (AP)
Andrei Kirilenko sprained his ankle Sunday night in Brooklyn’s 104-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings, and hopes he’ll be able to return Wednesday night against the Miami Heat.

“Hope so!” Kirilenko said, punctuating the statement with a laugh. “Right now is day-to-day, just like every day. You feel you’re ready, you go. I don’t feel like it’s a full sprain, it’s just tweaked. But side moves, lateral moves are still bothering me.”

The Nets need Kirilenko as much as any bench player they’ve got. They’re 22-10 in games the forward plays, and 21-4 when he plays more than 14 minutes. He’s averaging 5.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 19.3 minutes per game this season.

Kirilenko is officially day-to-day. He has fought numerous injuries this year, most notably a two-month battle with back spasms that left him out of the lineup for most of 2013. When asked about his back, he said that it felt “perfect,” before furiously knocking on wood.