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SAN ANTONIO — Three games into the season and the Nets already are starting to look a little like a MASH unit after Ziaire Williams was forced out of Sunday’s loss with a lower back contusion after a hard fall.
The forward’s availability for Monday in Houston is unclear.
“Yeah, tough fall. I wish I could get that play back. There’s nothing I could do about it now, so I’ll just recover and be ready for [Monday],” said Williams, uncertain of his status vs. the Rockets. “No. I’ve got to talk to the medical staff, but … hopefully they’ll get me right in getting back out there.
“Yeah, it definitely hurt. I would never leave the game if I could play. It just got real tight. I couldn’t really move out there. So I’ve just got to go over it with the medical staff. They’re already going over a game plan for me. I’ve already iced and started my recovery now. So hopefully, with this early game and some recovery and I get back to hotel, hopefully, I’ll bounce back.”
Haywood Highsmith (right knee surgery), Drake Powell (right ankle sprain) and Danny Wolf (left ankle sprain) were all out for Sunday’s loss, but Powell and Wolf are day to day.
Coach Jordi Fernández said the rookie pair haven’t been ruled out for Monday, and Powell told The Post he’ll be a game-time call vs. the Rockets.
“Yeah, it’s really just a day-to-day-type thing. So, just see how I’m feeling,” Powell told The Post. “I had a workout [Sunday] that I felt pretty good in. So, still just having trust with our performance team and then, yeah, just continue to progress. [I’ll be] a game-time decision.”
Cam Thomas, who played through a nasal fracture, required stitches over his left eye and ice on his right hand.
“Just gotta keep playing, keep pushing. If I’m good enough to play, I’ll be out there playing, so no worries. Just basketball,” said Thomas, who opted to play without a mask. “Yeah, I considered it, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t that bad. … If I wanted to wear a mask, I could. But at the end of the day, I’ll just take my chances.”
Fernández got a technical with 3 seconds left, not arguing a specific call but vexed over the 12-2 free-throw discrepancy in the fourth quarter on the heels of a 35-7 disparity a game earlier.
“It’s just the frustration of them getting 12 free throws and us getting two. And back-to-back games,” Fernández said. “My guys need to see I’m fighting for them. The officials need to see that whether we have young guys or whoever we play with, we’re going to keep fighting, and that’s who we are. “And right there is just a statement that wherever we go play at home, playing on the road, we’re going to fight and fight against everybody.”
The Long Island Nets traded Drew Timme and a 2027 G-League first-round pick for Nate Williams and Oshae Brissett for Jay Scrubb.
