Kirilenko's wife takes Twitter shot at Kidd for benching husband (PHOTO)

The Nets’ 94-87 victory over the Raptors in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round series had a lot of Brooklyn fans tweeting their joy at the win — all except one. Kind of.

The win was surprising considering the fact that super sub and mid-game spark-plug Andrei Kirilenko didn't play a single minute for Brooklyn.

And it appears his wife, Russian pop singer Masha Lopatova — who gives her husband a free pass once a year — wasn't going to let Jason Kidd have any of the sort.

On her Instagram account after the game, Lopatova tweeted out a picture of her husband sitting on the bench with the comment, “…And you are Kidding like Jason…” which appeared to be a reference to Nelly’s song, “Hot in Herre” which includes the line, “I’m just kiddin’ like Jason.”

As fans and others began to comment on the photo, Lopatova later wrote, “I don’t want to say anything bad, but just think about 350 million Russian fans back in Russia cheering for the one Russian player in the playoffs (not to mention Russian community and Russian ownership) that hurts!!!”

When a fan later said, “You guys know they won today, right?” she responded, “W – is all that matters!”

Kirilenko didn’t speak to reporters after the game, but Kidd downplayed his absence from the rotation afterward.

“Ten other guys played,” Kidd said. “I can’t play ’em all. He’s healthy.”

Andrei Kirilenko: LeBron isn't ‘the toughest’ to guard

After 11 seasons as one of the NBA's top defenders, Andrei Kirilenko is no stranger to covering some of league's premier wing scorers.

The 6-foot-9 forward with the eight-foot wingspan is set to make his Brooklyn Nets debut Friday night in the team’s home opener against the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. When Kirilenko was asked whether LeBron James is the toughest player he has ever been asked to face, Mikhail Prokhorov's favorite Russian had a Cold War reviving answer about the Heat star.

“He’s definitely one of those guys who is tough to guard,” Kirilenko told the N.Y. Post. “I wouldn’t say he’s the toughest to guard 1-on-1, but he’s definitely in that category.”

So, if not James, then who?

“For me, personally? I would say Kevin Durant and Kobe [Bryant], because they’re very motivated to play with the ball,” Kirilenko explained. “LeBron is way unselfish, and he will pass it as soon as the guy is open.

“Kevin and Kobe, unless the guy is wide open, like wide open and ready to shoot, they will keep going at you. They’ll keep going at you. That’s why it makes it harder to play against those guys.”

Kirilenko, who has been dealing with back spasms since playing in the second preseason game against Detroit on Oct. 12, went through a complete workout Thursday during practice and said he should be ready to go Friday night at Barclays Center.

“I got the green light, so slowly we’ll start to get into games,” he said.

“I’m planning to play. I’m not sure about how many minutes I’m going to play, but I’m definitely worth a try.”

LeBron will be the first to test those minutes.

Paul Pierce happy to be 'glorified role player' with Nets

There is an "I" in Paul Pierce but, when it comes to the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA star claims there won't be one there this season.

If you look at the old version of the Nets, you might see an NBA squad already loaded with big names — up-and-coming Brook Lopez, one of the best shooting guards in Joe Johnson, and a top point guard in Deron Williams — and wonder how they could fill the roster with any more.

Mix in newcomer veterans Pierce and Kevin Garnett and it now leaves the Nets with a Klieg light-wattage of names on the roster.  Just for fun, throw in other well-known role players like Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko and you've got a cast bigger than Ocean's Twelve.

Now, the former Boston Celtics forward is looking at the makeup of the Nets and claims he is willing to step out of the spotlight with a supporting role with the team as a "glorified role player."

Think DeNiro sharing the bill with Pacino (Okay, D-Will can be Val Kilmer) in Heat.

Pierce told the Boston Globe he's fine with giving up a leading part on the team if it leads to a blockbuster finish at the end of the season.

"There will definitely be less pressure on me on this ball club than there was in Boston," Pierce said. "In Boston, I was the No. 1 primary option. Here we have so many options. We have young All-Stars on this team. My job is to be more of a glorified role player, as Doc [Rivers] used to always say, with the guys we have.

"With my abilities to do so many things, there's going to be nights where I'm not going to score a bunch of points. I can do other things to help this club win. With the combination of these guys, we're going to take pressure off each other."

Pierce — who averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 assists and 6.3 rebounds last season — hasn't been a role player, probably ever, in his basketball life, but isn't ready for the TNT broadcast booth just yet.

The future Hall of Famer could possibly lead this team as a scorer if asked to, and it wouldn't be a desperate move by Jason Kidd. However, to maximize everybody's abilities, the Nets have to get older guys like Pierce and Garnett to sacrifice their own individual games if they are going to save their bodies in the suddenly rough-and-tough NBA East over a long season.

Let's say the Nets decide they need Kirilenko to start at small forward for defensive purposes and bring Pierce off the bench as a scorer, it remains to be seen if Pierce will be open to playing second banana.

And the award for best player in a Nets supporting role goes to ...

Nets' new forward, Andrei Kirilenko, has permission from wife to cheat once a year

A lot of basketball wives acknowledge the frustration of NBA groupies hanging around and worry that their man may stray a little out-of-bounds while on one of their long road trips.

One player's wife has found a way to keep her husband in check — at least 364 days of the year.

Masha Lopotova — the wife of new Brooklyn Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko — revealed  that she and her husband have an agreement which allows him to have sex with another woman once a year.

"Male athletes in this country are extremely attractive. They get chased by women. It's hard to resist. It's the way men are by nature," she told ESPN The Magazine when her husband first hit the big time.

"'If I know about it, it's not cheating," reasoned the Missus.

Kirilenko, who reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Nets worth an estimated $3.18 million a year,  said he had no plans to exercise his "allowance" with his pop star wife, although he joked that girls would be lining up outside his hotel door.

Since then it isn't clear if Kirilenko has ever taken advantage of the free pass, but the couple remain together and so something is clearly working.

They have been married for 13 years and have two sons Fedya, age 11, and Stepan, age six. In January 2011, Andrei and Masha acquired American citizenship. 

Lopatova, who goes by the stage name MaLo, is the daughter of Russian basketball player Andrei Lopatov. She met Kirilenko at a youth basketball camp in Moscow. Soon afterwards he appeared in one of her music videos.

"I find that people in this country are really interested in athletes and their [families], for some reason. They don't want to know what kind of books I read, but they prefer to know what kind of underwear I wear," she told ESPN.

This gives playing an away game a whole new meaning.