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.”

NY Post responds to Raptors GM and Toronto Sun with one spectacular headline (PHOTO)

The Toronto Raptors took shots at the Brooklyn Nets from all different angles before Saturday's Game 1 playoff matchup at the Air Canada Centre.

You may recall the Toronto Sun's cute headline calling the Nets team "dinosaurs" before the Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri amped up the Toronto faithful by saying "F**k Brooklyn" at a pre-game rally outside the venue.

Well the New York Post fired back — as only the NYC tabloid could — and knocked off two bird-brained remarks with one spectacular back page headline after the Nets beat the Raptors 94-87.

Sunday morning's headline was short and sweet — but not exactly like they teach you in journalism school:

"F#@K YEAH."

Ujiri apologized for his profane outburst. Don't expect any such thing from the Post.

Raptors GM apologizes for ‘F—k Brooklyn’ rant (VIDEO)

The general manager of the Toronto Raptors had a couple of choice words for the Brooklyn Nets before Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series and they weren't the friendly Hello Brooklyn New York fans have become accustomed to.

Speaking to several thousand fans in Maple Leaf Square outside of Air Canada Centre before the opening game Saturday, Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri ended his speech with “F— Brooklyn!” before handing the microphone off and exiting the stage to raucous cheers.

(WARNING: Video below contains profanity)

Ujiri then met with the media at halftime of the Nets’ 94-87 win, where he attempted to clear the air.

“Guys, I apologize,” Ujiri said. “I used [the] wrong choice of words out there. This thing is not really about me. It’s about the players, and the playoffs. I’m just trying to get the crowd up there [riled up]. It was a wrong choice of words. I apologize to kids out there, and to the Brooklyn guys. Nothing against them, I’m just trying to get our fans going.”

Nevertheless, Ujiri said he wasn’t answering any questions and tried to temper his foul mouthed enthusiasm.

“You know how I feel,” he said. “I don’t like them, but I apologize.”

It was a fitting way to kick off what should be a very competitive and entertaining playoff series between the two Atlantic Division rivals. The two teams engaged in four close games during the regular season, with each side winning two.

Deron Williams not going to London with Nets: Report

Deron Williams' return from his latest ankle injury won't be happening across the pond this week.

The Brooklyn Nets announced Sunday that their starting point guard didn't accompany the team Sunday night on its overseas trip for a game against the Atlanta Hawks at O2 Arena in London on Thursday, meaning he'll miss his fifth straight game.

Williams had platelet-rich plasma therapy on both ankles last week and also received cortisone shots in each ankle after spraining his left ankle three times this season. He was in a walking boot early last week.

After re-evaluating him over the weekend, the Nets apparently believe it best to go the conservative route. D-Will has already sat out 15 games this season because of injuries.

The timing of the six-day road trip might be a blessing in disguise for Williams and the team. The Nets appeared lethargic in a loss to Toronto on Saturday after their big win against the Heat. Now they'll play only one game this week while they wait for Williams to return.

When the Nets and Williams beat the Raptors twice in 2011 in London, it was the first time the NBA had played a regular-season game in Europe.

Williams will stay home for rest and treatment before the Nets return and host the Knicks on Jan. 20.

Mike Woodson still expects Knicks to win division: Report

Only a day removed from the 29-point Christmas Day rout by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mike Woodson, treated the New York Knicks’ current struggles like a long forgotten memory and predicted a second straight Atlantic Division title following practice on Thursday.

“We won it last year,” the beleaguered head coach said, “and I expect us to win it this year.”

Woodson’s confidence was based on the fact that the 9-and-19 Knicks play in a division that is so weak that they are 6-6 in their past 12 games. Forgetting that most of those wins have come against some of the worst teams in the NBA helped Woodson keep his sunny outlook. 

Woodson asked himself rhetorically, “Do I see some light at the end of the tunnel?” and answered, “I do.”

The mediocrity of the division and a freakish amount of injuries to key players have probably helped excuse Woodson from losing his job—for now.

"The bottom line is I'm the coach of this team," he said. "I have very high standards in terms of what I do and what I expect players to do. And it starts with me."

The Knicks have a chance to gain some ground Friday night when they begin a home-and-home with the division-leading Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden.

Woodson knows that the 11-15 Raptors are just three games ahead of the Knicks and his team can make a big statement this weekend.

But it's still unclear if Carmelo Anthony, who didn't practice because of a sprained left ankle that kept him out of the Christmas Day game, will play. Woodson called him "day-to-day."

"Eventually we’ll get healthy and we’ll see how it all plays out," Woodson said. "The beauty about all of this that we’re going through is nobody’s running away with it in our division and I’m pushing our team to win our division still."

Jason Kidd's look of relief after Nets win is priceless (GIF)

The Brooklyn Nets snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday, sweating out a 102-100 win over the Toronto Raptors. And it couldn’t have come as a greater relief for Jason Kidd. The first-year head coach went through, essentially, the entire range of possible human emotions after the final buzzer sounded.

They nearly blew it, but the Nets will take a win any way they can get it. So Kidd has every reason to feel relieved.

Caron Butler tricks Jonas Valanciunas with high-five and low-brow basket

With his Toronto Raptors team up by 27 points with 2.8 seconds left in the game, Jonas Valanciunas stood at halfcourt trying to run out the clock when Caron Butler ambles over with a congratulatory high-five.

As Valanciunas nonchalantly slaps Butlers hand, the Los Angeles Clipper takes advantage of the situation by grabbing the ball and charging in for an uncontested and absolutely senseless two-point layup.

It has to be one of the most juvenile — but most memorable — NBA moves ever.

Final score Raptors 98, Butler zero class.

LeBron thinks playing Sunday's game before Super Bowl is 'disgusting'

It might have been all hugs and laughs for LeBron James when he celebrated with a fan —who hit a halfcourt hook shot to win a cash prize — by rolling on the court floor with the guy the other day but, yesterday, the Miami Heat star sounded like he just wants to roll over the NBA schedule makers.

Upset after he found out the Heat will play 2 p.m. on Sunday in Toronto and — with the team's chartered plane lacking satellite TV or Internet — he will miss part of the Super Bowl, James said, "How disgusting is that?" at Wednesday's shoot-around before the Heat played the Nets at the Barclays Center.

The Heat cannot delay their return from Toronto, with a Monday game at American Airlines Arena against the Charlotte Bobcats.

"If the Cowboys were in the Super Bowl, I'd stay there for the game," he added.

It's hard to figure out what's more surprising: LeBron's grumbling or the fact that the Heat's jet doesn't have WiFi.

Prokhorov wants nothing less than NBA East finals at Barclays Center

Leaving year two of Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov's five-year quest for NBA world domination, the team had about as bright a future as a gulag road gang.  But escape from Siberia — um, Newark — and a new identity now has the Russian megalomaniac setting goals once again.

The mostly heard —but rarely seen — owner was actually in his luxury box to watch his Nets play the Toronto Raptors in the first regular season game at his Barclays Center showcase Saturday night.

Old Prokie — who has already declared that Deron Williams is the league's best point guard and his revamped $330 million squad is one "that can put together the great story of a championship" — is starting year three of his five year plan for an NBA championship.

Asked what would define the Nets' success after the first season in their new Brooklyn home, Prokhorov was straightforward.

"A conference final," he said.

The billionaire owner sounded like the Nets 107-100 win in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 was a small step towards his grand plan of bringing an NBA title to the Nets by 2015.

"We are waiting for the ring," he added. "I am the most devoted guy for the championship to happen."

Prokhorov took what also sounded suspiciously like a dig at his arch-rival, the New York Knicks, before the tip-off of last night's game when asked about the Knicks rout of the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden a day earlier.

"Yesterday, I went to bed at 8 o'clock (tipoff time) in order to be up at 4 a.m. for my great workout," he said, suggesting he didn't even care to watch the game.

Prokhorov is backing up his words with cash — and plenty of it.  Penalties for the NBA luxury tax be damned.

"It concerns me only to the level we can reach championship or not," he said.  "That's it.  My (money) is still in very good shape."

NBA looking to add Jeremy Lin to All-Star Weekend

The NBA is giving serious thought to finding a way to get the season's biggest story down to its All-Star Weekend festivities in Orlando.

The idea of adding Jeremy Lin to the All-Star roster may be a hard sell considering the New York Knicks sensation has only five career starts; but it sounds like the league will somehow find a way to bring Linsanity to the party.

According to the New York Daily News, the NBA is trying to maximize the attention Lin is receiving and bringing the Knicks point guard down to the All-Star weekend is a no-brainer.

According to the Daily News source, the NBA is hoping to add Lin to its NBA All-Star lineup by having him participate in the Haier Shooting stars competition during All-Star Saturday night.  The competition features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one TNT on-air talent and legend on each team.

While it may hard to swallow the thought of a player who was cut by two teams and sitting on the Knicks bench just two weeks ago playing alongside Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Derrick Rose, the NBA knows the underdog Lin is too big a money-maker to keep away.

Pek-ingsanity replaces Linsanity in Madison Square Garden

A tiny petite Pekingese was the big winner at the 136th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last night.  The tiny breed with a  smushed-in face surrounded by a mop of fur won Best in Show at Madison Square Garden.

Malachy took the top prize after he beat out 2,077 pure-bred canines from 185 different breeds.

"I'm still in shock.  It's the thrill of a lifetime," said David Fitzpatrick, the dog's handler and one of his owners.

The little pooch beat out big dogs like a Dalmatian, Doberman Pinscher, Irish Setter, Kerry Blue Terrier, German Shepherd, and a wire-haired Dachshund to get the title.