NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets small forward Paul Pierce will come off the bench again Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.
"We feel comfortable with the way things went last game, so we're gonna go back that way," Nets coach Jason Kidd said.
Pierce will be coming off the bench in consecutive games for the first time in his career. It'll be just the fifth time he's not started in 1,119 games.
Prior to coming off the bench Tuesday night, Pierce had not done so since Feb. 9, 2007, when he was with the Boston Celtics.
It is unknown how long he will remain a reserve.
"We're just focused on tonight's game, the Clippers, so that's all we're worried about right now," Kidd said. "We'll talk about if there's any changes somewhere down the road."
In his return to the lineup Tuesday night following a five-game absence due to a broken bone in his right hand, Pierce had four points, seven rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes. Wearing a protective glove on his hand, Pierce went 0 for 3 from the field and served more as a facilitator.
"He may not have scored, but he was making the right decisions, so it just gives us another leader with that second group and it just shows his character and his willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team win," Kidd said.
Pierce, 36, is averaging just 11.9 points on 36.1 percent shooting this season.
Alan Anderson will start at small forward alongside point guard Deron Williams, shooting guard Joe Johnson, power forward Kevin Garnett and center Brook Lopez.
Kidd had no update on forward Andrei Kirilenko (back), who will miss his 18th game.
"Hopefully sometime in 2013 would be great, but if he comes back in 2014 that'd be fine too," Kidd said.
Guard Jason Terry (knee) will miss his 11th straight game.
