Nets getting players healthy as season winds down

MIAMI — The Nets are on the mend as they head down the home stretch of the regular season. Goran Dragic (left knee) and Seth Curry (left ankle) were available to play against the Heat on Saturday night.

What’s more, Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played a game this season and is dealing with back issues, appears to be on the mend. He flew to a road game for the first time and was on the bench with the team.

The biggest addition to the Nets, however, will be Kyrie Irving as a full-time player. Irving, who is unvaccinated, will play at home for the first time this season when the Nets face Charlotte on Sunday night after New York City modified its vaccine mandates last week in order to allow athletes to play.

Curry emphasized how important it is to get more bodies on the floor, especially a full-time Irving.

“It’s huge,” he said. “Hopefully we get some continuity there, figure out how we’re going to play as a team every night. And obviously it makes us a better team at home and helps us win some games at home.”

The Nets have a 16-19 record at home, which they hope to improve in the final weeks of the regular season. Six of the Nets’ final eight games will be at Barclays Center.

Notes & quotes: For only the third time in his 14 years as head coach, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra missed a game. One of his two sons was undergoing a medical procedure. Chris Quinn handled the coaching duties . . . Dragic, who played for the Heat for seven years, was pumped up for his return as a visiting player Saturday. “This was my home for seven years,” he said. “I owe them a lot. You want to do good against your old team, so I definitely want to win the game. It would mean a lot.”

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.