EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Brooklyn Nets center Kevin Garnett’s minutes will not increase drastically as the team’s first-round, Eastern Conference playoff series with the Toronto Raptors progresses, coach Jason Kidd said.

“His minutes are going to be around the same they’ve been all season,” Kidd said Thursday. “We’ve got quite a few guys at the five [Mason Plumlee and Andray Blatche]. Again, he feels good, so the minutes could go up slightly, but not to where you guys would like to see.”

Garnett has played 39 minutes through the first two games of the series. During his time on the court, the Nets have outscored the Raptors by 17 points (90-73). During his time on the bench, Toronto has outscored Brooklyn by 15 points (114-99).

“I’m not in here talking about minutes, J-Kidd is the coach,” Garnett said. “If you want to talk about minutes, you talk it with him. I don’t put myself in and out the game. I feel OK, I feel strong enough to play and that's where we at.”

Garnett has not played more than 20 minutes in a game since Feb. 13. He has appeared in just seven games since returning from back spasms -- logging 13, 17, 18, 19, 15, 20 and 19 minutes in those games.

During the regular season, Garnett averaged 20.5 minutes per game.

• Starter Shaun Livingston missed Thursday’s practice due to illness, but Kidd says he’ll be ready to play on Friday. Livingston is averaging 11 points on 57.1 percent.

• Brook Lopez, who is out for the season, got some jump shots up in practice. He is no longer wearing a boot, and only has a brace on his surgically-repaired left ankle.