The Nets' Sense Of Urgency Grew As The Raptors Tied The Season Series And Split In The Standings, 109-108

Jacques Vaughan wanted his players to match their physical strength and hit first. Bruce Brown called it a win-win game. In the end, physical strength was there, but not victory. Instead, the result was a heavy defeat.

“Everyone contributed in a good way tonight, everyone came with good energy, even though it was back to back,” said Seth Curry. “And as I said, everyone was in the right place. I want to say that with this team we had, it was good to have a chance to win at all. And I mean, that’s all you can ask for right now.

The Raptors held the Nets in Toronto, 109-108, in front of the nearly sold-out crowd of 18,903 at Scotia Bank Arena, the first since the pandemic. With the loss, Brooklyn is just one game away over 0.500 (32-31), and Toronto, now leading the Nets, have increased the season to 2-2 – a big factor if the two teams finish the regular season with the same records and fight to qualify for the playoffs. Although there are 19 games left in the regular season schedule with the return of reinforcements in many different timelines, the Nets are now eighth; three and a half matches from the sixth and guaranteed place in the playoffs and three matches from the 11th and one fishing.

“It simply came to our notice then. We talked about this before the match. We talked about it after the match. We’ll talk about that when we get home. There is an urgency, “Jacques Vaughan said of the inclusion situation. “It simply came to our notice then. They need to feel it. They have to feel it and hug it and go through that door. There is a sense of urgency in this group. ”

The Nets were behind in the last minute, 103-100. After three misses by Patti Mills from the corner, James Johnson hit the rebound to the top of the key to Seth Curry, who buried a 28-foot three-pointer to tie the game at 103 with 50.8 seconds left. On the other hand, Gary Trent Jr. took a pair of free throws to give the Raptors a two-point lead (105-103) with 30.8 seconds on the clock.

Out of time, Curry received his shot rejected by Scotty Barnes. The guard got another chance to bury two points for Brooklyn to level the game, but missed the 19-foot corner jumper. Although Patti made a pass to keep it within two points, Toronto took advantage of the free throws in the final seconds, building a four-point lead, and Johnson’s three-pointer to buzzer was one point less. to avoid a terrible defeat. The Raptors outscored the Nets 28-19 and the two defensive calls in three seconds, booed by LaMarcus Aldridge officials with just over three minutes to go, led to two additional completed free throws for Toronto to help build their cushion in final moment.

“One was probably legal. One was illegal, “Aldridge said during two defensive three-second calls whistling down the section. “I was in pick-and-roll so I could be in the paint. As far as I can remember, I haven’t seen him yet, I think I touched Thaddeus as he cleared the canvas. I think this is difficult to fight. I don’t think it was right. It is what it is.”

It was a balanced result for Brooklyn, which again lost none of its star players. In addition to missing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons and Joe Harris, Andre Drummond was a late scratch with knee pain.

“We all know who we will be back to,” James Johnson said of Kevin Durant’s recent return. “And we all know what we need to do to help. I feel that it sheds a lot of light on the rest of us, that we didn’t have a chance or that we got different chances, different minutes and things like that. “

Johnson led the Nets with 19 points, two boards, three assists and a 31-minute block. Curry, who struck a series of timely strikes to keep Brooklyn on strike distance late, finished with 18 points on a total of 7 out of 16 and 2 out of 6 out of 3 points. The guard also made six assists and grabbed four boards in his team’s record 37 minutes of play.

Aldridge scored almost a double-double of 16 points and nine rebounds to continue with three assists in 30 minutes. Kam Thomas took the lead with 11 points in 18 minutes, followed by Goran Dragic, who battled Raptor’s booing throughout the race with 10 points in 15 minutes.

“We had to win,” Aldridge said. “We had control. We had a bit of an insulting drought. We had some turnovers. They made several difficult blows. Difficult stakes down. This is the game.”

The Nets opened the race with their 35th different starting lineup for the season, most in the league: Mills, Curry, Bruce Brown, Johnson and Aldridge. Vaughn made it clear that he wanted Brooklyn to win the battle for physical strength, and the Nets came out of the gates trying to accomplish that goal. Toronto scored 10 of its first 15 points in the fight, while Brooklyn leaned in to shoot earlier, scoring 15 games in the first few minutes.

The Raptors continued to successfully make their way into the fight, creating a 10-0 series to part with an 11-point lead. Dragic, who registered after three minutes left in the first quarter, heard roaring boos from the Canadian audience. At the end of the first Toronto led 32-25.

Brooklyn responded with a 10-2 series attack, while short-handed, smooth. Curry was a huge component in running, playing and hitting a series of threes. Although Curry was the main part of the Nets’ attack, he dealt with foul problems and played with three fouls. Unlike Monday, the contributions followed from top to bottom, and the physicality and intensity challenged the game. Dragic heated up in the last minute of the first half, scoring the last five points to help the stubborn Nets lead 59-55 at the break.

The Toronto Raptors face the Brooklyn Nets

The Raptors continued to enter the middle of the fight and thrive on cuts outside the ball in the basket. Scotty Barnes has been the leading force since he was Monday night, reached the basket and was a major part of Toronto’s size and length. Brooklyn cooled down in the middle of the third period, missed seven consecutive shots and missed a 7-0 series from Toronto, but were just three points behind.

In the last two minutes of the third, it was on the way to Brooklyn. The Nets showed they could do to the Raptors what Toronto had done to them on Monday night, making the series 14-4, turning the defense into an attack. At the end of the third Brooklyn led 89-81.

After the zero two starting minutes of the fourth, the Raptors grabbed the momentum … and kept it. A series of bad breakthroughs and a pair of threes from the former Net, Thaddeus Young, quickly brought Toronto’s deficit to one possession. A few minutes later and after a five-point swing, Brooklyn’s lead was reduced to one point with the remaining 4:39. Although the Nets’ attack cooled and the Raptors increased to 10-0 (100-96), Pascal Siakam fouled with three minutes left, which paid off. In the end, Brooklyn failed to do so in the final seconds and was at the wrong end of timely calls from officials.

“Obviously everyone knows the situation we are in. “The boys in the locker room, we understand it a little differently,” Johnson said. “We know where we are. We understand how close we really are to becoming what we want to be this year. And as we continue to play with the no-apology mentality and the next person, I feel like we’re getting better. ”

The movie room

That was the answer Nets fans wanted. Brooklyn shoots 50% of the field and 40% of three. They defended with passion and honor, using Zone 2-3 to stop the Toronto attack, which went smoothly Monday night. It is a pity that the group failed to win for their efforts.

The story of the match – in addition to Seth Curry’s three-point crazy shot from damn near Vancouver – was the game of two of Brooklyn’s youngest and most intriguing prospects. What they managed to do against a very strong, battle-tested defense of Toronto was just amazing.

Nicholas Claxton was a bright spot, scoring 3 blocks along with 8 points in a 3 out of 3 shooting against the Raptors. The dude was everywhere, hitting the weak side and finishing the baby hook games, looking like the promising young man who took the stage by storm last season.

“Nick came off the bench and gave us a lot of good minutes, the athleticism was good,” said Seth Curry. “And his game on the boards, protecting the edge, was a little good.”

He even waved with a lowered handle and looked like himself from the University of Georgia as he accelerated his pace. Plus, you must love him to blow up this show game like 7-foot Alex Caruso!

Cam Thomas also continued his strong play with 50% shooting at night. One thing that stands out for Cam lately is the advancement of its handle. He became much more confident in mixing the changes in pace with his dribbling movements and this helped him a lot to get to the edge.

Previously, Thomas had worked mostly at one speed, with his mind set on either crashing to the edge, picking up a mid-range jumper, or stepping back three. Now he reads what his defense gives him. No, even better, he is manipulating the defense to give him what he wants. The movement below is dirty; back between the dribbles in the championship, as if setting a step back three, a quick change in his position, as if about to shoot three balls, and then a sudden acceleration after the defense bit the fake.

He didn’t do these things at the beginning of the year!

What next

The Nets will return to play on Thursday, March 3, when the team hosts the Miami Heat at the Barclays Center. The match is scheduled for the top at 19:30 ET. Will Kevin Durant play? The Nets have scheduled his return on Thursday night or Saturday. Nets needs him.

For a different perspective on Tuesday night’s game in Toronto, check out Raptors HQ, our sister site that features Raptors.