Brooklyn Nets snap their five game skid; Defeat Toronto Raptors 94-88 on the road: NBA Recap
Brooklyn Nets snapped their five game losing streak as they edged out Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. After a forgettable first half, the Nets came back strongly in the third period to take the lead and used 9 second half three pointers to beat the Raptors 94-88.
"The first half, we couldn't get anything going. We bounced back in the third quarter, something we definitely needed to do because we needed this win in the worst way." said Deron Williams.
Joe Johnson led the Nets with 23 points, Andray Blatche posted 14 points and 9 rebounds while Reggie Evans fell just one point short of his double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds.
The home side opened up with 6-2 early in the first period before Evans made a reverse layup for the Nets to make it 8-9. The score was tied on 11 all when the Raptors shifted gears and started pulling ahead. An Ed Davis bank shot made it 17-11 for the Raps, who pushed their lead to 27-17 later in the quarter, before Williams beat the clock with a shot from behind the arc.
A Terrence Ross slam dunk early in the second period had the Raptors leading 31-22 and they maintained the advantage throughout the period. Two free throws by Humphries cut the gap to 28-33 with 6:45 left in the quarter, but the Raptors kept scoring baskets at the other end of the court and were up 45-37 by halftime.
The third quarter was all Nets.
"We kind of went on a run in that third quarter and never really looked back," said Johnson, who scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half.
The Raptors kept the Nets at bay early in the second half before a flurry of shots from the three point land reduced the deficit down to 50-53 with 6:36 left in the period. Watson nailed a three pointer as the Nets took over the Raptors 63-60 later in the quarter.
Brooklyn blew away the Raptors chances with an 18-4 run at the start of the final period to jump up 82-68. Toronto however were not to be silenced that easily. They came back and slashed the deficit down to 86-90 with 17 seconds in the regulation. But the Nets were not to throw away this one as they held off the Raptors charge for a deserved win.
The Raptors were led by Ed Davis who collected 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Jose Calderon also had a double-double as he scored 10 points and dished out 15 assists while DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 11 points.
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