Toronto coming off their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a tight win were facing off against the Brooklyn Nets. The Raptors start their 3-game home stand against the Brooklyn Nets. The Brooklyn Nets have been a disappointment this year even though they did acquire D’Angelo Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers. Russell has been injured for most of the season and has yet to be productive on a consistent basis. Spencer Dinwiddie has been a great surprise for the Nets as he was developed into a solid point guard and is considered a most-improved player candidate. The Raptors have to get back to their defensive ways and this will be a good test against a young team.
The Raptors went to their bigs early in the first quarter and were getting solid production from both JV and Ibaka. Brooklyn were able to score successfully against the Raptors through transition and their quickness. The Raptors big lineup had trouble keeping up the Brooklyn small lineup. The first quarter was fast paced and the defense was hard to come by. The first quarter ended a score of 31-32 with Brooklyn taking a 1-point lead. The Raptors had a 7-point lead but let it slip away as Brooklyn closed the quarter off strong on a 11-3 run.
Jonas was effective early and was able to punish the Nets on the inside.
CJ Miles missed another game as Norman Powell was inserted into the bench lineup. The second quarter both benches were trading baskets throughout the quarter. The Raptors bench played well but were unable to get over the hump. The Brooklyn Nets closed the second quarter strong as well. Lowry and DeRozan were able to score even though the Nets have a lot of lengthy and quick defenders. The Nets went on a 9-4 run to close the quarter and took a 5-point lead going into halftime. The score was 64-59.
The second half started and the Raptors found JV down low for a couple quick buckets early. After DeMar split a pair of free throws at the line, the Raptors started to slack off defensively. Offensive rebounding helping the Nets get second opportunities where they took advantage. The Nets went up 67-78 with 4 minutes gone in the third. Both teams continued to trade baskets and the Raptors could muster up a couple of stops and baskets consecutively. Brooklyn were able to dissect the weak Raptors defence and score easily. Casey still trying to figure out a lineup that will give him both offence and defence consistently. The Raptors lost their third quarter in a row, 25-27, and went down 84-91 going into the fourth.
The Raptors had a lot of work cut out for them going into the deciding fourth quarter at home. DeMar DeRozan took control of this game and started to attack aggressively. DeMar quickly scored 9 points in less than 4 minutes to get the game back within striking distance. The game was now an one possession game and the defence held the Nets from doing any major damage. Still this game was nowhere close to being decided. The two teams traded baskets throughout the quarter but a couple big baskets especially by Kyle Lowry gave the Raptors a small cushion of a 4-point lead with 1:42 to go in the game. Lowry followed up with another big three, but Allen Crabbe nailed a three right back. Lowry finds JV inside late to give the Raptors a 6-point lead with 38 seconds to go.
DeMar set the tone and pace early in the fourth with his hard drives and attacking the rim at will.
Ex-Raptor DeMarre Carroll hits a big three to bring it back to an one possession game with not much time taken off the clock. Jonas tries to inbound the ball quickly, but Lowry was trying to direct him to pass the ball to the other side where DeMar was getting open. The ball bounces off Lowry’s hip and thigh and a scrambling Lowry was unable to keep the ball inbounds leading to a crucial turnover. Caris LeVert of the Brooklyn Nets had one job to inbound the ball within 5 seconds, but turned the ball over. This was the definition of the Brooklyn Nets. A good team with solid young players, but no veteran to lead the way in situations like this. Raptors iced the game at the line and escaped with a win.
The Raptors struggled to pull out a tight win at home against the lowly Brooklyn Nets.
Toronto Raptors Brooklyn Nets
116 112
Player of the Game
Kyle Lowry
37 minutes, 25 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 7-11 shooting, 5-6 3PT, 6-6 FT, +11
Kyle Lowry messed around and got himself another triple-double and recorded only one turnover. Lowry's efficient shooting and +11 when he was on the floor proved how much of an impact he was. Every shot the floor general made was huge and gave the Raptors enough breathing room to close out this game down the stretch. This is the Kyle Lowry the Raptors will need when the playoffs roll around. The defence he played on Russell and Dinwiddie in the fourth quarter was much better and if he stayed locked on, Russell will not be able to get a triple-double as well. Lowry is the main player on this team who pushes the pace and makes it easy for everyone else. He needs to push the pace more often and the wing players need to run and fill the lanes.
Things To Take Away From This Game
1. Nogueira/Poeltl
Dwane Casey does have the luxury of this depth and recently the play of Jakob Poeltl has been subpar. Casey has not been reluctant in yanking out Jakob and playing Lucas Nogueira instead. Nogueira has been playing better than Poeltl in the limited minutes that he is given. Bebe finished with 4 points, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 1 board, and 1 assists but a +10 on the court compared to the -9 for Poeltl. The internal competition on this team shall strive to make each player better and not to slack off as there is always someone hungry behind you ready to play.
2. Defence & Focus
I would like to talk about defence, but more of a lack of defence. The Raptors allowed another team to score more than 100 points on this defence which is ranked top 5 in the NBA. Toronto’s ability to focus on the defensive end in the fourth quarter saved them from losing one at home, but this team is frustrating to watch since they have the ability to hold teams to 21 points in the fourth quarter. This Toronto team has great potential but does not seem to rise up for games like how they used to when they were chasing the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference. The lack of focus and defence allows bad teams to gain confidence and put pressure on the Raptors to grit and grind for wins. Casey talked about how this wasn’t a win the Raptors deserved and this is not winning basketball. Casey was right on the mark. This team will not beat teams above .500 with play like this and the LA Clippers will be coming into town on Sunday who are above .500 and will be a good test.
Pictures courtesy of:
http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapsnets-032318