VIDEO RECAP – FINAL: #Raptors 104 – #Nets 103

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The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Toronto Raptors by a score of 104-103  in Brooklyn.

The Nets were looking to get some revenge for their only loss in January and this time they were hosting the Raptors in Brooklyn.

The game did not start well for Brooklyn as they went down 23-13 early as Kyle Lowry hit his first five shots to give him 12 points and give Toronto confidence.  Deron Williams entered earlier than normal for Shaun Livingston and it paid immediate dividends with seven points, two assists and two rebounds.  Nets went on a 13-2 run to end the quarter and lead after one 26-25.

The game went back and forth with both teams shooting well in the second quarter and Andray Blatche played very well with 12 points and four rebounds while Lowry led the Raptors with 20 points at half including a three quarter court shot at the buzzer to end the second.  Toronto took a 57-56 lead into intermission as both teams shot exactly the same from the field at half with 53.7 percent.

The Raptors opened the third on a 12-6 run and things started to get chippy with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett both getting called for technical fouls. The Nets responded to that with a 9-0 run to take a 71-69 lead midway through third. The technical seemed to fire up Pierce who became more aggressive offensively and hit three straight shots.  The lead went back and forth again and Toronto led 82-81 after three.

The fourth quarter in this all important game was a thrill ride from start to finish with both teams taking their shots at grabbing control but neither could do so outright.  Lowry got hot again and took the lead to 94-85 and it looked like they would pull away.  That wasn’t to be as Pierce decided enough was enough and hit three straight 3-pointers to put the Nets ahead 100-96 with just over two minutes to play and get the Barclays Center back into the game

The final two minutes were something to behold and Nets fans wont soon forget how it played out –

Pierce made one of two free throws with 1:56 to play and then Garnett missed a bunny layup with 1:30 left and the Nets up 101-98.  The raptors immediately hit a layup the other way.  Williams threw the ball away trying to force it to Pierce but made up for it by taking a huge charge on the other end.  Pierce then hit two free throws to make it 103-100 with 17.4 seconds to go.  John Salmons hit a layup as the Nets gave up the two points and the score was 103-102 with .12 to play.  Jason Kidd called his last timeout to get everything set and put his best free throw shooters on the floor.  Then came the critical game-changing mistake by Williams on a horrendous back court inbounds pass that Patrick Patterson stole in front of Joe Johnson and then hit a mid range jumper to give the Raptors a 104-103 lead with .6 to play.  The Nets had no timeouts left so Pierce got the ball and took it up the court and threw up a fadeaway 3-pointerthat hit front rim.

Silence.  The Nets lost a heartbreaker in Brooklyn.

This loss hurts really bad because they could have gotten within a half game of the division lead and continued their January momentum but instead they literally gave the game away with poor execution and missed opportunities.

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“It’s tough,” Williams said. “It definitely hurts, but we have three days to sit and think about it, and that makes it even worse. There’s nothing I can do now, I can’t take it back. It’s not my first time turning the ball over to lose the game, and probably won’t be my last, so we just have to respond on Friday [against the Oklahoma City Thunder].”