Nets-Raptors Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 12 2012 2:19PM

Coincidence or not, the Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of their worst stretch of the season while Brook Lopez nurses an injury.

The struggling Toronto Raptors are dealing with their own woes, and they'll be down to eight healthy players Wednesday night when these teams meet in Canada looking to snap five-game losing streaks.

Lopez hoped his sprained right foot was healed enough to play Tuesday against New York, but he was ruled out before the game and is not scheduled to make the trip to Toronto.

The Nets (11-9) have lost the last five of the six games Lopez has missed after blowing a 17-point lead in a 100-97 loss to the Knicks. Brooklyn shot 52.9 percent - its second-best mark of the season - but only 45.2 percent in the second half as New York took advantage.

Andray Blatche, averaging 18.2 points starting in place of Lopez, hit 9 of 13 from the field and scored a season-high 23 points. Deron Williams added 18 and 10 assists.

The Nets have led by at least nine points in four games during their skid.

"This was a winnable game, but we just couldn't quite close it," coach Avery Johnson said.

Lopez, who hopes to return Friday against Detroit, scored 27 points while Williams finished with 19 and nine assists Nov. 3 in a 107-100 home victory over Toronto, which concluded a winless five-game road trip with a 92-74 loss to Portland on Monday.

Frustration for the Raptors (4-18), who set a season low for points while shooting a season-worst 35.1 percent, hit a new high when forward Amir Johnson was ejected in the third quarter while trying to wrestle the ball from referee David Jones following a Blazers free throw. After being tossed, he threw his mouthpiece at Jones and had to be escorted off the court by teammates.

The league suspended Johnson without pay for this game.

"I told him we can't have that on a night where we're short-handed and we're in a situation where we're scrambling," coach Dwane Casey said. "We just gotta have more discipline than that."

Toronto already was playing without Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry, who scored 28 points in last month's meeting with Brooklyn, after each left with injuries.

Bargnani played less than eight minutes and left after landing awkwardly following a dunk for his only two points of the game. X-rays on his elbow were negative, but he's not expected to play Wednesday.

Lowry also is likely to miss this game after not playing in the second half Monday due to a shoulder injury.

"Somebody grabbed his arm and he hit the floor and he just felt he had a knot in his back," Casey said.

The absences of Johnson, Bargnani and Lowry, along with Linas Kleiza, Alan Anderson and Landry Fields already being sidelined by injuries, leaves Casey with just eight healthy bodies. Toronto already has the most losses in the NBA and is shooting 38.9 percent over the last four games.

The Raptors have won five of the last six meetings in Canada, though MarShon Brooks was the only current Net who played in Toronto's 98-67 victory in the most recent meeting there April 26.

Ed Davis, who had a season-high 14 points against Portland on Monday, scored a career-high 24 in that contest.

Johnson scores 23 as Nets beat Raptors 94-88

By IAN HARRISON
Posted Dec 12 2012 11:55PM

TORONTO (AP) After a first half to forget, Deron Williams gave his Brooklyn Nets teammates a quick pep talk before the start of the third quarter.

Spurred on by the speech, the Nets turned their night around and snapped a five-game skid.

Joe Johnson scored 23 points, Andray Blatche had 14 points and nine rebounds and the Nets used nine second-half 3-pointers to beat Toronto 94-88 Wednesday night, ending their season-long losing streak.

"We kind of went on a run in that third quarter and never really looked back," said Johnson, who scored 19 in the second half.

C.J. Watson scored a season-high 16 points and Williams added 12 as the Nets won for the first time since Nov. 30 at Orlando.

"We'll take a win any way we can get it right now," Williams said. "It's good to get back on a winning track. It's something we needed in the worst way."

Former Raptors Reggie Evans and Kris Humphries both had big games for the Nets. Evans had nine points and 11 rebounds, while Humphries scored 11 points, making nine of 10 free throws.

"It wasn't pretty at all, but I'll take it," Blatche said. "It was a dogfight, an ugly win, and I'll take it. We needed it and I'm just happy we got it."

Brooklyn bounced back one day after blowing a 17-point lead and losing 100-97 to the rival Knicks when New York's Jason Kidd hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 24 seconds left.

"Our energy was low in the first half," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "It looked like we were kind of feeling sorry for ourselves."

Brooklyn trailed 45-37 at the half after shooting 36 percent (13 for 36) and committing 11 turnovers in the opening two quarters.

"We definitely struggled in the first half," Williams said. "We couldn't get anything going, we couldn't get stops. Nothing was going right for us."

But Williams helped turn things around, huddling his team together on the court before the game resumed.

"We've just got to come out better," Williams said, when asked about the message he'd delivered. "We need this win. The first half was over with and we've just got to go."

Go they did, making six of eight 3-pointers in the third and outscoring Toronto 31-19.

"I thought their talent took over," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "They hit some tough 3s that broke our back."

Leading 68-64 to begin the fourth, Johnson and Watson sandwiched 3-pointers around a jump shot by Toronto's DeMar DeRozan, putting the Nets up 74-66.

Toronto's John Lucas III made a pull-up jump shot, but the Nets replied with an 8-0 run to open a 82-68 lead with 7:42 remaining.

The Raptors battled back late, with Ed Davis scoring five points during an 8-0 run that cut it to 90-86 with 17 seconds to go. Watson made a pair of free throws to push the lead back to six before a Nets turnover led to a layup for Lucas, making it 92-88 with four seconds left. Joe Johnson sealed it with a pair of free throws, capping a 10-point fourth quarter.

"We weren't going to have any excuses if we lost this game," Avery Johnson said. "Our guys were under immense pressure and I'm glad that they responded."

Davis matched his career high with 24 points and added 12 rebounds, while Jose Calderon had 10 points and 15 assists. Rookie Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 for the Raptors, who have lost six straight and 12 of 13.

"We ran out of gas," Davis said. "We were short-handed, but we were fighting."

Toronto had just nine players available. Amir Johnson served a one-game suspension for throwing his mouthpiece at a referee in Monday's loss at Portland. Guard Kyle Lowry and forward Andrea Bargnani, both of whom left injured Monday, were unavailable. So was forward Linas Kleiza, who missed his second straight game with a sore right knee.

Toronto announced during the game that Lowry is expected to miss 10 days with a partial tear in his right triceps muscle. Bargnani is out indefinitely with a torn ligament in his elbow and a strained right wrist, suffered after he fell awkwardly on a dunk against the Trail Blazers.

Bargnani and Lowry are second and third on the team in scoring, averaging a combined 31.8 points.

Toronto recalled rookie forward Quincy Acy from Bakersfield of the NBA Developmental League to bolster the roster. Acy arrived on a flight from California about 75 minutes before game time and was on the bench in time for tip off.

NOTES: The Raptors were also without long-term absentees Alan Anderson (left foot) and Landry Fields (right elbow). Anderson, who last played Nov. 10, is expected to return to practice Thursday. Fields, out since Nov. 7, is scheduled to see a doctor in New York on Thursday. ... Nets C Brook Lopez (sprained right foot) missed his seventh straight game but is expected to play Friday when the Nets host Detroit. ... This was the first in a stretch that sees Toronto play 11 of 15 at home. The Raptors opened the season by playing 15 of 22 on the road. ... Actor Michael K. Williams of "The Wire" and "Boardwalk Empire" attended the game. Williams, who was born in Brooklyn, is in Toronto working on the new RoboCop movie.

Notebook: Nets 94, Raptors 88

Duane Watson, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:53 PM - Updated Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:53 PM

THE FACTS: The Brooklyn Nets (12-9) defeated the Toronto Raptors (4-19) 94-88 at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. The Nets snapped a five-game losing streak and played their seventh game in a row without center Brook Lopez (strained right foot). Brooklyn was led by Joe Johnson with 23 points, C.J. Watson with 16 points off the bench, while Andray Blatche added 14.

The Raptors rode a 45-37 lead into halftime by bringing energy, scoring in the paint often and being active on defense. Yet they were outscored 31-19 in the third quarter, keyed by a 16-6 run as the Nets took only their second lead of the game into the third quarter, 68-64. The Nets extended their lead to 12 points in the fourth before the Raptors clawed back, but the undermanned squad fell short in the end.

The Raptors losing ways continued, dropping their sixth game in a row after returning from a winless five game road trip. Toronot was led by Ed Davis' double-double, tying his career-high in points with 24 and 12 rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points. Jose Calderon also chipped in for the Raptors with a double-double of 10 points and 15 assists. The Raptors had a short line-up with Kyle Lowry, Andrea Bargnani and Linas Kleiza out with injuries, and Amir Johnson serving a 1-game suspension.

QUOTABLE: "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."

-- Nets guard Deron Williams

THE STAT: The Nets shot 26-for-35 from the free-throw line (74.3 percent), while the Raptors shot 10-for-17 (58.8 percent). The Raptors shot poorly, but more importantly, they put the Nets on the line twice as many times as they got to the charity stripe.

TURNING POINT: The Nets went on a 16-6 run with 5:35 left in the third quarter, taking their first lead since the opening quarter to put them up 66-62. They maintained it through the quarter and didn't surrender the advantage for the rest of the game.

HOT: Watson scored all of his 16 points in the second half and was key to the Nets comeback, shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.

NOT: The Raptors' shooting guards -- DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Mickael Pietrus -- collectively shot 2-for-11 from behind the 3-point line and 10-for-29 from the field. They weren't much better defensively, as Johnson and the Nets guards were able to establish themselves often and effectively in the second half.

GOOD MOVE: Nets coach Avery Johnson inserted Watson into the lineup with 4:18 left in the third quarter, and he was key in the Nets' comeback quarter -- scoring eight points in the next three minutes.

NOTABLE: The Raptors shot a season best 49.3 percent (37-for-75) from the field. ... Brooklyn leads the season series 2-0. ... The Raptors were without Kleiza (sore right knee), Lowry (sore right tricep), Bargnani (bruised right elbow), and Johnson (1-game suspension). ... While Alan Anderson and Landry Fields were still unavailable due to ongoing injuries, Quincy Acy arrived in the arena just before tip-off after being recalled from his assignment with the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League. ... Jerry Stackhouse was inactive for the Nets tonight. Referee Courtney Kirkland recorded his first career block on a Kris Humphries free throw attempt during the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors, Friday vs. Dallas, Sunday vs. Dallas, Tuesday @ Cleveland. For the Nets, Friday vs. Detroit, Saturday @ Chicago, Tuesday vs. Utah.

• Nets: Lopez, Stackhouse
• Raptors: Anderson, Bargnani, Fields, Johnson

• Nets: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 18847
• Duration: 2:19