Sometimes for up-and-coming stars the lights of the playoff stage can be a little too bright, and that first initial game may not go according to how a player plans. That was the case for DeMar DeRozan in Game 1 of the Toronto Raptors opening round matchup against the Brooklyn Nets when he went 3 of 13 and only scored 14 points. DeRozan, however, used that dud of a game as motivation to do big things in Game 2 and lifted his perfomance to another level by dropping 30 points on BK to guide the Raptors to a 100-95 victory in Game 2, drawing the series to even at one game apiece.
DeRozan found his All-Star stroke in Game 2 going 9 of 21 from the floor and hitting 12 of 14 costless throws. This is the kind of performance that could give a youngster like DeRozan confidence that could carry over throughout the series. DeMar got a little help from his friends also with Jonas Valenciunas finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Amir Johnson, adding 16 points and nine boards on the stat sheet.
The Raptors overall finished with six players in double figure scoring and shot 47.4% as a unit from the floor Tuesday night. Also, the Raptors outrebounded BK in a major way winning the battle of the boards 52-30. The 52 rebounds Toronto grabbed is a playoff franchise record.
Brooklyn got solid contributions with five players finishing in double figure scoring led by Joe Johnson who finished with 18 points. Mirza Teletovic came off the bench with 14 points hitting 5 of 11 from the field including 3 of 6 from downtown. The disappointment for BK had to be Paul Pierce in this game. 'The Truth" went 2 of 11 shooting, finishing with seven points and six rebounds on the night after a 15 point output in Game 1. BK is going to need Pierce to show some consistency not only in this series, but also throughout the playoffs if they are to make any kind of noise this postseason.
So with the series tied up 1-1, this matchup will move to Brooklyn at the Barclays Center for the next couple of games. Game 3 will be played on Friday night.