Brooklyn Nets Second Half Collapse Leads To Defeat Against Toronto Raptors

After allowing the Minnesota Timberwolves to shoot 68 percent from the floor on Saturday night, the Brooklyn Nets were looking to display a better defensive performance to avoid a second straight loss. The Toronto Raptors were also looking to bounce back after falling to the Houston Rockets at home on Sunday evening.

Young and Lopez Come Out Fresh

Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, who sat out the last contest due to rest, came out ready to perform. They scored 12 of the first 14 Nets’ points with six apiece. Young finished the first stanza of the game with 10 points, although Toronto took the frame by ending it on a 7-0 run and went up by five points. The Nets responded by outscoring their opponents in the second period, 35-14. Lopez scored eight points and wrapped up the quarter with a buzzer beater layup. At halftime, Brooklyn was up 58-42, while limiting their turnovers to just four. Meanwhile, the Raptors had turned the ball over nine times.

Raptors Take Over The Game In Second Half

In the third frame, Toronto scored 36 points as a team. The 16-point lead Brooklyn had became extinct and they were up by only two points entering the final 12 minutes of the game. With 8:50 remaining in regulation, the Raptors were on a 22-2 run, bridging the third quarter. Nets’ head coach Tony Brown was upset that the Nets could not get any offense or defense going and called several timeouts. This lead to Brooklyn having no timeouts remaining before even reaching halfway of the fourth period. With 3:53 left in the contest, the Nets were on a 11-2 run, attempting to regain control and walk away the Air Canada Centre with a win. Although they were able to cut the Toronto lead to three, the Raptors remained consist offensively and protected their home court to come from behind. Brooklyn had 12 turnovers and allowed 62 points in the second half.

Top Performers

Lopez shot a perfect 9 for 9 from the free throw line, as well as recording seven blocks. Young finished with 14 points and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 12 points. DeMar DeRozan lead all Toronto scorers with 25 points. Kyle Lowry had 23 points and nine assists. Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross notched 11 points apiece off the bench.

Other Things To Note

-Lopez recorded his sixth 30-plus point game of the season. He is the first player in league to score 35-plus points and 5-plus blocks this season.

-Sean Kilpatrick 10-day contract expired today. He scored a career-high of 19 points last game against Minnesota. Brown has been impressed with his talent, saying “From what I’ve seen so far he looks like he belongs and hopefully it continues “.