National Basketball Association

Raptors 132-Nets 113: Wake-up call

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:12 p.m. ET

Fansided, Brian Boake/FanSided via Raptors Rapture

The Raptors couldn’t shake the Nets, despite scoring 90 points in 3 quarters. Then the floor tilted, Toronto’s defense tightened, and the lead became insurmountable.

The Toronto Raptors sleepwalked their way though the first three quarters of last night’s game against the dreadful Brooklyn Nets. In particular, the Raptors’ desultory efforts to shut down the Nets’ deep shooting was pitiful. As a result, Toronto was ahead by a single point heading into Q4.

Perhaps Kyle Lowry’s vociferous pleas to his mates to snap out of their funk did the trick. Something did, because the Raptors could not be stopped. Toronto’s 21-2 run was capped by a Cory Joseph 3-ball, and the game was all but over with seven minutes to play.

Closing out on shooters? Not us!

A lineup as weak as Brooklyn’s has little choice but to fire away from deep. The Nets surrender more than 114 points per game, the NBA’s worst mark. They can only stay close to their opponent with the long ball, as they can virtually no mid-range scoring capability.

The Raptors played right into their hands by watching Bojan Bogdanovic and others bomb away. The Nets ended with 17 made 3-balls, an embarrassing number to be giving up, and 6 more than the Raps. Patrick Patterson might have made the Nets’ shots more difficult, but he sat once again due to ongoing issues with his left knee.

Piling up the points

Toronto’s defense may have been shoddy, but they weren’t having trouble scoring. The starting five all reached double figures, with the Lucas Nogueira at power forward experiment continuing its success. Bebe made all five of his shots, which wasn’t difficult as they were alley-oops. In addition, his four blocked shots and nine boards were most welcome.

DeMar DeRozan singlehandedly kept the Raps close in Q3, when he poured in 19 of his 28 points by shredding the Nets’ hapless interior defense. He wasn’t called upon in Q4.

DeMarre Carroll deserves a shout-out. Though he whiffed on a number of open looks from deep, he more than made up for that with 10 defensive rebounds. When he’s fully engaged on both ends of the floor, Toronto is a much better squad.

Terrence Ross showed signs of breaking out of his miserable shooting slump. He hit 2 of 6 from deep, ended with a dozen points, and led the team with a plus_25 in 30+ minutes.

Up next

The Raps continue their tussles with Atlantic Division opponents on Sunday afternoon against the New York Knicks.