The Raptors Survived A Scare From The Nets To Improve To 2-0 In Their Series

The Toronto Raptors needed a come from behind effort against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday afternoon to go up 2-0 in their first round series. Despite Brooklyn leading for essentially all of the game’s first three quarters, the Raptors were able to capitalize on 17 Nets turnovers and a late rally to come out on top, 104-99.

The Nets came out like a house of fire. Despite the fact that the team is shorthanded in the Bubble, Brooklyn showed the fight and resiliency that they’ve had from day one. They led for the entirety of the frame, leading by as many as 14 points midway through the quarter. The game did not stay that one-sided, though, because Toronto had Pascal Siakam, who scored 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first. Siakam played a major role in the team’s 13-0 run that got them back into striking distance.

Still, behind a good quarter from Caris LeVert, a reliable 12 minutes from Jarrett Allen, and some hot shooting — 50 percent from the field, 5-for-9 from three — Brooklyn found itself ahead at the end of the first, 33-29.

The second quarter was defined largely by Brooklyn’s ability to figure something out when the Raptors looked primed to take the lead. Toronto tied things up or cut the Nets’ lead to one on numerous occasions, but each time, they’d be able to figure something out to get a little breathing room. That changed with 3:13 left in the quarter — after some wretched ball by both teams while the game was tied, Rodions Kurucs picked up a technical foul. Kyle Lowry made the free throw, and for the first time, the Raptors took the lead.

But even after that, the Nets were able to respond. Marc Gasol got a technical of his own, Brooklyn got a little breathing room, and thanks to Toronto going ice cold down the stretch — they only hit two shots from the field in the final six minutes of the quarter — the Nets brought a 53-50 lead into the locker room. Siakam led all scorers with 16, while LeVert stuffed the stat sheet, going for 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and a block.

Brooklyn starting the second quarter as locked in as they did the first. Lowry opened up the scoring with a triple, to which the Nets responded by ripping off 10 points in a row. The good news for the Raptors, though, is that they employ Fred VanVleet, who kept things from getting out of hand. He single-handedly went on a 10-2 run that steadied the waters as things were beginning to look a bit choppy and rendered the Nets’ lead moot.

Still, Brooklyn kept doing just enough to keep the Raptors at bay. Temple, in particular, did a great job hitting shots — the grizzled veteran forward had 15 points in the quarter, oftentimes giving the Nets an answer whenever Toronto would begin threatening. The 80-74 lead Brooklyn held through three was also aided by shooting woes for their opponents. One of the league’s premier three-point shooting squads, the Raptors only hit nine of their 31 attempts from deep for a paltry 29 percent success rate.

The game’s familiar thread of “Toronto threatens, Brooklyn comes up with an answer” continued early on in the fourth. But ultimately, the Raptors were able to get over the hump at the 8-minute mark following a pair of free throws by OG Anunoby. And from that point on, Toronto showed off its championship mettle, while the Nets were struck by sloppiness and an inability to hit shots.

The most impressive part might have been the players to take them home — as Tim Bontemps of ESPN noted, Nick Nurse turned to a seldom-used lineup to see out their win.

And yet despite all of this, Brooklyn had a chance to win. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot hit a triple with 40 seconds left to pull the Nets to within three, and on the ensuing Toronto possession, Brooklyn was able to force a shot clock violation with 15 seconds left on the clock. But sloppiness did the Nets in, as a turnover led to an uncontested dunk for Norman Powell.

VanVleet and Powell led the way, with both scoring 24 points. The former added 10 assists and five rebounds, while the latter pulled in six boards. Lowry’s 21 points and nine rebounds were big, as were the 19 points for Siakam. The Nets had six players in double-digits — led by Temple’s 21 — but outside of them, the team score five points. Still, Allen and Joe Harris had matching double-doubles (14 points, 15 rebounds), while LeVert had a double-double in his own right, going for 16 points and 11 dimes.

Game 3 in this series will take place on Friday afternoon. It’s scheduled to tip at 1:30 p.m. EST on NBATV.