Tyrese Martin tried to save the Nets, turning in a 26-point night off the bench that came within four of his career high. Everything else, though, looked far too familiar. Brooklyn fell to 3-13 after another slow start, another frantic comeback and another fourth-quarter fade it couldn’t shake.
And once again, the trouble started almost immediately, with the Nets opening the night in a fog.
Toronto, winners of six straight, came out sharper and tougher, ripping off a 7-0 burst that included two quick Brooklyn turnovers and forced Jordi Fernández to burn a timeout just 1:23 in. The Raptors kept pressing, stretching the lead to 12-0 before a hard-driving Noah Clowney finally put the Nets on the board at the 9:01 mark.
Clowney’s force off the dribble helped Brooklyn regain its footing. He poured in nine of the Nets’ first 14 points and, paired with a bump in defensive energy, dragged them back into the game. His surge sparked a 14-2 run that erased the early deficit midway through the quarter.
But as Brooklyn relied on Clowney and Martin to keep the offense moving, Toronto countered with depth and balance. Seven of the nine Raptors who touched the floor scored at least three points, with Ja’Kobe Walter and RJ Barrett leading the charge. Toronto closed the period on a 20-14 push, shot 54.2% and carried a six-point lead into the second.
Martin’s 10 first-quarter points marked his best scoring frame of the season, and Brooklyn’s 10-for-11 showing at the line was its most made free throws in any opening quarter since 2004.
The Nets finally settled into an offensive rhythm in the second, with Michael Porter Jr. pouring in 10 points and the team shooting 52.2%. But the defensive issues that buried them early persisted. Toronto lived at the stripe, going 13-for-14, and kept carving out space in the paint. Even with only eight made field goals, the Raptors dictated the tempo and took a 65-58 lead into halftime.
Rookie Egor Demin scored a team-high five points for the Nets in the third quarter, and while that might normally signal offensive trouble given Brooklyn also committed eight turnovers, its defense flipped the script. The Nets held Toronto to 30% shooting in the period, and the Raptors’ night grew worse when Barrett exited with a right knee sprain. Toronto stayed in front but saw its lead trimmed to five heading into the final frame.
Porter drilled a 29-footer to start the fourth, and Martin followed with back-to-back triples in less than a minute to pull the Nets even at 94 with 9:16 remaining, but Brooklyn was still chasing its first lead of the night. It never came. After the game was tied at 104 with 3:59 left, the Nets were outscored 15-5 the rest of the way.
Brooklyn couldn’t get stops when it mattered most, a theme that has defined all but three games this season.
Porter finished with 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting along with six rebounds and four assists, and Clowney added 22. Scottie Barnes led eight Raptors in double figures with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and four blocks.
The Nets return to action Monday against the Knicks at Barclays Center.
