Nic Claxton was not on the court for long in the Nets‘ 101-94 defeat of the Toronto Raptors on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena. After being intentionally fouled by Kelly Olynyk on a drive to the hoop with 8:46 left in the second quarter, a frustrated Claxton tossed the ball into the stands.
Claxton seemed like he was still mad about a no-call on his missed shot the prior possession. His toss seemed harmless enough in the moment, but the referees decided to throw him out anyway. It was Claxton’s third ejection in 27 appearances this season.
The center was visibly upset leaving the court, to the point where he picked up a seat cushion and lifted it above his head, likely gearing up to throw that, too. Luckily for him and the Nets, assistant coach Juwan Howard was there to save Claxton from further discipline.
Brooklyn was already shorthanded entering the night, but fared well enough without Claxton, although they could not buy a bucket for most of the game. It led Toronto 52-46 at the break, thanks to strong halfcourt defense and another stellar offensive game by Cam Johnson. The Raptors were shooting just 37% from the field through 24 minutes and the Nets were dominating the glass 31-16.
The Nets’ offense went ice cold in a third quarter where they shot just 27.8% from the field and went 1-for-11 from deep. Toronto shot just under 48% in the period but went 7-for-11 from behind the arc, which allowed it to build a 76-70 lead entering the final frame.
Brooklyn, fueled by its second unit, went on a 10-2 run to make it a one-point game with 6:52 left, and it was a back-and-forth affair from there. Another Johnson trey put the visitors up 93-90 with 1:44 to play. He was fouled on the Nets’ next offensive possession to extend their lead to five, then Noah Clowney drew a charge on Scottie Barnes at the other end.
Dorian Finney-Smith blocked a Gradey Dick 3-pointer 32 seconds left, and that effectively put the game on ice. The Raptors were forced to play the free throw game from there, and Brooklyn was able to hold on.
The Nets snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 11-16 with the win. They were able to overcome 17 turnovers, which created 16 points for Toronto, on a night where they shot just 40.2% from the field and 23.1% from 3-point range. While The Raptors made 15 treys, they were limited to just 39.5% shooting for the game. Brooklyn also dominated the glass 53-34.
Johnson finished with a game-high 33 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Ben Simmons added 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Newly acquired two-way guard Reece Beekman played three minutes in his Nets debut. Brooklyn got 41 points out of its bench.
Ochai Agbaji led the Raptors with 20 points and five assists.
The Nets will return to action on Saturday against the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center.
