TORONTO _ Two nights after overcoming a 19-point deficit to score a blowout victory over the bottom-feeding Hawks, the Nets found themselves in the deep water against the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors. They needed an improbable upset to reach the .500 mark, but this time, they floundered badly in a 122-105 loss Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The Nets held a nine-point lead at one stage in the first quarter, but they were overwhelmed in the second and third quarters by a combined score of 71-40. In the fourth quarter, their deficit reached 26 points as coach Kenny Atkinson cleared his bench to give time to two-way players Theo Pinson and Alan Williams, who made his season debut.
The Nets (21-23) got a solid performance from D'Angelo Russell, who had 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds, but the only other Net in double figures was Shabazz Napier (15). The Nets committed 17 turnovers leading to 20 Toronto points and were outscored in the paint, 62-42.
Kawhi Leonard topped eight Raptors (32-12) in double figures with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Pascal Siakam added 16.
Over their previous 17 games, the Nets went 13-4 on the heels of an eight-game losing streak, and that amazing turnaround began with a one-point overtime victory against the Raptors at Barclays Center when they had the NBA's best record.
"Good team, 13-4 in their last 17," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said before the game. "Somebody should talk about that. I've been hearing about Boston's 15-5, but 13-4 is pretty good, too. They've had some injuries, right? They maybe found some better pieces along the way that fit the system a little better. So, they're doing a great job of handling the injuries, playing hard and making shots."
Although the Nets had been losing prior to upsetting the Raptors, they had been losing close and blowing fourth-quarter leads. "I think it gave us some confidence," Atkinson said of that win. "We were playing well against good teams, and to finally get over the hump, it gave us confidence. We've played a lot better since that game."
Clearly, the Nets were in a very different place in terms of confidence and maturity when they took the floor against the Raptors, but they had to deal with yet another injury. Jared Dudley suffered a hamstring injury Wednesday in a win over the Hawks, and he was replaced in the starting lineup by Treveon Graham.
Once again, the Nets handled the manpower shortage well in the early going. Russell scored 12 first-quarter points, and the Nets put together a 14-1 run that included seven points from Napier and a four-point play by DeMarre Carroll to take a 35-26 lead. That shrank to seven at the end of the period, but it was the most first-quarter points for the Nets in a road game this season.
The second quarter was a different story as the Raptors outscored the Nets 36-18. They had a 15-2 run near the end of the half to expand their lead to 12 before a Jarrett Allen foul shot cut it to 64-53 at the break.
The Raptors pushed their lead to 16 at 73-57 with a 7-0 burst early in the third period. The Nets twice pulled within 12, but other than Russell, they didn't have much going offensively. That led to breakdowns at the defensive end as the Nets failed to get back in transition, allowing the Raptors to end the quarter on a 15-3 run that ended with six layups for a commanding 99-75 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
This wasn't the Hawks the Nets were facing, and there would be no comeback.
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