TORONTO _ One night after collapsing at the end of the fourth quarter in a come-from-ahead loss to the Pelicans, the Nets fell victim to an offensive explosion by the Raptors, who opened the final period with a 21-2 run on their way to a 132-113 victory Friday night at Air Canada Centre. It was the Nets' ninth loss in a row and their 15th straight loss on the road.
The Nets actually built a six-point lead midway through the third quarter and still trailed by only one entering the fourth quarter. But the Raptors hit their first five shots of the final period and 8 of 12 overall in their 21-2 outburst, including four 3-pointers plus a conventional three-point play to assume control with a 111-91 lead. During that stretch, the Nets made only one of nine shots and committed one turnover.
The Raptors (26-13) got a stellar performance from their backcourt of DeMar DeRozan (28 points) and Kyle Lowry (20 points). DeMarre Carroll added 18 points and 11 rebounds, Cory Joseph scored 16 and seven assists, and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Nets (8-31) were led by 23 points from Bojan Bogdanovic, and 20 from Brook Lopez, 11 each from Joe Harris and Justin Hamilton and 10 from Spencer Dinwiddie. But they couldn't keep the Raptors out of the paint, where the home team enjoyed a 56-34 margin that helped them shoot 53.6 percent for the game. The Nets hung tough for three periods with excellent 3-point shooting (17-for-36), but when the Raptors kicked it into another gear in the fourth, they couldn't keep up.
Coming off a 104-95 loss to the Pelicans in which they were outscored 13-1 at the end, the Nets bounced back remarkably well on the second night of a back-to-back despite the fact starting point guard Isaiah Whitehead was out with a left knee sprain and was replaced by Dinwiddie. The Raptors jumped out to an early 21-13 lead, but the Nets got back into it with a 9-1 run by the second unit at the end of the opening period. Hamilton and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson each had four points in that spurt.
Before the game, coach Kenny Atkinson talked effusively about how much he likes the offensive change of pace provided by the Nets' bench. "I love their pace; I love how fast they are," Atkinson said. "That's kind of an image of how we like to play, and Justin Hamilton is a part of that, Rondae at the four is a fast guy, and then you've got Caris (LeVert), and Spencer is pushing the ball like we want.
"That unit, you can see the difference in speed and pace. It's a good changeup from Brook. With Brook, we're settling down more and throwing it inside. The second unit comes in and it's a change of pace and, I think, harder to guard."
When the starters returned early in the second period, they fought their way to a 35-34 lead with five straight points by Bogdanovic, who totaled 15 in the opening half. The teams traded the lead eight times in the second period before the Raptors emerged with a 54-53 halftime lead. Hot 3-point shooting kept the Nets in it even as the Raptors got to the foul line for 10 more attempts than the Nets.
Third-quarter problems have hounded the Nets all season, but the starting unit put together a 17-8 run that included eight points by Harris to take their biggest lead at 77-71. Atkinson inserted the second unit, and the Raptors' DeRozan took charge with nine points in a 12-2 burst that gave the home team an 83-81 lead, but when the third period ended, the Raptors were clinging to only a one-point lead.
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