Nets have Winning Streak Snapped North of the Border

tipofthetower.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

January 11th, 2013

Brooklyn Nets vs. Toronto Raptors Post Game Recap

Final Score: Nets 80 Raptors 96

The Brooklyn Nets had their five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night against the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors. The loss moves the Nets to (15-22) on the season and are now four games behind the Raptors in the Division.

Positives-

In what was a long night on Friday in the double-overtime win against the Miami Heat, and tough travels to Toronto the Nets were behind the eight-ball to begin with, which led to few positives in an ugly game. The best player for the Nets in their 80-point performance was Paul Pierce, who led the way with a team-high 15 points on five for nine shooting. When Pierce was taking out of the game towards the end of the third quarter the Nets actually had a 10-point lead, but by the time he returned they were down by eight points in about a seven minute span.



The starting frontline for the Raptors was a non-factor in their win, as Center Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson both had poor games against the Nets small lineup. Valanciunas was held to eight points on two for nine shooting with nine rebounds, and Johnson scored only three points on one for six shooting.

Negatives-

DeMar DeRozan was fantastic in the Raptors win, as he had a game-high 26 points on nine for 18 shooting. Besides his great scoring game DeRozan did a nice job on the glass with seven rebounds, and he also dished out five assists.

After three great games, and a 32-point game on Friday against the Heat, Joe Johnson struggled to ever get going in the loss on Saturday. Johnson scored just 11 points on four for 13 shooting, but did do well on the glass with six rebounds, and did dish out six assists. The rebounds and assists aren’t a bad thing for Johnson and then Nets, but they need him to be scoring in the 20-point area every night especially without Deron Williams.

The bench play was a huge disadvantage for Brooklyn in this game, and with a lack of production and lack of stopping Toronto’s bench, it got an ugly. The Raptors saw great play from Patrick Patterson, who had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Patterson also had a ridiculous +40 +/-. John Salmons was also great for Toronto, as he scored 13 points on a perfect five for five shooting, and like Patterson had a great +/- at +32.

The Nets will be heading to London before they are set to play against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.