Nets at Raptors
After playing a wild overtime contest last Friday, the Toronto Raptors and visiting Brooklyn Nets wage battle again Wednesday in the third of four meetings this season. Toronto has won the previous two meetings, including the 127-122 win at Brooklyn in which guard DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points for the Raptors while center Brook Lopez and guard Jarrett Jack each scored 35 points for the Nets. Toronto led by as many as 17 in regulation before Brooklyn rallied.
The Nets staged another impressive rally in beating the Los Angeles Clippers 102-100 on Monday by overcoming a nine-point deficit with 1:46 remaining and winning the game on Jack’s jumper with 1.3 seconds left. “That was crazy. Like everything went perfectly right. You couldn’t even script that,” Jack told reporters. “Spike (Lee) couldn’t even make a better movie. That was a wild one, but we have to build on it.” The Raptors had a six-game winning streak halted when they lost 82-75 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE NETS (19-28): Lopez has strung together three consecutive strong games and is averaging 25.7 points and 8.7 rebounds during the stretch. He has been coming off the bench after clashing with coach Lionel Hollins earlier this season but is now playing solid basketball as trade rumors continue to swirl. “I think Coach kind of accepted that Brook is who he is,” point guard Deron Williams told reporters. “It is definitely benefiting Brook as a player right now and I think us as a team because he is really comfortable out there and being aggressive.”
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (33-16): Toronto had a porous 32.1 shooting percentage in the loss to Milwaukee as its guards were a combined 10-of-46 from the field. DeRozan was a subpar 5-of-16 shooting, and that represented the best showing from the backcourt as Lou Williams was 1-of-12, Kyle Lowry was 1-of-7 and Greivis Vasquez was 3-of-11. The Raptors averaged 112.5 points during their winning streak – failing to reach 100 just once – before posting the season-low point total.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Toronto has won 14 of its last 21 home games against the Nets.
2. Williams scored 15 points against the Clippers after missing the previous 11 games with a rib injury.
3. Raptors C Jonas Valanciunas has five double-doubles in the last 10 games and has 16 on the season.