Raptors at Nets
The Toronto Raptors look to add to their franchise record win totals when they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Raptors, who will start the Eastern Conference playoffs this weekend as the second seed against No. 7 Indiana, have won 55 games overall and 23 on the road – both team records.
Toronto rolled over Philadelphia 122-98 on Tuesday to notch their franchise-most 32nd home victory while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and placing seven players in double figures. The Raptors will likely rest some of their regulars against Brooklyn as they tune up for the postseason, but forward Patrick Patterson and guard Cory Joseph were held out Tuesday and likely will be available for the finale. The Nets will attempt to avoid finishing the season with a 10-game losing streak after falling 120-111 against Washington on Monday. Brooklyn has allowed at least 100 points in 10 consecutive games and averaged 120.8 against in the past four contests.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN (Toronto), YES2 (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (55-26): DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, Toronto’s standout backcourt duo who both average more than 20 points, were limited to fewer than 30 minutes each in the win over Philadelphia and made just 8-for-23 from the field. Rookie Norman Powell, who has started more games this season (23) than any other 2015 second-round pick, continues to produce with 18 points on Tuesday. Center Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 11 boards to push his team-leading total to 22 double-doubles.
ABOUT THE NETS (21-60): Point guard Shane Larkin has been a bright spot down the stretch while averaging 10.6 points and 6.8 assists over 11 straight starts. Guard Sean Kilpatrick, a mid-season free-agent acquisition, is scoring 17.7 per game this month and rookie Chris McCullough is averaging 9.5 points over the past four outings. Brooklyn has shut down leading scorer Brook Lopez (20.6) for the season and promising power forward Thomas Robinson (knee) is questionable for the season finale.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Toronto F DeMarre Carroll has totaled 18 points in three games, averaging just over 17 minutes, since returning from knee surgery.
2. Nets SG Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points Monday, reaching that figure for the first time since March 22.
3. The Raptors have won all three meetings this season by an average of 11.3 points.