After a very hard-fought game that looked like it would even the series, the Nets drop 0-2 to the defending champion Raptors 104-99 on Wednesday afternoon. Unlike the last matchup this one came down to one possession that was blown by a late game turnover by Joe Harris.
To start this one off Brooklyn showed that they had made the necessary offensive and defensive adjustments from Game 1 by going up 26-12 on Toronto out of the gate. However, that was short-lived as the Raptors ended the first quarter only down 33-29. From this point on the game was very back and forth that resulted in nine ties and five lead changes.
“I like the adjustments that we made,” said Nets Head Coach Jacque Vaughn. “I think it put us in the ballgame as a group. You look at the stats they shot a low percentage [from the field], they shot a low percentage from three, made the adjustments that way. We outrebounded them, had more assists than them. So, the adjustments we did make put us in a position to even be in the final minutes or seconds of a game against the defending champs.”
In spurts throughout the game the Nets’ hard effort certainly showed on the stat sheet, but mainly in the first and third quarter. In the second they maintained but in the fourth it exposed their inability to close.
In the first and third quarters Brooklyn scored a total of 60 points, dished out 14 assists, grabbed 24 rebounds, shot 44.9% from the field and 47.8% from deep. In the second and fourth quarters they scored a total of 39 points, dished out 11 assists, grabbed 22 rebounds, shot only 32.7% from the field and 21.6% from deep.
Night and day.
Most importantly, if you’re going to have a bad quarter, the fourth isn’t the one to do it, especially when you’re facing a battle-tested team like Toronto who has multiple closers who can make shots and/or plays down the stretch with ease.
In the final period alone, Norman Powell led both teams in scoring with 12 points. In the second half it was the Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell show as VanVleet led the way with 16 points and Powell added in 13. Together they also were the leading scorers for Toronto, both scoring 24 points. VanVleet also dished out 10 assists.
For Brooklyn, Garrett Temple led the way with 21 points. He was one of six Nets to score in double digits, but it wasn’t enough. “We’ve got to embrace it,” said Vaughn. “Make the 2-0 seem like it’s comfortable. So, open up to the challenge of getting one game at a time. Our group will respond, we’ll watch film together again. We’ll make some more adjustments, but a lot of good from today that can carry over to the remainder of the series.”
