Now, this looked more like the Nets team everyone had been expecting.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving combined for five points in the final 1:27 to break a 100-100 tie and Royce O’Neal hit a massive three with 14.3 seconds left to give the Nets a four-point cushion in a 109-105 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday Night. The victory helped ease some of the demons of Wednesday’s season-opening loss as the Nets put together a much stronger effort that included Durant and Irving driving the Nets’ offense in the second half.
“I just thought we played really hard,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “It’s not always pretty right now as we’re trying to figure this out and put the pieces together. We talked after Wednesday night about raising our standards and expecting a fight. … There was a lot of pockets in the game where we could have waivered, but we never gave in and showed our team’s ability and making those connections even if it’s no smooth yet.”
The two Brooklyn superstars finished the game with combined 57 points in the 48-minute affair. Irving knocked down a quick jumper late in the fourth quarter after the Raptors had tied the game at 100 after a big run and then Durant hit a three to make it a 105-102 Nets lead.
O’Neale hit a deep three with 14.3 to make it a four-point game and sealed the win.
Irving finished the night with 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting and went 5-for-13 beyond the arc. It was a massive improvement over the effort from the field on Wednesday night.
“I mean just the end of the third really got us going and he was the head of the snake,” Durant said of Irving’s play. “When he has the ball up top in the fourth he’s just so dangerous, you know. Cause he can score from anywhere, he can shoot over anybody and he makes the correct play. He was able to get some shots up on some possessions I thought we was going to be a turnover or a shot clock violation.
“We was able to get some shots up and that shows how special he is and was able to knock down shots. Trusting Royce at the end for the three and we just keep building and get ready for next game.”
Durant had 27 points on Friday while struggling early before coming out strong in the second half. The Nets superstar put up 12 of his final 27 points in the third alone while shooting 4-of-5 and hitting two shots from three-point range in that period.
It was Claxton that put up seven points in the final 2:16 of the third quarter to help erase a 10-point deficit. Then with 28.3 seconds left in the quarter, the Nets had one of their best passing sequences of the season which culminated with a three from Patty Mills to pull cut the Raptors’ lead to 79-78.
The Nets took the lead in the opening minute of the fourth when Markiff Morris hit a three to make it 81-79 Brooklyn and Claxton hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead. A stepback jumper by Kyrie Irving brought the Barclays Center crowd to their feet as he hit the contested shot and drew the foul.
Claxton finished the night third in team scoring with 19 points along with 11 rebounds and four blocks. It was the second consecutive game that the Nets’ big man had put up a double-double and was the first time he’s done so in back-to-back games in his career.
Brooklyn got off to a much better start against the Raptors than they did on Wednesday in the season opener. Irving hit the game’s first shot on a pull-up jumper less than a minute into the game.
The Raptors jumped to a 6-2 lead after that, but the Nets cut that rather quickly. A driving hook shot by Simmons pulled them within two and moments later a block by Simmons on O.G. Anunoby led to the Nets going the other way.
O’Neale, who was making his second consecutive start on Friday, made a cutting layup to tie the game at eight with 7:53 left in the first quarter. A pair of free throws by O’Neale, a floater by Simmons and a driving layup by Claxton put Brooklyn ahead 14-10 with 6:20 remaining in the opening quarter.
After the Raptors had taken a 22-20 lead, Harris knocked down his first three-point attempt of the season to put Brooklyn back in front. Irving followed it up on the Nets’ next possession with a three of his own.
The Raptors managed to jump back in the lead in the game’s second period as Pascal Siakam put up 12 of his final 37 points in the second alone. Three consecutive shots in that made it a 39-35 game in favor of Toronto and the Raptors finished with a 52-49 lead going into the half.
The Nets opened the second half with back-to-back buckets from Durant and Irving to take a 53-52 lead. Irving followed it up with a three to put Brooklyn in front 56-52 and then knocked down a pull-up jumper from 17 feet out.
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Brooklyn held Toronto without a basket for the first 3:06 of the period before O.G. Anunoby finally got shot to fall. A Siakam dunk cut the Nets’ lead to two, but Durant hit consecutive threes to put Brooklyn up by eight.
The Raptors managed to pull within one late in the third after Pascal Siakam hit a corner three, but he failed to complete the four-point play by missing the free throw. However, Scottie Barnes hit a three-pointer to put Toronto back in front and Siakam made it a 68-64 ballgame with 4:48 left in the period.
