Field Level Media
Jan 4, 2020
Fred VanVleet scored 22 of his 29 points after halftime as the Toronto Raptors rallied from a 16-point deficit and continued their domination over the Brooklyn Nets with a 121-102 victory on Saturday night in New York.
The Raptors beat the Nets for the 17th time in the past 18 meetings with the one loss being a one-point overtime defeat in December 2018.
VanVleet shot 11 of 19 and tied a season best with five 3-pointers after shooting 3 of 16 and missing 10 of 11 3-point tries in Thursday's 84-78 loss at Miami. He also tied a season best with 11 assists.
Kyle Lowry shook off a 6-for-19 shooting night and added 20 of his 26 points after halftime.
Serge Ibaka posted 21 and 12 rebounds as the Raptors shot 45.4 percent and outscored the Nets 85-50 in the final 27:38.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23 points for the Nets, whose losing streak reached a season-high five games. The Nets also dropped to 12-11 without Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement), who before the game acknowledged he might need surgery on a shoulder that also has some bursitis.
Joe Harris added 18 points for the Nets, who shot 47.8 percent. Caris LeVert returned from missing 24 games with a right thumb injury that required surgery and added 13 points in 16 minutes.
Brooklyn took a 52-36 lead on a 3-pointer by Taurean Prince with 3:38 remaining but the Raptors scored the final 12 points of the half and were within 52-48 by halftime.
VanVleet scored eight straight Toronto points and his 3-point play put the Raptors up 70-68 with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter. The Raptors held an 83-80 lead going into the fourth after consecutive hoops by Terence Davis II and gradually clinched their latest win over Brooklyn.
Lowry's 3-pointer from the top of the key put Toronto up 88-83 with 9:09 remaining and VanVleet's layup pushed the lead to 96-86 with 7:08 remaining. Consecutive dunks by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and rookie Oshae Brissett hiked the lead to 100-88 with 6:21 remaining.
Toronto sent many fans headed to the exits a few minutes later when Lowry's 3-pointer spiked the lead to 115-97 with about two minutes remaining.
--Field Level Media