Brooklyn @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 18, 2019 ) Toronto 123, Brooklyn 107

The Toronto Raptors are fighting through a slump with losses in four of their last five games and are coming off a 112-92 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. The Raptors will try to set things right against a division foe when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

Toronto's last four losses all came against teams fighting for the top of their respective conferences and they struggled to put up much of a fight on Wednesday against the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, who drew raucous cheers from the home crowd when he received his NBA championship ring. "I thought we were really flying around out there, and it looked like it was going to be a hell of a ball game and we went through a really dry spell offensively that deflated us," Raptors coach Nick Nurse told reporters. The Nets had a three-game winning streak come to an end with a 105-102 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday and fell to 9-4 in 13 games since Kyrie Irving left the lineup with a shoulder impingement. Irving is still not participating in full-contact practices with the team and is still without a timetable for his return.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, YES (Brooklyn), TSN (Toronto)

ABOUT THE NETS (13-11): Brooklyn scored 64 points in the first half on Wednesday but was held to 44 after the break while struggling to deal with a zone defense deployed by Charlotte. The Nets failed to take advantage of the space on the outside and went 10-of-38 from 3-point range as Joe Harris (1-of-8), Spencer Dinwiddie (2-of-9) and Garrett Temple (1-of-5) struggled. "We definitely got stagnant after they went to the zone, which is pretty surprising with the caliber of shooters we have," Dinwiddie told reporters. "When you have guys like Joe (Harris), (Garrett Temple) and Taurean Prince on the floor, we've just got to get those guys shots. They're phenomenal shooters. Nobody should be able to zone us, especially in our own house. We should be able to shoot them out of that thing."

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (16-8): All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry struggled to six points on 1-of-8 shooting and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts on Wednesday. Lowry is shooting 28.6 percent from the floor in five games since returning from a nine-game absence due to a thumb injury and is working himself back into playing shape. "I've had two good games and the rest have been (poor), to be honest," Lowry told reporters. "Once I get back to where I was at the beginning of the season, it will be great. Right now, I'm just trying to work my way in and trying to figure it out and get better and get better over time. But right now, I'm nowhere near where I want to be physically and where I need to be."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Nets C Jarrett Allen recorded his fourth straight double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds on Wednesday.

2. Raptors G Fred VanVleet (knee) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.

3. Toronto took three of the four meetings last season, including both at home.

PREDICTION: Raptors 109, Nets 103