Toronto @ Brooklyn preview
Barclays Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2021 ) Toronto 129, Brooklyn 131
Whenever Kevin Durant returns from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, he will be asked to lead the Brooklyn Nets out of one of the play-in spots in the Eastern Conference.
In the meantime, the Nets will try to start laying the foundation until their superstar returns. Their quest to improve playoff positioning will continue Monday night when they host the seventh-place Toronto Raptors.
The Nets are a game behind Toronto, which they'll visit on Tuesday to complete a back-to-back. Although coach Steve Nash said Durant's return is getting closer, it doesn't appear it will happen until Thursday's home game against the Miami Heat at the earliest.
Because of local mandates against unvaccinated players, the Nets will not have Kyrie Irving's services for both games after he scored a season-high 38 points during Saturday's 126-123 win at Milwaukee. Irving's big performance helped the Nets survive allowing 16 3-pointers and win for the second time in 14 games this season when opponents shoot at least 50 percent.
"They deserved it. I think that's the message to the team after the game," Nash said. "We had some tough weeks here and we asked them to stay together, first and foremost, and they've done that. We asked them to focus to weather this period where we're undermanned and struggling. They were rewarded tonight."
Those tough weeks include a stretch of 15 losses in 21 games since a 138-112 rout of Chicago on Jan. 12, a stretch where Durant has played 12 minutes. It also is a stretch where the Nets are 2-6 at home, and those six losses are by an average of more than 18 points.
Toronto heads to Brooklyn 2 1/2 games behind the sixth-place Boston Celtics, who handed the Nets a 23-point loss on Thursday.
The Raptors won four games by single digits during an eight-game winning streak Jan. 29-Feb. 10 but are 1-4 in their past five games. The last three losses were by double digits. Toronto is looking to avoid its first three-game skid since Nov. 26-30 after an ugly back-to-back set in Charlotte and Atlanta.
After allowing Charlotte to shoot 55.3 percent in Friday's 125-93 loss, the Raptors were not much better in a 127-100 loss to Atlanta on Saturday. Unlike Friday when the Raptors fell far behind in the first half, they trailed by eight at halftime and were outscored 38-16 in the third period.
"We revved our motor pretty hard in the second, and you shut down at the halftime break and we didn't seem able to rev it back up," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said after his team allowed the Hawks to shoot 57.8 percent from the field. "That's not a good sign that two nights in a row that happened. We know we have a capability of playing better. We've got to dig in."
Fred VanVleet scored 24 points Saturday and went 11 of 34 from the field in the back-to-back while dealing with some right-knee soreness.
Brooklyn has won the last three meetings, including a 131-129 overtime home win on Dec. 14.
--Field Level Media