TORONTO - It seemed like the Brooklyn Nets were done. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were glued to the bench. The fans at the Air Canada Centre were taunting the Nets with the 'Brook-lyn' chant done at the Barclays Centre. This was a feel-good romp.
The Toronto Raptors entered the fourth quarter with a 22-point lead. However, when you play as sloppily as the Raptors played, nothing was secure. Amir Johnson handed a pass away to Deron Williams. Chuck Hayes logged some inexplicable minutes. The Raptors started fouling jump-shooters habitually. The offence started to use up all of the 24 seconds in the shot clock, showing no urgency.
In fewer than nine minutes, the lead was gone. It completely disappeared on a Joe Johnson three-pointer. Johnson had been the only Net performing in the third quarter.
And if not for the exploits of Kyle Lowry, they might have been cooked. After the Nets tied it, Lowry scored seven of his 36 points, including a massive tie-breaking three-pointer. The Raptors escaped with a 115-113 win. They lead the series 3-2, and will now get a shot at closing out the Nets on Friday in Brooklyn.
For so long, this was the feel-good performance the fans were hoping for, at least for much of the game. It all came apart, though, as the Nets started the fourth quarter - the frame the Raptors had dominated through four games - on a 34-12 run. Lowry rescued them, however, with two free throws, the three-pointer and a floater. The Raptors forced a miss from Johnson within the final 20 seconds, and DeMar DeRozan hit a pair of free throws to seemingly put the game out of reach.
Alan Anderson, however, connected on a four-point play with 9.7 seconds remaining. DeRozan hit two more free throws, and the Nets eventually ran out of time after a smart foul by Patrick Patterson on Andray Blatche.
Lowry led the Raptors, and also provided the signature moment - at the end of the first half. With 10 seconds left, he hit a deft floater over Mason Plumlee. After Hayes - who earlier hit a ridiculous 20-foot one-handed jumper - drew a charge, Lowry hit a running three-pointer to beat the buzzer heading in the half. He immediately supplanted Hayes for the craziest shot of the half. Johnson had 30 points for the Nets, 26 of which came in the second half.
The end ruined what seemed to be a light, breezy day for the Raptors. Part of the growing that Masai Ujiri and Dwane Casey have spoken about is the maturation of Terrence Ross. The Raptors' starting small forward has had an awful series, shooting just 3-for-17 coming into the game and playing inconsistent defence. The game started off like nothing was going to change. Ross missed his first three shots, and picked up two silly fouls in the third quarter. Yet, you could feel his teammates and fans willing him to success. The Raptors kept swinging the ball to him to shoot - he kept missing. He drove to the rim and tried to dunk over Plumlee, and was rejected by the rim. It felt like progress, somehow.
Finally, with 46 seconds left, Vasquez kicked the ball to Ross in the corner by his bench. He drilled it. Ross did not even look excited. Those three points helped contribute to the Raptors' 62, a franchise record for points in a playoff half. He finished with eight. Sticking with Ross is a luxury the Raptors have because of their lack of momentary urgency.
All across the league, there are teams with championship aspirations that are labouring in the first round. Chicago went out on Tuesday night, although their circumstances are mitigated by the injury to Derrick Rose; Houston, who acquired Dwight Howard in order to make a run at the Finals, lost three of the first four games to Portland; Oklahoma City, with the league's likely MVP, and Indiana, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference, could be done as early as Thursday night.
Now, you can add the expensive Nets to that list of teams. They are being dangled over the edge by the Raptors, who were in turn dangled over the edge by the Nets on Wednesday night.
Post By http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/04/30/toronto-raptors-blow-22-point-lead-hang-on-to-beat-brooklyn-nets-in-dramatic-game-5/
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