TORONTO RAPTORS-BROOKLYN NETS 103-116 (THE TABLE)
The story of the first half between Toronto and Brooklyn
Complicated start in attack for the Nets of Steve Nash – symbol of Canadian basketball in his first match as a manager in his country – with the super aggressive defense of the Raptors against Durant and a Pascal Siakam on his seasonal debut already on the ball: after five minutes he is 12-8 Toronto. Siakam leaves the field at two fouls, Barnes tries to deal with Durant in the best possible way, but KD is lethal and rises to 10 points scored, bringing the Nets to 20 and four ahead of the Raptors with less than four minutes to go of the first quarter. Confused end of the first half, with the All-Star of the Nets who miss a few too many shots and Toronto who remains in the wake: Brooklyn 29-26 after 12 minutes of play.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Nash empties the bench, with Aldridge, Bembry and Mills trying to make their weight felt on the court in those minutes. Coach Nurse, on the other hand, does not give up on VanVleet who rises to nine points and Siakam at seven: seven minutes from the long interval, however, he is 40-39 Brooklyn. Toronto, however, puts more energy and desire on the field and finds a way to take the lead thanks to the points in the area (28 to 12 in favor of the Canadians in the first 20 minutes of the challenge), despite the Raptors shooting 4/16 from the arc: 49 -46 for the hosts 180 seconds from the end of the first half of the match. At the end of the second quarter, the two most spectacular plays arrive: Barnes who steals the ball from KD and crushes in reverse in transition, VanVleet who from the dribble drives the Nets defense crazy and finds two points. At half-time it is 60-53 for the Raptors.
The story of the second half between Toronto and Brooklyn
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Two baskets from Durant (already at 18) and the Nets put their nose back ahead with a 9-0 run in 150 seconds, forcing Nick Nurse to immediately call a timeout after the disastrous return to the field of his team. Toronto has a beastly effort to find the bottom of the retina, despite the quality of the shots does not remain at a good level: cold hands and so Brooklyn can take advantage of it, even touching the double-digit advantage when KD starts the usual unstoppable shot from the bow. The Raptors, on the other hand, continue to beat in the lead from long distance (4/21 overall): a quarter of an hour from the siren is 77-69 Nets. The Raptors jolt leads to the set from 8-0 in 100 seconds, but at the end of the third quarter Toronto is still down: 88-77 Nets, maximum advantage in the game thanks to 13 points in the fraction of a Durant of 29 total.
With Durant at rest, Brooklyn struggles in attack (Harden from 4/13 shooting, 0/7 from the arc and 13 points), while Patty Mills’ 10 points with three triples are essential to maintain the double figure advantage. Target: With seven minutes left, it’s 96-86 Nets. The talent of a champion like Barba, however, cannot be questioned: Harden in fact scores seven points in a row in the decisive moment of the challenge, maintaining the double-digit advantage and cooling the enthusiasm five minutes from the siren of the home crowd. With 200 seconds left, a downhill game for Brooklyn (31 points from Durant). Not even the 7-0 of a desperate run in Toronto scares Brooklyn: the seal is set by Harden (16 points in the fourth period), for the Nets it is the fifth success in a row.
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