Saturday night’s Atlantic Division showdown at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto will see the Brooklyn Nets take on the Toronto Raptors for the third time this season. The Raptors have a chance to clinch the series after beating the Nets 110-102 as 7-point home favorites and 121-102 as 2-point road underdogs. Toronto has dominated the Nets over the last few years, winning 17 of their previous 18 encounters overall.
After some terrible displays in January, the Nets have improved recently, winning four of their previous five games overall. On the other side, the Raptors will play back-to-back after visiting the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. They entered the clash in Indianapolis on a 12-game winning streak.
The Nets have humiliated the Warriors last time out
Brooklyn is coming off a 129-88 home victory over the Golden State Warriors this past Wednesday. The Nets routed the Dubs, winning each quarter by at least six points. They had a 21-point lead at halftime which tells you a lot about the Warriors’ performance. The Nets outrebounded their rivals (65-34) while shooting 51.0% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. Caris LeVert led the way for Brooklyn with 23 points and eight assists, while Joe Harris added 17 points and nine rebounds.
“Obviously we knew taking D’Lo (D’Angelo Russell), try to bring his percentages down, that was the game plan – first part of the game plan – and limiting Draymond’s (Green) effect on the game with his passing. And mission accomplished,” Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I like how our young guys finished it, you know, finished the game. They showed real progress. All around good defensive effort.”
The Nets are without Kyrie Irving (27.4 PPG, 6.4 APG) who’s dealing with a knee injury. Uncle Drew will miss Saturday’s game against the Raptors, so Spencer Dinwiddie (21.0 PPG, 6.4 APG) and Caris LeVert (14.4 PPG, 3.6 APG) will drive the Nets’ offense. Brooklyn scores only 107.4 points per 100 possessions (22nd in the league), allowing 108.0 points in a return (9th). The Nets are No. 7 seed in the East, seven games behind the sixth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers and two games ahead of the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic.
The Raptors narrowly defeated the Pacers for their 12th straight victory
Before they visited Indianapolis on Friday, the Raptors barely outlasted the Indiana Pacers 119-118 as 5.5-point home favorites this past Wednesday. Toronto overcame a 19-point deficit, while the Raptors trailed by 11 points with just 3:10 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Kyle Lowry led the way for the Raptors with 32 points and 10 assists, while Serge Ibaka added 30 points and seven rebounds. Pascal Siakam had a great game, too, accounting for 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
“We play 48 minutes,” Lowry said. “That’s how we play. We gave ourselves a chance, put the press on, made some shots, got aggressive and played better defense down the stretch.”
The Raptors are topping the Atlantic Division at the moment and are No. 2 seed in the East. They are seven games behind the Milwaukee Bucks and 1.5 games ahead of the third-seeded Boston Celtics. The Raptors score 111.5 points per 100 possessions (13th in the league), surrendering only 105.0 points in a return (2nd). They are without Marc Gasol (hamstring) and Norman Powell (finger), while all other guys are ready to go.
