TORONTO – Cam Johnson took over in the fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets rallied past the Toronto Raptors 101-94 on Thursday.
Johnson went on a 13-4 run in the final 2:24 of the game to lead Brooklyn (11-16) to victory. He finished with a game-high 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Ben Simmons added 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
Scottie Barnes had 16 points, six assists and three rebounds for Toronto (7-21) in his first game back from a sprained right ankle. Ochai Agbaji had 20 points on 4 for 8 three-point shooting, and Gradey Dick added 19 points.
Rookies Ja’Kobe Walter and Jonathan Mogbo started for the Raptors, bringing the average age of the lineup down to 22 years 187 days, the youngest in franchise history.
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The youth movement was necessary with swingman RJ Barrett (illness) of Mississauga, Ont., and backup guard Davion Mitchell (strained right shoulder) out.
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Takeaways
Nets: Brooklyn didn’t take care of the ball throughout the game, giving up 17 turnovers to Toronto’s 12. They were also 33 for 82 (40.2 per cent) on field goals including a woeful 9 for 39 from three-point range. The Raptors had as many threes in the third quarter as the Nets did in the first three quarters — seven.
Raptors: Centre Jakob Poeltl was inactive with a strained groin and Toronto clearly missed his rebounding. He’s averaging 11 boards per game this season, seventh-most in the NBA. The Raptors were outrebounded 31-16 in the first half and 53-34 overall.
Key moment
Brooklyn centre Nic Claxton was kicked out of the game 3:14 into the second quarter after throwing a ball into the stands after he was fouled by Raptors forward Kelly Olynyk. Claxton was leading the Nets with seven points and five rebounds at the time of the technical and threatened to throw a seat cushion onto the floor after he was ejected.
Key stat
It was the first game in NBA history with two head coaches from Europe facing each other. The Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic is from Serbia and Brooklyn’s Jordi Fernandez is from Spain.
Up next
Toronto: The Raptors host the Houston Rockets on Sunday evening.
Brooklyn: The Nets welcome the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.
© 2024 The Canadian Press