NBA: Raptors complete back-to-back sweep of Nets

Gary Trent Jr. scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Brooklyn Nets 109-108 Tuesday night.

Scottie Barnes added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who defeated the Nets 133-97 on Monday in New York. The teams split four games this season.

Toronto's Pascal Siakam had 18 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Malachi Flynn added 15 points and Khem Birch and Thaddeus Young each scored 11.

James Johnson scored 19 points for Brooklyn. Seth Curry added 18, LaMarcus Aldridge had 16, Cam Thomas 11 and Goran Dragic 10. Aldridge grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The Nets led by as many as 10 points during the third quarter and took an 89-81 lead into the fourth.

Young's driving layup cut Brooklyn's lead to one point with 4:49 to play. Barnes gave Toronto a one-point lead on a jumper with 4:06 remaining. Trent's layup capped a 10-0 run and Toronto led by four with 2:56 to go.

Toronto led by five points after Young's dunk with 1:50 to play, but Johnson answered with a dunk and Curry tied the game with a 3-pointer.

Trent made two free throws with 30.8 seconds remaining. Curry missed an 18-footer and Trent made two free throws to increase the lead to four with 18.5 seconds left. Brooklyn's Patty Mills made a layup before Trent sank two more free throws. Johnson drained a 3-pointer as the game ended.

Toronto led 32-25 after one quarter.

Brooklyn used a 12-4 surge to take a two-point lead with 6:41 to play in the second quarter. Brooklyn led 59-55 at halftime.

Brooklyn closed the third quarter with a 14-4 run to lead 89-81.

Toronto was without OG Anunoby (finger) and Fred VanVleet (knee).

Brooklyn was missing coach Steve Nash (health and safety protocol), Andre Drummond (knee), Kevin Durant (knee), Ben Simmons (back) and Kyrie Irving (COVID-19 vaccine mandates).

The Raptors were playing at home without crowd limits for the first time since Dec. 13 due to the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions.

-reuters

NBA: Scottie Barnes scores 28 to lead Raptors past Nets

Rookie Scottie Barnes tied a career-high with 28 points and collected a career-best 16 rebounds as the visiting Toronto Raptors cruised to a 133-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Monday night.

The Raptors bounced back from losing by a combined 59 points in a weekend back-to-back at Charlotte and Atlanta without Fred VanVleet (right knee soreness) and on a night when Pascal Siakam was held to eight points on 2-of-14 from the floor.

Barnes made his first 11 shots and finished 12 of 14 from the floor. He tied the career high for points set in Friday's loss at Charlotte and also tied a career-best with five steals.

Precious Achiuwa added 20 and eight rebounds as Toronto led by as many as 39, shot 51.5 percent and hit 18 3-pointers. Malachi Flynn filled in for VanVleet and produced a season-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Gary Trent Jr. contributed 12 and Thaddeus Young added 11 as Toronto handed out a season-best 35 assists and collected 17 steals.

The Nets were unable to produce a strong follow-up to Saturday's three-point win in Milwaukee and were handed their seventh loss in nine home games and sixth by double-digits in that span. Brooklyn also lost for the 16th time in 22 games overall.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Nets with 15 points while Bruce Brown and rookie Cam Thomas added 14 apiece as Brooklyn shot 38.4 percent and allowed 31 points off 23 turnovers.

The Nets also were coached by lead assistant Jacque Vaughn after announcing Steve Nash was placed in the health and safety protocol shortly before the opening tip.

Barnes went 5-for-5 and scored 13 points as the Raptors shot 57.7 percent and held a 42-27 lead through the opening quarter. After Brooklyn was within 46-36 on a 3-pointer by James Johnson, Barnes scored 11 points as Toronto outscored the Nets 25-12 over the final 9:36 for a 71-48 halftime lead.

Barnes missed his first shot of the night when he missed a layup with 7:08 remaining but Toronto held a 100-69 lead into the fourth after Achiuwa hit a 3-pointer with 39.6 seconds left.

-reuters