Nets best shorthanded Raptors to end skid
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C.J. Watson scored all 16 of his points in the second half behind 4-of-4 shooting from behind the arc to wake up the sluggish Brooklyn Nets in their 94-88 comeback win over the Toronto Raptors.
Joe Johnson led Brooklyn with 23 points, while Andray Blatche added 14 points and nine rebounds to help halt the club's five-game skid, which included a three-point loss to the Knicks on Tuesday.
The Raptors weren't playing the second game of a back-to-back like the Nets, but they were limited with the injuries to starters Andrea Bargnani (elbow) and Kyle Lowry (triceps) and because of Amir Johnson's suspension.
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"Guys looking for minutes are going to get more playing time," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. "It's a tough situation. It's a challenge. They're not going to cancel games."
Ed Davis paced Toronto with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Jose Calderon added 10 points and 15 assists in the loss.
Toronto, coming off a winless five-game road trip, failed to hold an 11-point lead in the third. The Nets were in front, 68-64, heading to the fourth and immediately took control with a 14-4 flurry to open up a 14-point lead.
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Joe Johnson and Watson each hit from long range on the first two Nets possessions, and Watson hit another during the pivotal run.
Toronto went on an 9-0 spurt in the final two minutes to make things interesting, but after Davis' free throw cut the deficit to 90-86 with 17 seconds left, Watson made a pair from the stripe to close out the victory
"We didn't have a lot of energy in the first half," Nets head coach Avery Johnson said. "Once we got adjusted, we were able to get some great energy from C.J."
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The Raptors used a late 10-2 run in the first quarter, as well as 20 combined points from Davis and Jonas Valanciunas, to take a 27-20 lead into the second.
An ugly second stanza ended with Aaron Gray tipping in a DeMar DeRozan miss to give the hosts a 45-37 halftime advantage.
Late in the third, the Nets took their first lead since it was 2-0 when Johnson drained a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run for a 60-58 edge with 2:27 on the clock.
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Game Notes
Toronto has lost 12 of its last 13 games ... Amir Johnson was suspended for one game as a result of an altercation with an official in Monday's loss in Portland. The forward got into a tug-of-war for the ball with referee David Jones after a free throw and threw his mouthpiece at Jones after he was ejected ... The Nets shot 10-of-19 from 3-point range ... Deron Williams scored 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting for Brooklyn ... DeRozan logged 11 points, seven below his season average ... Valanciunas finished with 15 points -- six after the opening quarter.