Raptors-Nets Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 28 2012 10:17PM

After a sluggish start, things are starting to look up for Deron Williams and the New Jersey Nets.

There isn't nearly as much optimism surrounding the Toronto Raptors, who - if their most recent effort is any indication - look headed for what could be another challenging stretch with Andrea Bargnani out indefinitely.

Seeking a third consecutive win, New Jersey tries for a fourth victory in five games over the visiting Raptors on Sunday.

Since losing 11 of their first 14 games, the Nets (7-13) have taken four of six thanks in large part to Williams' tremendous play. The two-time All-Star is averaging 22.3 points and 9.5 assists over his last six contests - recording five double-doubles over that span.

Two nights after scoring 34 points and dishing out 11 assists in a 97-90 overtime win at Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia, Williams had 27 and 10, respectively, as New Jersey posted back-to-back victories for the first time this season with Friday's 99-96 win at Cleveland.

"My teammates have told me I have to score for us to be successful. I've been trying to do that early. I got some good looks," said Williams, who made 5 of 9 from 3-point range. " ... We wanted a winning streak bad."

Coach Avery Johnson is surely to continue calling Williams' number early and often. The Nets are 5-0 when he scores at least 24 points and 2-12 when he has 23 or fewer.

Williams had 24 points in leading New Jersey to a 97-85 win at Toronto (6-14) on Jan. 6. While Bargnani scored 17 in that meeting, the Raptors could find keeping up with the Nets all the more difficult this time around with their leading scorer sidelined.

After sitting out the final six games of Toronto's eight-game losing streak Jan. 10-22 due to a strained left calf, Bargnani returned to score 36 points during Tuesday's 99-96 win at Phoenix. The former No. 1 overall pick, however, aggravated his injury the following night in a 111-106 double-overtime win at Utah. Bargnani, averaging 23.5 points, scored 25 before exiting.

The Raptors failed to get much going without him Friday, shooting just 39.0 percent from the floor during a 96-81 loss at Denver.

"Our guys have to believe," coach Dwayne Casey said. "We can't sit back and wait for Andrea to come back. As it was said famously before, he's not walking through that door. It's us against the world for a while, we don't know how long it's going to be, and we've got to play like it."

While he scored season-best 25 points off the bench versus the Jazz, Linas Kleiza was inefficient during his first start - making just 1 of 7 shots to finish with two points against the Nuggets.

"I had some good shots," Kleiza said. "Didn't fall for anybody. What can you do? You've got to work tomorrow and try to win the next day."

Since winning six straight in this series, Toronto has lost three of four - including back-to-back visits to the Prudential Center.

Williams is averaging 20.9 points and 12.3 assists in his last seven meetings with the Raptors. He has never lost in 14 career matchups versus Toronto.

Second on New Jersey with 15.4 points per contest, MarShon Brooks is likely to miss a fourth consecutive game with a strained left Achilles' tendon.

DeRozan leads Raptors past Nets 94-73

Posted Jan 29 2012 9:56PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) DeMar DeRozan took over as soon as the third quarter started.

DeRozan scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, leading the Toronto Raptors to a 94-73 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Sunday night.

With injuries playing a role in their 7-14 start, the Raptors received a huge lift from DeRozan. He made eight of 12 shots, and 11 of 16 free throws.

"The key was patience," he said. "I watched a lot of film and I didn't want to force a lot of things. Lately we get kind of slow coming out in the third quarter, so I tried to be aggressive and get things going."

Raptors coach Dwane Casey was impressed by DeRozan's effort.

"I thought DeMar DeRozan did a heck of a job attacking the basket," Casey said. "He's too athletic and too quick to not get to the rim."

Toronto led 46-41 when it scored 10 straight to go up by 15 points. DeRozan scored four free throws in the run, and Jerryd Bayless scored a couple of baskets.

"The guys played like they believed," Casey said. "They knew that we were short-handed, so everybody carried their load."

Bayless finished with 17 points, and the 6-foot-3 guard added six rebounds and six assists. He also spent his 34 minutes playing defense on Deron Williams.

Williams came in averaging 19.4 points, scored 24. But he had to work for them. He made only eight of 20 shots and just three of 10 from outside the arc.

"Coach wanted me to come out and play defense as hard as I could," Bayless said. "Everybody in the league knows he's a great player. But I think our defense played its best game of the year, honestly. Ed (Davis) and Amir (Johnson) really helped out and made my job easier."

The game continued to be easy for Toronto after it build the 15-point cushion. New Jersey never got closer than 11 the rest of the way, and the margin reached 23 at one point.

The result left both teams with records of 7-14, tying them for third place in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors put together a 12-1 run midway in the second quarter, going from two points down to nine up at 40-31. They took a 44-39 lead into the half. Bayless led the stretch, driving for one basket and making three of four free throws.

Eleven points by DeRozan in the third quarter really broke things open.

"We didn't have any energy on either side of the floor," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "(Toronto) came in, they're a hungry team, and DeRozan had a big night. Unfortunately we just had a bad offense and bad defense."

Notes: Toronto shot 51.5 percent to New Jersey's 36.5, and outscored the Nets from the free-throw line 21-12.

Notebook: Raptors 94, Nets 73

By Adam Figman, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 29, 2012 9:30PM

THE FACTS: Coming off two impressive road victories, the Nets returned to Newark, N.J. with a lifeless performance, squandering any momentum they had garnered with a 94-73 loss to a Raptors team competing without its leading scorer. As Toronto center Andrea Bargnani (left calf) watched from the sideline, the Raptors' backcourt stepped up, with DeMar DeRozan leading the way with a game-high 27 points.

QUOTABLE: "We didn't have any energy on either end of the floor, coming off of a trip where we went 2-1 on the road, and had so many positives. ... Unfortunately, we had bad offense and bad defense."
-- Nets head coach Avery Johnson.

THE STAT: Field goal percentage. Toronto finished at 51.5 percent, while the Nets shot only only 27-for-74 (36.5 percent) from the field.

TURNING POINT: In the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Raptors turned a 5-point halftime advantage into a double-digit lead, which they maintained for the subsequent quarter and a half.

QUOTABLE II: "This is a new set of 10 for us. The first set we went 2-8, and the second set we went 5-5. This was a new set of 10 ? yes you take it one game at a time ? but if you play well, you can try to improve on your record. We didn't look like a team that wanted to take a step in that direction."
-- Johnson.

HOT: Jerryd Bayless. Coming off a season-high 18 points in Friday night's tilt against the Nuggets, Bayless started for the first time this season against the Nets, scoring 17 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in the victory.

NOT: DeShawn Stevenson. The Nets swingman didn't contribute a single point Sunday night, and despite a steady spot in the team's starting line, he hasn't scored in double figures since January 6. To make matters worse, the swingman left the game after banging his knee in the third quarter, though he did return.

GOOD MOVE: With Bargnani out, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey elected to start a smaller lineup, moving DeRozan to small forward and starting 6-foot-3 Jerryd Bayless at shooting guard. It worked. DeRozan and Bayless combined for 44 points, while no Nets big men made use of what should've been a golden opportunity to take full advantage of a thin Raptors frontline.

NOTABLE: Entering Sunday, the Nets were 5-0 when Deron Williams scores at least 24 points. He managed exactly 24 points, though that record dropped to 5-1. ... After missing three games with a sore left Achilles, Nets rookie MarShon Brooks returned to action, putting in 6 points in 22 minutes. ... Along with Bargnani, Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa (left ankle) was also sidelined for the night.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Tuesday @ Indiana, Wednesday vs. Detroit, Friday vs. Minnesota. For the Raptors, Tuesday vs. Atlanta, Wednesday @ Boston, Friday, vs. Washington.

• Raptors: Barbosa, Bargnani
• Nets: James, Lopez, Okur

• Raptors: --
• Nets: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
• Officials: #32 Eddie F. Rush, #47 Bennie Adams, #7 Kevin Fehr
• Attendance: 14319
• Duration: 2:06