TORONTO - We don’t know if the Toronto Raptors circled Dec. 17 on their calendar when the NBA schedule was released.
Aubrey Drake Graham did.
The Toronto-born rap star said he wanted to hold Drake Night when the Brooklyn Nets came to town.
“If there’s anybody I want to be beat, it’s the Nets,” said Drake.
The burn of last season’s playoff ouster to the Nets had not been soothed. It was here on the afternoon of May 4 that the Nets depressed an entire nation by beating the Raptors, 104-103, in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Paul Pierce blocked Kyle Lowry’s short jumper at the buzzer. This one wasn’t nearly as dramatic.
The Raptors took over in the fourth quarter to score a 105-89 win Wednesday night in Air Canada Centre. Toronto improved to 20-6. The Nets fell to 10-14.
A regular-season win pales in comparison to a Game 7 triumph, but to Drake, the Raptors and all of Canada, it was sweet revenge.
“I would say they remember,” Toronto Coach Dwane Casey said. “Whether it motivates them, or not, I’d say you have to ask them. I would say, I hope so.
“There’s a big difference, what’s at stake. It doesn’t have the same monumental feel as Game 7.”
KEY STRETCH: The Nets entered the fourth quarter trailing, 76-73, but playing some of their best ball of the season against a quality opponent; they had 17 assists on 30 baskets.
Then, as if a power chord had been unplugged, the Nets reverted back to stagnant offense. Toronto went on a quick 7-1 spurt by turning up its defense.
Tyler Hansbrough blocked a short Cory Jefferson jumper, Greivis Vasquez forced a Joe Johnson turnover, and the Raptors forced a 24-second violation to put the Nets back on their heels. Suddenly, 76-73 had become 99-81.
The Nets had just three assists in the fourth quarter and were outscored 29-16.
“I think sometimes with our execution, some stuff comes so easy in the first half or right out of the gate,” said Mason Plumlee. “I don’t know if we get away from it or we’re not as sharp, but we have to be able to execute down the stretch. And we have the personnel and the system to do that. We just have to lock in mentally.”
KEY STAT: The Nets’ bench was outscored 38-20 by the Raptors’ bench. Ouch.
NETS’ GAINS: Ever since Plumlee had a heart-to-heart with Coach Lionel Hollins, he’s been unstoppable. He scored a career-high and game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.
After scoring 20 points just once in his first 95 games, Plumlee has posted back-to-back 20-point performances.
TALK: Toronto Coach Dwane Casey was asked how long it took him to get over the Game 7 loss to the Nets last season.
“A couple of months,” said Casey. “Went over each play, what we could have done different. Not only that, the whole series, playoff approach. I’ve been in quite a few of them. It takes time to get out of playoff mentality. When you’re that intense for that period of time, it takes a while to shut it down.”