Nets Fall to Raptors, Remain Slotted Sixth in Draft Lottery Odds

In a matchup pivotal for draft positioning come May's lottery, the banged-up Brooklyn Nets played host to the Toronto Raptors—leading their opponent by two-and-a-half games for the sixth-best chance to land the top selection—in the final meeting between the two this season. Brooklyn showed fight late but conceded too many game-changing plays down the stretch, falling 120-109.

Reece Beekman led the Nets with 14 points and five assists in their second-straight loss.

In an inefficient first quarter of play, Toronto and Jamison Battle utilized a 9-0 run to jump out to an early five-point lead. Battle dueled with Drew Timme—who made his first career start—and took advantage of a Brooklyn offense that was well out of sorts. The Nets shot just over 33% from the field, and outside of Timme's six-point effort, couldn't find a true alpha scorer. Their pourus 2-of-9 hitrate from beyond the arc didn't help, a struggle that continued into the second.

The Raptors orchestrated another 7-0 run—again fueled by Battle who was on his way to a 12-point first half—as Brooklyn resumed bricking from deep. Ziaire Williams emerged as the Nets' top offensive threat, posting nine points in the second quarter, but the over-reliance on the three-ball allowed Toronto to continue building its lead. Come halftime, the five-point deficit had ballooned to 15 due to a combination of poor shooting and carelessness with the basketball—resulting in nine Raptors steals through 24 minutes of play.

With the floodgates having opened early on, Jonathan Mogbo and Ochai Agbaji found their offensive rhythm, pushing Toronto's advantage to as much as 23. However, despite appearing on the bring of an early end to the season series, Brooklyn's young core prevailed. Behind Timme and Trendon Watford, the Nets outscored the Raptors 17-4, cutting their deficit to just 10 while pressuring the visitors. The gap would sit at 10 heading into the final frame, thanks to the fight shown by the youngsters.

After only scoring five points up until the fourth quarter, Keon Johnson took over—scoring eight straight points to cut Toronto's lead back to single digits. Unfortunately, mere seconds after Dariq Whitehead nailed a right-wing three, Agbaji converted an alley-oop plus the foul, essentially erasing Johnson and Whitehead's efforts while killing the Nets' momentum. Agbaji's tough finish triggered a 9-0 Raptors run, restoring their advantage to 17 with just under four minutes to play—effectively ending the game and season series.

Following the loss, Brooklyn closes out their four-game homstand with matchups against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST and Atlanta Hawks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.—the last two performances at the Barclays Center before the season finale versus the New York Knicks on April 13.

To access the final box score from the Nets' loss to the Raptors, click here.