The Brooklyn Nets paid a visit to The North on Friday to take on the Toronto Raptors and came away with a 119-116 victory.
For the Nets, Kyrie Irving had 32 points (including the walk-off three over VanVleet) and five assists while Kevin Durant had 28 points and four rebounds. Nic Claxton had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks while Yuta Watanabe had 17 points and three rebounds off the bench.
For the Raptors, Fred VanVleet had 39 points and five rebounds and Scottie Barnes had 26 points and three rebounds. Pascal Siakam had 17 points and seven rebounds while Malachi Flynn had 13 points off the bench.
This was a physical game as the Raptors roughed up the Nets all game. Even though Brooklyn has been talking about shortening the gap in terms of shots, but that did not happen in this game.
Brooklyn did not start this game well as they struggled to play against the physical nature of the Raptors. The Nets used the third quarter to get back in the game and they won the battle of the boards 37-32.
Here are your Nets’ player grades:
Kevin Durant: B+
Durant was not too aggressive at the beginning of the game in terms of shooting the ball. However, towards the end of the first half, Durant started shooting more shots as he tried to fight the Raptors’ rangy defense. Turnovers were an issue throughout the game, but the Raptors tried to double Durant whenever they could. Durant didn’t do as much of the other categories as he was focused on scoring, but the Nets needed every point.
Kyrie Irving: A
Irving did his part on the offensive end all game. He did a good job of beating defenders off the dribble and getting into his bag with his array of moves. As he has all season, he had trouble hitting his three’s at an efficient clip as he was shooting over the long arms of the Raptors. He did have trouble staying in front of VanVleet all game.
Ben Simmons: B-
Simmons was not aggressive on offense at all in this game. He took some opportunities to drive to the rim on guys like Barnes and Siakam, but he passed up too many other shots that were available. He did a good job helping on the boards and did keep his head up while looking for the open man. Simmons played good defense on the perimeter, but had some trouble defending on the interior.
Royce O’Neale: C-
O’Neale did not do much on offense all game. His shot was not working at all, but he did try to make up for it by setting up his teammates for easy shots. O’Neale did not show up much defensively as he has trouble guarding guys like Barnes and VanVleet. O’Neale did a good job rebounding, but turnovers were an issue as well as fouling.
Nic Claxton: A+
Claxton had the paint on lockdown all night. Not only did he do a good job of scoring at the rim, but he also did an awesome job of protecting the rim at the other end. No one on the Raptors was able to attempt a shot at the rim without Claxton challenging or even swatting it out of the air. Claxton also did a great job on the boards amongst the trees of the Raptors.
Joe Harris: B
Harris did not have the most explosive offensive game of his career, but it was effective nonetheless. Harris did a good job of maintaining good spacing on the floor and it led to him getting open looks from three to either shoot the ball or drive to the rim. Harris also did a good job of moving without the ball and that led to some nice layups.
TJ Warren: B-
Warren did his job as expected when it came to providing scoring off the bench. It seemed that whenever the Raptors were pulling away, the ball would end up in Warren’s hand for one of his floating shots that just tickled the rim. Warren gave a good effort defensively, but it was hard for him to keep up with some of the better Raptors players. He did a great job on the boards as he explored his more physical side.
Yuta Watanabe: B+
Watanabe was everywhere in this game. His shot was shaky after he came back from his hamstring injury, but in this game, his shot looked pure. There were a few times that Watanabe was wide open in the corner and he splashed the three with no second thought. He also did a good job of playing the passing lanes and having active hands to disrupt drives and passes.
Edmond Sumner: D
Sumner did not play much in this game as it seems that the Nets wanted to remain as tall and athletic as possible to even the stakes with the Raptors. While on the floor, Sumner did play good defense and even picked a steal because of his tenacity.
Seth Curry: D
Curry did not play much in this game as it seems that the length of the Raptors was just too much for him to overcome. Curry was trying to find any open space to shoot his shot, but Toronto was not giving it to him. He also had trouble beating anyone off the bench and for that, he had to sit the bench for most of this game.
Cam Thomas: F
Thomas was given another chance to play his role as the microwave scorer off the bench, but that did not happen in this game. Thomas was unable to score at all and it seems that he had trouble trying to score against the length and athleticism of the Raptors as most smaller players do. Thomas also did not provide much in terms of shot creation or defense so he had to watch most of the game from the bench.
Story originally appeared on Nets Wire
