The Nets seemed destined to rebound from a blowout loss in Brooklyn with a stirring shorthanded win Tuesday in Toronto.
Then that destiny got turned around with a horrid final five minutes, with missed shots, controversial calls and blown leads. Oh, and a 109-108 heartbreaker before 18,903 at Scotiabank Arena.
The Nets — who had lost by 36 at Barclays Center a night earlier — rode a surprising zone defense to a 96-90 edge with 5:25 on a turnaround by LaMarcus Aldridge. But they allowed 10 unanswered Raptor points, and never led again.
And it was Aldridge — starting in place of Andre Drummond — who got called for not one but two defensive three-second violations 55 seconds apart, as the eighth-place Nets (32-31) dropped a game they had to have and fell even further into the Eastern Conference play-in morass.
“Should’ve won. We had control … had a little bit of an offensive drought, had some turnovers and they made some tough shots. Some tough calls down the stretch and that’s the game,” said Aldridge, who had 16 points, nine rebounds and those two violations — one of which he said was a blown call.
Pascal Siakam, who scored 18 points, drives past Bruce Brown during the Nets’ 109-108 loss to the Raptors. AP“One was probably legit and then one wasn’t legit. I was in the pick-and-roll, so I could be in the paint. … I think I was touching Thaddeus [Young] as he was clearing the lane so … I think that’s tough to call down the stretch. You should be sure if it’s right or wrong, and I don’t think it was right. So it is what it is.”
The first came with 3:05 left, capping that 10-0 Toronto run. Gary Trent Jr. (team-high 24 points) hit the ensuing free throw, then his floater made it 100-96.
Aldridge’s second violation — which he and assistant coach Jacque Vaughn vehemently protested — handed Trent another foul shot and Toronto a 101-98 lead.
It was a call the Nets were shocked by and disagreed with right to the end.
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes slams one home during the Nets’ 109-108 loss. Nathan Denette“Absolutely. Absolutely,” said James Johnson, who had a team-high 19 points. “That time in-game, we’re running a zone obviously. We’ve gotta watch the film. I don’t think so, honestly. L.A., he’s a smart vet. He watches a lot of film, he knows what’s been going on a lot. You know, I don’t see him making two of those.”
Seth Curry (18 points, six assists) stopped the bleeding with a finger roll, and his long 3-pointer knotted it at 103-all with 50.8 seconds remaining. But Trent’s free throws 20 seconds later put Toronto back ahead, and the Nets never recovered.
Curry missed a pair of jumpers, and Trent’s foul shots pushed it to four, essentially icing it with 18 seconds to play. Johnson added a cosmetic 3 at the buzzer.
Now after dropping both ends of this back-to-back, the Nets trail seventh-place Toronto (34-27) by three full games with just 19 to play.
“It is a sense of urgency for sure,” said Vaughn, who replaced Steve Nash when the head coach went into health and safety protocols before Monday’s loss. “We talked about it before the game. We talked about it after the game. We’ll talk about it when we get home.
“There is an urgency. It has to be with this group. They have to feel it, they have to sense it and embrace it and walk right through that door. There is a sense of urgency with this group.”
The Nets are 4 ½ games behind sixth-place Boston for the final guaranteed playoff spot, but might have to start watching their backs as well, just two games clear of Charlotte and Atlanta.
Toronto was without OG Anunoby (fractured ring finger) and Fred VanVleet. But the Nets were essentially bereft of an entire championship-level starting five in Kevin Durant (whom they hope can return Thursday vs. Miami), Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Drummond and Joe Harris.
They still played a clean, crisp first three quarters, shooting 54 percent overall and 8 of 18 from 3-point range with just seven turnovers.
But the fourth? They were outscored 28-19 on 38 percent shooting from the floor including 2 of 7 from deep with five giveaways.
