|
 Pierce broke a 94-94 tie with a long-range shot from the right
wing to help the Nets move to within three games of the
division-leading Raptors while splitting the season series at two
wins apiece. Shaun Livingston and Deron Williams led the way with 18
points apiece while Pierce added 15 and Joe Johnson 14.
Kyle Lowry had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to pace
Toronto, which shot just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc. Amir Johnson
and Tyler Hansbrough had 16 points apiece while team scoring leader
DeMar DeRozan was held to 14 on 3-of-9 from the floor.
The Nets overcame an early double-digit hole, surging in front early
in the third quarter and riding back-to-back Williams 3-pointers to
jump ahead 70-60 with 4:58 remaining. Toronto closed the deficit to
five points entering the fourth, chipped away at the lead throughout
the final period and jumped ahead 92-90 on DeRozan's two free throws
with 2:54 remaining to set the stage for the back-and-forth finish. Terrence Ross had the hot hand in the early going, burying a pair of
3-pointers as part of a 12-point opening quarter that helped Toronto
take a 30-19 lead. Brooklyn chipped away at the deficit throughout
the second quarter, limiting Toronto to one field goal over the
final 3-plus minutes while getting a late 3-pointer from Alan
Anderson to go into the break down 51-50.
[to top of second column] |
GAME NOTEBOOK: Pierce knocked down a long-range shot late in the
first quarter to become just the fifth player in NBA history with
1,900 career 3-pointers. Pierce joins Ray Allen, Reggie Miller,
Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd and former Nets teammate Jason Terry on
the list. ... The Nets shot 11-of-20 from beyond the arc. ...
Toronto has allowed more than 100 points in back-to-back games for
the first time since doing it in three straight from Feb. 5-10.
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