The Toronto Raptors defeat the Brooklyn Nets 123: 117 in one of the strangest games ever. Kevin Durant’s use was only questionable a few minutes before the tip-off, but then KD came on the floor at the end of the first quarter – and had to leave the game for good at the beginning of the third quarter.
Brooklyn Nets (14-9) – Toronto Raptors (9-12) 117:123
A few minutes before the start of the game, the Nets announced that Kevin Durant would not be in the starting five due to health protocols. According to Malika Andrews from ESPN If the team was still waiting for a test result from Durant’s contact person, KD would still be allowed to intervene in the game after a negative test.
After just under eight minutes, the time had come: the leader of the east front court after the first All-Star votes came on the floor as a reservist for the first time in the 866th game of his career.
Pascal Siakam led all players with 33 points (12/23 FG, 11 rebounds), including Kyle Lowry (30, 6/9 3P, 7 assists), Norman Powell (18, 7/13 FG) and Chris Boucher (17, 9 rebounds) contributed to the victory. Aron Baynes (9, 4 rebounds) was not even on the field for 18 minutes as a starter, but committed four fouls.
For Brooklyn, neither James Harden (17, 4/8 FG, 12 assists) nor Kyrie Irving (15, 6/12 FG) took decisive responsibility in crucial phases, Irving did not take a single throw in the final section. Joe Harris sank five of his eight threes on the way to 19 points, plus six other nets scored at least eight points.
Nets start weak against raptors
Brooklyn seemed a bit unsorted at the start of the game and allowed Toronto to start 15: 6 with 11 points after Turnovers, with which the Raptors clearly won the first quarter (34:23). Even after Durant’s arrival, the Nets were unable to turn off their self-inflicted turnovers or their total defensive failures, which meant that Kyle Lowry (13 points at this point in time) and Co. increased to 44:27.
At the end of the second section Brooklyn was able to fight back with a 12-2 run, despite the 11: 4 advantage in the Turnovers, the Raptors only went 67:63 into the cabin, the Nets had 57.9 percent of their litters hit the field.
After the break, Brooklyn quickly took his first lead of the game, but Durant committed his fourth foul and even his fifth for a short time, which was surprisingly withdrawn after a challenge from Steve Nash.
A few moments later, however, the excitement about this situation turned out to be unnecessary, as Durant (8 points in 19 minutes) was visibly frustrated and was not allowed to return to the cabin due to the health protocols.
Kevin Durant: “Set Me Free”
“It’s hard to lose Kevin Durant twice in one night,” joked Nash after the third quarter. Durant himself reported before the end of the game: “Let me free,” wrote the MVP candidate via Twitter.
Who was allowed to laugh at the end of the game remained open for a long time, in the second half no team could break away from more than six points, the lead changed a total of ten times. The Raptors made an 8-0 run with a deficit of 108: 110, with which they increased to +6 with just under two and a half minutes before the end. Then Fred VanVleet responded with his first successful throw of the evening (1/9) to a three from Joe Harris, the Nets then no longer came within range.
After the game, Durant let his frustration out on the situation: “Yo NBA, the fans are not stupid! You can’t be kidding them with your shitty PR tactics!”
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