One losing streak must end when the Brooklyn Nets visit the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night.
The Nets have lost three in a row and six of seven. The Raptors have dropped five straight.
The Nets lost at home 130-101 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday in their first game since trading Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors.
Brooklyn jumped out to a 12-5 lead before Cleveland completed the first quarter on a 32-5 run.
“It was a combination of things,” said Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton, who scored eight points on Monday.
“It was definitely (playing without Schroder) that played a role. But also we just didn’t play hard enough. We just didn’t fight. We didn’t take care of the ball, we just did everything wrong, honestly.”
The Nets shot 42 percent (34 for 81) from the field while allowing the Cavaliers to shoot 53.1 percent (43 for 81).
“I’m fighting with my guys, and the ones that are here, they’ll have to fight,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “And if they don’t fight, there’s going to be consequences.”
The Nets hurt themselves with 22 turnovers leading to 34 points.
“We’re going to figure out a way to punch back defensively, for sure,” said Cameron Johnson, who scored 22 points. “We have a versatile lineup with a lot of high-level defenders, just need to get that kind of synergy, and you know, second nature reads and stuff in a better place.”
The Raptors lost 122-121 to the visiting Chicago Bulls on Monday and were dealt another injury blow when Jakob Poeltl left in the fourth quarter with a left groin strain. They already were playing without Scottie Barnes (sprained ankle) and Immanuel Quickley (elbow).
Poeltl has been ruled out for Thursday and Barnes is listed as questionable.
With Quickley and Barnes sidelines, RJ Barrett moved to point guard. He had 32 points and nine assists on Monday.
“I’m just trying to go out there and figure it out,” Barrett said.
He also committed a game-high six turnovers.
“I haven’t really played point guard too much in the NBA, so just trying to go out there and just be a playmaker,” he said. “I’m just trying to make the right plays on both ends of the floor.”
The Raptors made a comeback after trailing by 16 points early in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to one with 2:28 to play. The Bulls led by four before Toronto’s Jamal Shead hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer.
“We were struggling to find energy,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “That’s necessary for us, the way we want to play, how we want to play. I think Chicago did a really good job in the first half on makes and misses, running and trying to get in transition. We were really caught off guard with that, even if it was the biggest emphasis for us going into this game. They did a really good job with that, so it took some time for us to adjust for that.”
Gradey Dick agreed with his coach that the Raptors have room to improve.
“I think it’s going to be pretty obvious when we watch the film,” said Dick, who scored 27 points. “I know a big part of that was just the closeouts. A lot of just blow-bys, including me, I’ve got to pick that up. But at the same time, it’s a lot of different things. If we can pinpoint one thing that’s definitely what we’re going to focus on in these coming practices.”
–Field Level Media
