As the Nets and the Raptors saw the game even with 5 minutes left to play in the game Sunday night in Brooklyn two things could have happened. One, being that the Nets overcame a 17 point deficit and now were ready to put a strangle hold on the series by going up 3-1. Two, being the Raptors keep poised and bring the series back in their favor by taking a game back from Brooklyn and tying the series before going back home. Finally we’ll add an outcome just for laughs, Brooklyn doesn’t score for the whole final five minutes and Toronto goes home with the series at 2-2 and extreme confidence in beating the Nets even in Brooklyn. But that would never happen…
Did that actually just happen? That’s the words that came out of both teams and fans mouths on Sunday night. The Brooklyn Nets, a few days after they said their fans didn’t show up, decided to not show up at all in the final five minutes of a playoff game at home! It was the first time a team was held scoreless in the final five minutes of a playoff game since 1998. Now the question is, are the Nets playoff hopes gone? In the final minutes of Sunday’s game it seemed like Brooklyn for the first time had absolutely no answer for the Toronto Raptors.
“Very disappointing,” Deron Williams said. “Going in there and stealing that first one … we kinda held the ball in our hands.
“And we dropped it.”
Williams who has been averaging 23 points a game in the series was held to just 10 points and looked almost intimidated to drive to the basket. Many times in situations that he would usually shoot the ball he passed it and caused turnovers instead of points. Brooklyn scored only 12 points in the whole fourth quarter.
“It shouldn’t happen, but I thought we rushed a lot,” said Pierce, who had 22 points but just two in the fourth. “Turnovers, combination of those two things, pressing. You get in a playoff situation, one guy or two, three guys want to do it on their own instead of running our offense, executing. I think we got caught up into that.”
The other problem for the Nets has been their 4th quarter rotations by Jason Kidd. Kidd put Pierce and Garnett with around 8 minutes left and it seemed Kidd was finally playing it right by giving Garnett more minutes in the fourth. Garnett showed his worth as well hitting four free throws and executing a big pass to Pierce after a Raptors turnover. But, that’s when Kidd took out Garnett for a minute before putting him back in causing the Nets chemistry to fall and the Raptors to inch closer to a win.
“I trust Jason’s decision-making,” said Garnett, who had 10 points. “Whatever decision Jason makes, I’ll stand behind him 100 percent.”
Jason has always watched Garnett to save him for the big picture, but what Jason Kidd needs to get through his head is that the big picture right now is getting hard to see unless that picture is losing in the first round like last season.
With game 5 on Wednesday the Nets better find answers quick or they might ,once again, be looking at an early playoffs exit.
PureSportsNY:Bobby O’Hara