The Raptors had designs of going into the brand new Barclays Center and taking the home opener away from the Brooklyn Nets, with Jay-Z & Beyonce in attendance for the home opener’s festivities watching from their first row courtside seats….but on this night, that wasn’t to be.
The Raptors opened the game on fire, putting up 35 points (on 15 of 24 shooting, for 62.5%) in the 1st quarter and held a 12 point lead over Brooklyn after the 1st. Unfortunately, the Nets adjusted and turned the table on the Raptors – posting 33 points of their own in the 2nd quarter, while holding Toronto to only 17 points. The 2nd half was a hard fought contest on both ends of the floor with the Raptors scoring 48 points the rest of the way, and the Nets scoring 47.
The letdown by the Raptors in the 2nd quarter proved to be fatal. They shot 5 of 15 (a paltry 33%) in the 2nd quarter, as the Nets went 13-24 (52%) in that same span. Kyle Lowry had another dominating type performance, for his second straight game, but it was not enough to push the Raptors past the Nets.
DeMar DeRozan had a solid game for Toronto scoring 25 points and was pretty agressive in attacking the basket. He managed to make 8 of his 10 free throws, but they needed more from their unit as a whole. He provided his thoughts after the game:
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The Raptors have no time to hang their heads and must adjust on the fly as they return home to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, November 4th, at 6pm ET.
This is a perfect opportunity to ‘right the ship’ in order for the Raptors to get their first win of the season.
Stay tuned to HoopHeadsNorth.com for more reactions and comments after the Raptors second home game of the season vs. the Timberwolves.
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