Toronto goes for a repeat win over visiting Brooklyn on Sunday that would stretch the Raptors’ winning streak to seven games.
The Raptors started their streak Nov. 11 in New York with a 119-109 win over the Nets. They expanded the run to six on Friday with a 140-110 home victory over the Washington Wizards in an NBA Cup game. They have won 10 of 11.
The win over Washington clinched first in the East Group A for the Raptors at 3-0 and earned them a spot in the quarterfinals with one group game left.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic. “It is going to be a different feeling for us because it’s going to be one game to decide if we are going to the final four or not. Definitely, we do have ambition and desire to be there, so I’m really excited about the opportunity to play and our players are as well.”
The Nets are coming off a 113-105 road victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday, also an NBA Cup game. It was the Nets’ third win of the season and second in the past three games after starting the season 1-11. They are 1-2 in East Group B in the NBA Cup with one game to play.
The Raptors scored 48 points in the third quarter on 15-for-19 shooting from the field against the undermanned Wizards. It was a team record for points in a third quarter.
“Every halftime, we talk about certain adjustments that we need to make, how we need to play, and we come out and execute them,” Rajakovic said. “In that third quarter, we did score 48 points, but it was really defense that ignited all of that, getting steals and being really able to run out of that.”
The Raptors had seven steals in the third quarter against the Wizards.
They shot a season-best 57.8% (48-for-83 shooting) from the field overall while scoring a season high in points. The Raptors have shot 50% or better in a franchise-record five consecutive games.
The Raptors’ winning streak is their longest since taking eight in a row in January and February of 2022.
The win over the Wizards opened a four-game homestand for the Raptors. The Nets will complete a two-game trip in Toronto.
After losing 113-99 at home to the Celtics on Tuesday, the Nets turned the tables on Friday when Michael Porter Jr. scored a game-high 33 points — 16 in the fourth quarter — and collected eight rebounds. He had Brooklyn’s final 14 points to help offset Boston’s 28-21 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Nets center Nic Claxton recorded his first triple-double with 18 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
“There’s a difference between losing and being a loser,” said Nets coach Jordi Fernandez. “Losing is not getting the outcome that you want. Being a loser is when you lose and you don’t care or when you’re not willing to (do) whatever it takes. Our group now has embraced that.”
“The perfect word is growth — as a collective, but individually as well,” Porter said. “We’re a young group, but there’s growth. And if in the fourth quarter when things get tight like that on the road and we can execute and get good shots, we’re going to win a lot more games.”
