With his team down 26 points to the Toronto Raptors late in the third quarter of a pivotal Game 5, Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd had a decision to make.

Brooklyn Nets v Toronto Raptors - Game Five

Coach Kidd could have turned the game over to his reserves and given his starters some rest as the team turned its focus to Game 6.

However, the rookie head-coach put trust in his team and gave his players a chance to play their way back into the game. Led by Joe Johnson’s 26 second-half points, they delivered, as the Nets put together a seemingly improbable comeback, tying up the score at 101-101 with 3:19 left in the contest.

Unfortunately, Brooklyn could not get the luck it needed in the game’s waning minutes to complete the comeback, and fell 115-113. But afterward Coach Kidd lauded the admirable determination shown by his team, something he expects to see more of in a do-or-die Game on Friday.

“It was a great game all the way around,” J-Kidd said. “We got off to a slow start, but the guys fought. We put ourselves in position late again to have a chance to win on the road. We just didn’t do the little things we had to. But again, the guys fought, so we can build on that.”

The Nets didn’t have much of that fight in the first half of Wednesday’s game.

Both teams went back and forth in the opening quarter. Brooklyn was led by Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston, who combined for 14 points an each dished out an assist to help open up a 17-11 lead. However, guided by a strong start from guard Kyle Lowry, the Raptors fought their way back into the game and led 28-25 at the end of the first quarter.

After going back and forth with Toronto in the first, the wheels fell off for the Nets in the second. A dismal 36.8 field goal percentage in the second frame from Brooklyn, coupled with an aggressive 13-point effort from Lowry, gave Toronto a huge 62-44 halftime advantage. Lowry, who proved to be the difference maker in the game, scored 21 of his game-high 36 points in the first half.

But as strong as his first half was, it wasn’t the last Brooklyn heard from Lowry. Afterward, Coach Kidd lauded the young guard’s play, and added that the Nets must increase their intensity on the defensive end to turn the series in their direction.

“He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now, and so we have to try to slow him down as much as possible,” Jason said of Lowry. “He’s a tough player. He’s a guy that plays 48 minutes extremely hard. He’s never gonna stop playing. Tonight he made some big plays and made some big shots down the stretch.”

In the third quarter, Brooklyn’s offense remained stagnant and the Raptors built an even more comfortable lead. However, Joe Johnson built up steam, scoring 18 points by going 8-of-11 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Although Coach Kidd’s team found themselves down 91-69 heading into the final frame, Johnson’s performance gave them the self-assurance that they would later build upon.

0430_jj

“We dug ourselves such a big hole and then in the second half we decided to play,” Johnson said.

Facing a huge deficit going into the final frame, Kidd went with a five-man group featuring perhaps the team’s best blend of scorers: Johnson, Deron Williams, Alan Anderson, Mirza Teletovic and Andray Blatche.

As a result of that move, Brooklyn looked like a completely different team in the fourth. Once again following the calm and cool demeanor of their coach, the Nets never wavered in their confidence as they battled their way back into the game. The visitors went on a 17-6 run to start the quarter and suddenly found themselves within striking distance of the lead as it stood 97-89 with just 6:03 to play.

https://twitter.com/APhoenixRizin/statuses/461685188192268289

“They flipped the switch and flipped the script,” Raptors Coach Dwane Casey said.

With his unit firing on all cylinders, Kidd elected to keep veterans Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the bench, rather than breaking up the squad’s momentum. Coach explained his decision afterward.

“I thought the guys on the floor were fighting and they got us back in the game,” Kidd said. “I asked if they were tired and those guys said they weren’t tired, they wanted to continue playing. So it was more of a rhythm. The guys were knocking down shots…When you have guys playing the way they did and fighting, you have to leave those guys out there.”

This choice proved to be wise. The quintet stayed on the floor essentially the entire quarter, combining for 44 points. Eventually, Brooklyn completed its 32-10 run when Johnson buried an enormous trey at the 3:19 mark to tie the game at 101.

From there, it was an all-out battle. After several minutes of back-and-forth, Toronto looked like they had sealed the win after regaining a five-point advantage thanks to a driving hook shot from Lowry and a pair of DeMar DeRozan free throws with 17.6 seconds remaining.

However, former Raptor Alan Anderson then sank a huge 3-pointer and was fouled on the play, giving the Nets a chance to make it a one-point ball game. Anderson converted the free throw, part of his 10-point fourth.

DeRozan made his two free throws on the next Raptors possession to put Toronto back up by three with 6.5 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Raptors then wisely fouled Blatche on the inbound pass. The center made his first free throw, and collected the rebound off of his intentionally missed second attempt. Blatche then tried to find Williams who was standing wide open at the top of the key, but his pass soared over the point man’s head. D-Will ran into the backcourt to scoop up the ball and threw up a desperation heave, but the retrieval was ruled a backcourt violation and the ball went back to the Raptors with one second left on the clock.

On Toronto’s inbound Williams—who had a fantastic 10-point, 5-assist fourth quarter—nearly swiped away the pass, which could’ve given him a chance at a last shot. However, the ball sailed just out of his reach, and the Raptors escaped with a 115-113 win.

0430_jk_news3Despite the loss, Coach Kidd may have found something to build on.

The Nets shot 61.9 percent from the field in the fourth frame, by far their best of the series and and went 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Johnson finished with a team-high 30 points, 26 of which came in the second half.

After the game, J-Kidd reflected on the hard-fought contests and eye-popping comebacks that have already come with this series.

“Both teams understand what’s at stake,” Jason said. “They’re not gonna quit. They’re gonna play for 48 minutes. That goes for Toronto and also goes for us. We were gonna fight. There was still a lot of time we felt to get it under 10 then we found ourselves right there with the game in hand. We just made some mistakes, fouling away from the ball and turing the ball over late, and those are easy things to correct. But the guys that played there in that second half, they fought.”

NEXT UP

Coach Kidd’s squad will fight once again to keep its season alive Friday when the series heads back to the Barclays Center for Game 6.

Though they find themselves unexpectedly down 3-2 in the series, Brooklyn’s players are confident in their ability to capture the next two wins.

“Without a doubt

[we can win the next two games],” Pierce said. “We have to play better Friday at home. And we’ll see the Raptors here Sunday.”

The nationally televised Game 6 is set for 7 p.m. EST and can be viewed on ESPN2 it is also available locally on My TV 9. A victory by Brooklyn on Friday would send the series back to Toronto for a decisive Game 7 on Sunday.

RELATED LINKS