Nets turn up the intensity on the defensive end, pull away from Raptors
Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 points, Noah Clowney added 19 and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors 96-81 on Sunday night.
Rookie Egor Demin had 16 points and Nic Claxton finished with 12 for the Nets, who led by 15 points in the third quarter, fell behind early in the fourth and then surged ahead again.
Brandon Ingram finished with 19 points and Immanuel Quickley added 17 points and 10 assists for the Raptors, who have lost six of their last nine games after starting the season 15-7.
Brooklyn outscored Toronto 29-16 in the fourth quarter. The Nets allowed their lowest point total of the season.
Brooklyn led 60-45 midway through the third quarter before the Raptors went on a 20-7 run to close the period. The Nets were 0 for 7 from the field and turned the ball over five times during that stretch.
Toronto opened the fourth quarter with consecutive baskets from Jamison Battle and Collin Murray-Boyles to take a 69-67 lead before the Nets called a timeout with 10:55 to play.
After Battle's dunk made it 73-72, Brooklyn responded and blitzed the Raptors with a 10-0 run, capped by Clowney's 3-pointer with 7:22 left.
Ingram hit a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession before Claxton scored three consecutive baskets to extend the lead to 88-75 and put the game out of reach with 4:42 remaining.
Toronto center Jakob Poeltl was removed from the game during the first quarter due to a back injury.
Up next
Raptors: Continue their three-game road trip in Miami on Tuesday.
Nets: Visit Philadelphia on Tuesday.