Nets' furious rally falls short against Raptors

TORONTO — The Nets reached down and found the guts to overcome an 18-point, third-quarter deficit as center DeAndre Jordan rallied them on defense in the fourth quarter against the defending champion Raptors, but glory escaped the Nets in the final seconds.

Caris LeVert launched a three-pointer that missed, and Joe Harris’ tip-in attempt at the buzzer bounced away allowing the Raptors to escape with a 119-118 victory, their franchise-record 14th straight, on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.

“The fourth quarter was fantastic, held them to 19 points defensively and obviously started to make some shots that got us in it,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “But you can’t dig yourself \[an 18-point\] hole against a really good team like this.

“[Jordan] was our defensive anchor. I felt like we weren’t getting that resistance and he anchored our defense and did a good job on [Serge] Ibaka and was patrolling the paint. He got us back in the game with his defense.”

After giving up 33, 33 and 34 points in the first three quarters to trail 100-88 heading to the final period, the Nets cut the Raptors’ lead to 104-97 with 9:37 left on a four-point play by LeVert. The Raptors pushed the margin back to 10, but with Jordan protecting the rim at one end and LeVert converting at the other, the Nets fashioned a 17-7 run, including eight points by LeVert. His jumper in the key with 35.3 seconds left tied it at 118.

Since returning to the starting lineup three games ago after coming off the bench for 14 games following thumb surgery, LeVert has averaged 29.3 points and topped his career-high twice. “I try to play with the same confidence whether I’m starting or coming off the bench,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve been better starting for whatever reason.

“I was on a minutes restriction for a while, probably a little bit longer than I wanted to be. I trust the coaches and the performance staff. It’s good to be playing regular minutes again.”

After LeVert tied the game, Raptors All-Star Pascal Siakam was fouled with 22.9 seconds left and missed the first but made the second for the winning margin. On the final play, LeVert was unable to drive and launched a right wing three that was short, as was the tip by Harris.

LeVert said the Raptors took away the initial option by defending the Nets’ screen actions. “We had a [second option] to get a three for Joe,” LeVert said. “They guarded it pretty well. They switched a lot of screens. It was kind of crowded on the side. I tried to get a good shot up.”

Fred VanVleet led the Raptors (39-14) with 29 points, and they got 20 apiece from Terence Davis and Siakam. LeVert’s 37 led the Nets (23-28) and he shot 12-for-18, including 6-for-7 from three-point range, while committing only one turnover. Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 points and 11 assists, and Jordan totaled 15 points and 14 rebounds.

The Raptors were without injured All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry and center Marc Gasol, both of whom made it tough defensively on the Nets in two previous losses. After a road game Monday at Indiana, the Nets get a rematch against the Raptors Wednesday at Barclays Center before the All-Star break.

Asked if the Nets could draw any positives from nearly ending the Raptors’ winning streak, Dinwiddie said, “I don’t think we’re in the business of moral victories. We’re a playoff team, too . . . We need to figure out how to beat this team. They might be our first-round matchup. We can play them next week and then four more, five more, six more times in the playoffs. You’ve got to prepare for that.”

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.