Beating Raptors could be momentum boost for Nets ahead of All-Star break

They all count the same in the standings, but some games loom larger over the course of an 82-game NBA season. That will be the case when the Nets play their last game before the All-Star break against the defending champion Raptors Wednesday night at Barclays Center.

If the playoffs began now, the seventh-seeded Nets (24-28) would have to face the Raptors (40-14), who arrive in Brooklyn riding a franchise-record 15-game winning streak. Just two games earlier, the Nets wiped out an 18-point deficit in Toronto only to lose a one-point decision when they missed two chances at the buzzer.

They gained redemption with their first road win over a winning team Monday at Indiana on a game-winning shot by Spencer Dinwiddie in the final seconds. Kyrie Irving will miss his fifth straight game with a sprained right knee, but If the Nets can upset the Raptors, it would send them to the break on a 7-3 roll.

“I feel like it’s an important game,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said Monday in Indiana. “They’re all important, but I’ve said us getting momentum into the All-Star break and then trying to get a little revenge on Toronto — a last-second loss that was tough to swallow — will give us some good momentum. Important game for us.”

The Nets had lost six straight and 10 of 11 to winning teams before pulling out the 106-105 win over the Pacers. But they showed positive signs on the road at Toronto and Indiana. If there was a common denominator, it was the stellar defensive play of veteran backup center DeAndre Jordan for the entire fourth quarter of both games. Jordan had 10 of his 19 rebounds in the fourth quarter at Indiana plus eight of his 11 points, and he successfully contested a last-second buzzer-beater by the Pacers’ Malcolm Brogdon.

“We need his physicality,” Atkinson said of Jordan, who was matched up with Pacers All-Star Domantas Sabonis. “He made some big defensive plays. The play at the end, he had the experience in the league and understanding that he had to step up on that shot.”

Jordan said physicality was a point of emphasis against the Pacers, and the same will hold true against the Raptors, who scored 100 points in the first three quarters against the Nets but then were held to 19 in the fourth quarter. “We fought our [rear ends] off Saturday in Toronto and had a chance to win it at the end just like we did here [at Indiana],” Jordan said. “We gave ourselves a chance, and I feel like we’ll do the same Wednesday.”

Asked about the importance of carrying some momentum into the All-Star break and beyond, Dinwiddie said, “That’s what it’s definitely about. It’s not like this game determines the playoffs, so we’re not going to put too much pressure on.

“But you definitely want to go into the break with a win, go in with a little momentum, playing well. And for everybody that’s going to go on vacation, isn’t it better to put your feet in the sand after a nice win versus a loss.”

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.