NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets had two goals heading into Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors: win and if that happened, win by enough to make the knockout round of the In-Season Tournament. While the latter didn’t happen, the former occurred in a big and encouraging way for the Nets moving forward.
“We knew we had to have a sense of urgency,” Brooklyn starting center Nic Claxton said after putting up 15 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks in Tuesday’s 115-103 win over the Raptors. In terms of making the tournament as either the winner of Group C or as the wild card, the Nets had to win and hope that the Boston Celtics did not blow out the Chicago Bulls. Both happened much to the disappointment of the Nets and their fans.
“We needed to win by a certain amount of points, I don’t think we got to it,” Claxton explained. “At the end of the day, we won the game. That’s what matters. It was a good team win so, we’re happy we got the win.”
The Nets started Tuesday’s game slowly as neither team could make many shots in the early going and that slow start could be something that Brooklyn looks back upon if its in this situation again next season, assuming that the In-Season Tournament is happening again.
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