NBA: Kyrie Irving’s buzzer-beating 3 lifts Nets over Raptors
Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets shoots against Scottie Barnes #4 of the Toronto Raptors during the second half of their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on December 16, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mark Blinch/Getty Images/AFP
Kyrie Irving hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer at the buzzer and the visiting Brooklyn Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors 119-116 Friday night.
Irving finished with 32 points and Kevin Durant added 28 for the Nets, who have won five straight and nine of 10.
Article continues after this advertisement“Once you get that ball in your hands at the end of the game, it’s what you dream about,” Irving said.
Yuta Watanabe had 17 points for the Nets, who swept the four-game season series with the Raptors. Nic Claxton had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Ben Simmons and. T.J. Warren each scored 10 points.
KYRIE IRVING WINS IT FOR THE NETS WITH THE #TissotBuzzerBeater!#TimingEmotions pic.twitter.com/lG3ZQiAHQr
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2022
Fred VanVleet scored 39 points for the Raptors, who have lost four straight and five of six. Scottie Barnes scored 26 points, Pascal Siakam had 17 points and Malachi Flynn had 13 points.
The Nets, who trailed by 18 in the second quarter, took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Irving’s jumper made the lead eight with 6:12 to play. Siakam made a layup to trim the deficit to three with 4:27 left and VanVleet tied it with a 3-pointer with 3:06 to play.
The Nets went back ahead by three with 1:52 to go on Irving’s 11-footer. Barnes made two free throws, cutting the lead to one. With 36.1 seconds left, Barnes gave Toronto a one-point lead on a hook shot. Watanabe made a 3-pointer to give Brooklyn the lead with 15 seconds left. Seven seconds later, Barnes made two free throws to tie it at 116.
Toronto led 29-19 after one quarter.
Chris Boucher’s steal set up a 3-pointer for Siakam and Toronto led by 18 with 1:17 left in the second quarter. The Nets scored the final eight points of the first half, cutting the lead to 62-52.
The Nets scored the first six points of the third quarter. Claxton made two free throws to trim the lead to one with 7:37 left in the third. Durant’s jumper gave Brooklyn a one-point lead with 3:25 remaining. Claxton’s steal led to Watanabe’s layup and a three-point Brooklyn lead. The Nets led 88-84 after three quarters.
Gary Trent Jr. (quadriceps) was a late scratch for Toronto and O.G. Anunoby (hip) missed his third straight game.
Brooklyn’s Patty Mills (non-COVID illness) did not play.
