Nets’ furious rally falls short as Raptors take control of series

TORONTO — Too little, too late.

That's the perfect description of the Nets' performance in Game 5 against the Raptors Wednesday, as three quarters of ineptitude outweighed a final burst of brilliance in the fourth that saw them come up just short, losing 115-113 to the Raptors in front of a sellout crowd inside Air Canada Centre.

Toronto claimed a 3-2 series lead with the victory, and could end the Nets' season when the teams square off in Brooklyn Friday night in Game 6.

After looking lifeless through most of the first 36 minutes and heading into the fourth quarter trailing 91-69, the Nets began the period with a 32-10 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Joe Johnson with 3:19 remaining that tied the game at 101.

The Raptors, though, snapped out of their funk and scored five quick points — on a pair of free throws from Kyle Lowry and a 3-pointer from Greivis Vasquez — to take a 106-101 lead with 2:46 left. But the Nets responded with a pair of free throws from Andray Blatche and a 3-pointer from Mirza Teletovic to tie the game again at 106 with 1:23 left.

Then it was time for Lowry, the heartbeat of this overachieving Raptors team all season, to take over the game. He made an off-balance 3-pointer to give Toronto a 109-106 lead with 1:04 remaining, and then after Blatche converted a layup, hit a difficult runner in the lane to make it 111-108 with 27 seconds left.

After Johnson, who led the Nets with 30 points, missed a runner in the lane and DeMar DeRozan hit a pair of free throws to give the Raptors a 113-108 lead with 17.5 left, it looked as if the Nets' comeback was destined to fall short.

But they were given new life when Alan Anderson was fouled while making a 3-pointer in the corner, and the subsequent free throw cut Toronto's lead to 113-112 with 9.7 seconds left.

After DeRozan made a second pair of free throws with 6.5 seconds left to make it 115-112, it again appeared Toronto had dodged a bullet when they immediately fouled Blatche on the ensuing inbounds pass.

But after Blatche made the first free throw, he missed the second long and after it was tipped by Shaun Livingston, Blatche came up with the rebound. He ensured the Nets would come up short, however, by throwing a pass far over Deron Williams' head and into the backcourt, causing a backcourt violation. After the Raptors made one final inbounds pass the game was over.

The Nets lost the game in the second quarter, when Toronto closed the half with a 26-4 run over the final 5:13 — one capped by a Lowry running 3-pointer that banged off the backboard and through the hoop at the buzzer — to take a 62-44 halftime lead. The Raptors later expanded their lead to as many as 26 in the third quarter before the Nets mounted their eventually futile comeback attempt.

Now they head back to Brooklyn for Friday's Game 6 with their season on the brink, and with the same result as last year — a first-round loss — staring them in the face.

This wasn't exactly the scenario the Nets had envisioned when they sent the rights to several draft picks and drastically expand their payroll last June to bring in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce — veteran leaders with championship pedigrees who were supposed to be the difference in making the Nets a serious title contender.

Instead, the pair sat on the bench in the fourth and watched the Nets make a comeback without them, and now they all could be one game away from going home for the summer.

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