Immanuel Quickley of the Toronto Raptors protects the ball from Dennis Schroder of the Brooklyn Nets during an NBA basketball game in Toronto on February 22.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
A long losing streak will end Monday night when the Brooklyn Nets visit the Toronto Raptors.
The undermanned Raptors (23-48) saw their losing streak reach 10 games Saturday when they were defeated 112-109 by the host Washington Wizards.
The Nets (29-45) lost their sixth straight game Saturday, 105-93 to the host New York Knicks.
The Raptors open a four-game homestand Monday while the Nets play the third of four straight away games. The teams split their first two matches, with the home team winning each time.
The Raptors, who continue to be without key players such as Scottie Barnes (hand), Jakob Poeltl (finger), RJ Barrett (personnel) and Immanuel Quickley (personal), nearly ended their skid on Saturday.
The Raptors led by 11 points and led by four entering the fourth quarter. The Wizards took the lead throughout the streak. Toronto still had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Bruce Brown missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
Gary Trent Jr. returned to the starting lineup Saturday after missing a game with lower back tightness and tied his season high with 31 points.
“I saw a lot of fighting,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We missed a layup, we missed some wide open shots, we missed a dunk. Obviously, the guys want to get these shots. They want to make the right decisions there. It didn’t go the way we wanted tonight.
The Wizards had a 55-42 advantage in rebounds.
“We struggled to return the ball,” Rajakovic said. “They scored some timely baskets and some tough, contested shots. But the main difference in tonight’s game was the rebounding.
The Nets pulled the Knicks even at 80 with 11:44 left in the fourth quarter Saturday on a Dennis Smith Jr. three-pointer, but the Knicks pulled away by scoring 12 straight points. The Nets missed 11 straight shots after Smith tied the game.
One of the highlights of the game for the Nets was Mikal Bridges’ 62-foot heave to beat the first-half buzzer. This gave Brooklyn a 57-56 lead. Bridges finished with 18 points.
