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The Raptors said their performance tonight will be different

While doing quite well in defense, the Raprots' offense was a disappointment. They said that aspect of the game will go through some changes tonight

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Despite exceeding all expectations by winning the division title and the third place of the conference, the Toronto Raptors didn't do as expected in the first play off game against the Nets. They were saying ahead of the game that they plan to prove Nets they were wrong to choose them as the opponent, but then, in the actual game, they were in the lead for a total of 2 minutes and 53 seconds. That was a great disappointment for the spectators both inside and outside of the arena. 

- I think we did as I expected since that was our first play off game. If the fans are disappointed then those aren't our fans after all. This is a young team that won the division title, the third position in the conference, and they will give everything they got to win this series. It was only one game, the series is not done yet - coach  Casey said.

The main reason for their defeat was the shooting percentage of 39,4%, and 19 turnovers, compared to only 9 the Nets recorded. 

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- That is what made the difference - Toronto's coach said.

Not even 22 points (7/18), 7 rebounds, and 8 assists Lowrey recorded did much to help Toronto. Neither did Vasquez and Valanciunas's great performances - Vasquez scored 18 points (7/13), and added 8 assists, while Valanciunas recorded 17 points and 18 rebounds. DeRozan, on the other hand, did almost nothing to help his team, having scored only 14 points (3/13).

- I have to be doing much better. I had a really tough game offense vise, but I was trying to make up for it in defense. I have to adjust to their team, and find a way to do well against them in offense - DeRozan said.

The adjustment he's talking about is precisely what every player and coach were talking about. While doing quite well in defense, the Raptors will have to make some adjustments in offense - they couldn't set the right pace in offense the whole game.

- Some things will change in the next game, you can bet on that - coach Casey said. Vasquez agrees:

- We have to stand up to their intensity. I can only tell you that we will be much more aggressive in the next game. They were aggressive in this one and it paid off in the end.

They need to find a way to get DeRozan more involved, but not only him. Ross got into problems with fouls very early in the game, which prevented him from setting the right pace later on.

While the Raptors did a great regular season and a disappointing play off start, the Nets non the other hand have lots of reasons to be extremely happy with how they did. They now have the advantage of playing home.

- This kind of performance gives you extra confidence. We will now rest, watch the game again, and see what kind of improvements there are to do - Garnett said after the win.

Despite his team being in the lead for the most part of the game, Pierce had to take initiative to confirm their win in the final minutes of the game.

- I had a good feeling about the final moments. I've been in every possible situation in the play offs, so I tried to stay calm this time as well - Pierce said.

Despite having the shooting percentage of only 16,7% (4/24), the Nets won thanks to the great defense, which limited the Raptors to a field goal percentage of only 39,4%, and forced them to record 19 turnovers.

- We didn't have a good three pointer percentage, but that is not why we lost possession. We did very well in defense, and in the end in offense as well - Williams said.

Williams and Johnson with 24 points each were the best scorers at Kidd's team. Johnson added eight rebounds as well, and Pierce, who scored 15 points, and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists did well too.

After winning a break in the first game already, the Nets will try to win again tonight to make it even more difficult for the opponents to make a comeback. Despite being better n the first game, they still need to improve some aspects of the game, first and foremost the efficiency of the substitutes has to be better. They scored only 16 points in the last game combined. Rebound is another thing they should work on.