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Tonight the Nets defend in their home court

While the Raptors had major problems with turnovers in the first two games, the Nets really struggled controlling Toronto's rebounds

The last game of the regular season got a lot of attention in case of the Nets, as many thought they lost on purpose, that way "picking" the Raptors instead of the more unpleasant and aggressive Bulls. Although it's still a bit early to say with certainty, after the first two games the Nets have every reason to be happy with their "pick". Truth be told, if there was a bit more luck and composure on their side in the final moments of the second game they could have gone home with a 2-0 lead, but this score is also a success, as they've effectively switched the home court advantage to their side.

-They did what they needed to do in the second game and defended their court. Now it's up to us to do the same in these two games- said Garnett.

After nicely shutting down DeRozan and giving a lot of trouble to the home team by playing a fast, short setup, the Brooklyn Nets paid the price for that in the second game. Apart from DeRozan demolishing them throughout the night, the Nets were beaten in rebounding by the Raptors, who scored 50 points from the paint.

- We let them get away with anything. They scored 50 from the paint and had 19 offensive rebounds. We were too soft tonight, and that's why we lost the game- commented Pierce, while Garnett added it's unacceptable to concede 36 points in the last quarter:

- We can't allow the opponents 36 points in the last quarter, that's just too much. Our defense should be best in the last quarter.

While in the first game the Nets were carried to victory by a great performance from Williams and an unstoppable Paul Pierce in the final period, the dynamic duo were not as hot in the second game. Williams scored 15 (5/15) with five assists, while Pierce managed only 7 points (2/11) with six rebounds. The most efficient was Johnson, with 18 (7/13) points.

With the Canadian away trip concluded half-successfully, the Brooklyn Nets will now try to defend their home court advantage in front of their fans. To achieve that, they will definitely need to shoot better for 3 points than they did so far in the first two games of the series (22.9%), but the key segment for the Nets will be the issue of parrying the Raptors in rebounding.

- We have to do something to limit their rebounding. We've been struggling with that all season long- commented Williams.

After a rather disappointing loss in the first game of the series and losing the home court advantage, the Toronto Raptors announced a lot of changes for the second game, which took place Tuesday night. Despite their announcements, in the end the Raptors played a very similar game, with the big difference of coming out as winners this time.

- Everyone doubts us, and we're glad they do. We came into this game as the outsiders, but I'm proud of my team for the way they fought tonight. The series is practically just starting now, and it's up to us to play well in the away games too- said coach Casey.

Compared to the first game, the Raptors played a much better first half this time around, ending it with a 6 point lead, 45-39. Although the Nets turned the score around with a great performance in the third quarter, carried by the unstoppable DeRozan the Raptors won the game in the last 12 minutes which they won 36-29.

- We just could not allow ourselves to lose this game. We literally had to win it, and in the end we did- said Johnson.

Although they managed to get that important victory in the end, the Raptors did not give their best performance, primarily because of their 20 turnovers, while their three point shooting was also a poor 2/16 (12.5%). However, DeRozan and company made up for all that with a huge rebounding advantage, 52-30, which proved to be their most powerful weapon in the first two games of the series.

- I would not call it a domination in rebounding, that would be too strong a word, more like an advantage- added coach Casey.

While in the first game he had one of the worst offensive performances in the first game, DeRozan did great in the second, leading his team with 30 (9/21) points, while Johnson with 16 (8/10) points and nine rebounds, and Valanciunas with 15 (5/9) and 14 rebounds also gave great performances.

-I'm really happy he's back in his old rhythm after that poor game. Everyone doubted him, but he came back the right way- said the Toronto coach, praising DeRozan, and Lowry did the same:

- Tonight he showed everyone what he really can, he was incredible.

Despite winning the last game, the loss of the first game put the Raptors in the position of looking for an away victory, which is what they will attempt today in Barclays, where they have played 1-1 previously this season.

IN order to achieve that, the Raptors will have to limit their turnovers as much as possible, which was their painful spot in the first two games, even more so as it's really hard to expect the Nets to have one more horrible three point shooting night.

We should also add that the stands of the Barclays arena will be a very interesting place tonight. Toronto GM Masai Ujiri should be there, and should get a pretty noisy welcome after recently stating "Je..š Brooklyn!"

I'm doing a bet I played a few days ago once again, so there is no need to explain much. Jonas Valanciunas is practically the only real center in this series, which he amply uses on both sides of the court. In the first game it took him 35 minutes to score 17 points and get 18 rebounds, 13 of which on defense, and in the second one he got 15 points in the same period on court, plus another 14 rebounds, 5 of which on offense. His domination in the paint is not so surprising since the Nets are playing with a small starting five (Pierce as number 4), and their centers are not huge guys like Dwight Howard for instance. Of course, luck will be a factor here, but judging from what we've seen so far, the Raptors center should get a lot of rebounds once again.