New York — Cam Thomas had 23 points, Dennis Schroder scored 15 of his 21 in the fourth quarter, and the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors 106-102 on Wednesday. In the Nets' final home game, Nic Claxton had 14 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots, and rookie Noah Clowney had 10 points and a career-high seven blocks. It ended 20-21 at Barclays Center.
Schroder said Claxton and Clowney's effort on both ends helped the Nets late in the fourth quarter during Sunday's 107-77 loss to Sacramento. The 19-year-old Clowney, the 21st overall choice in the 2023 lottery and much of the season with the team's G League affiliate in Long Island, became the 12th NBA youngster to block seven or more attempts.
He stated, “They kept trying to lay the ball up and I kept blocking it. Clowney has the second-most rookie blocks in franchise history with seven. Mike Gminski set the record with eight at Milwaukee on Jan. 6, 1981, and Sean Williams tied it against Sacramento on Dec. 18, 2007.
“That’s a lot of blocked shots,” Schroder added. He changed without a piece because he had so many photographs. He will be special, I was 18–19 as a rookie. Toronto's Immanuel Quickley scored 32. Gradey Dick scored 24 points and 6 3-pointers for career highs.
The Nets held the Raptors to 7 for 22 shooting and blocked six shots in the fourth quarter. Toronto scored 32 points on 16-for-47 paint shooting. “Their length, their size vs. our size, obviously we knew going into the game they had a couple of guys that are really good with that,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We got in the paint but couldn't score.”
Toronto lead 76-67 with 3:45 left in the third quarter following Jordan Nwora's three-point play. The Nets trailed by one when Nwora's shot made it 88-83 with 8:45 left.
Schroeder then led a 12-6 run with seven points and a tricky layup to put the Nets up 95-94 with 4:46 left. Quickley's three-point play gave the Raptors a 97-95 lead, but Clowney and Claxton's dunks gave the Nets a 99-97 lead with 1:49 left.
Quickley's 3-pointer put Toronto back on top, and Schroder's three-point play put Brooklyn up 102-100. Clowney blocked Garrett Temple's shot at the rim for his seventh block of the game, denying him a chance to tie. Schroder's subsequent free throws and Quickley's layup trimmed the margin to 104-102 with 5.2 seconds. Schroder's two free throws sealed the win.
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