TORONTO, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) — The undermanned Brooklyn Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors 102-100 in NBA action on Tuesday night to improve to 4-10 on the season and take the fourth place in the Atlantic division.
“The guys fought on the road against a talented team and we got the win,” said Nets head coach Jason Kidd.
The win not only snapped the team’s five-game losing streak, but came without four of the team’s top players. All-Stars Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Brook Lopez were all out with injuries while guard Jason Terry was also out with a bruised left knee.
“The guys that played tonight, they played well and played hard,” said Kidd.
As a first-year coach, Kidd has experienced growing pains. He believes that team communication has improved over the course of the season and was the key to their victory against the Raptors.
“They were talking for 48 minutes,” said Kidd. “The schemes defensively and offensively weren’t always perfect, but they stayed the course for four quarters.”
All-Star Paul Pierce concurs with his coach’s analysis of the victory.
“We really made an extra effort in talking on defence a lot more than we have,” said Pierce. “Communication all night, we protected the paint.”
Teammate Kevin Garnett was pleased with the victory and thought the team can build from it.
“It’s huge,” said Garnett when asked about the importance of a victory. “We’ve been fighting through this and have to continue fighting through this and ride the momentum as long as we can.”
With a league-high 101 million U.S. dollar team payroll and 36 all-star selections between six players, high expectations have surrounded the team since the start of the season.
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