For the second straight game, the Brooklyn Nets' defense overwhelmed an opponent. Only this time, the rebuilding squad found the fourth-quarter shotmaking to get over the hump.
The Nets played one of their best complementary fourth quarters of the season en route to a 96-81 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn's surging defense held the Raptors, who were on the second night of a back-to-back with travel, to 32-of-86 shooting (37.2 percent) from the field and 10-of-36 (27.8 percent). The performance comes after the Nets held the Milwaukee Bucks to 82 points during a 45-point win last Sunday. It marks the first time they've held multiple opponents to 82 points or fewer during a single season since 2018-19.
Despite the Nets' smothering defense, Sunday had potential for another fourth-quarter collapse. The Raptors stormed back from a double-digit deficit to take a two-point lead with ten minutes remaining. However, Brooklyn answered with a 17-4 stretch to regain control, with rookie Egor Demin hitting three three-pointers to spur the run.
“Us punching back [was the key],” Jordi Fernandez said. “They took the lead, and it was a collective effort… Noah [Clowney] made unbelievable plays, winning plays at the rim, whether it was to get a block, or to go vertical [and contest]. And then Egor's threes were huge. And then from there, I think everybody contributed to winning in that fourth quarter. But if you look at it, we won three out of four quarters, got dicey in that third, especially towards the end, and then we didn't start very well in the fourth. But we remained composed, and we fought all the way through. And it was really good to see against a very good team.”
EGOR… YOU BET! pic.twitter.com/vScvA56C7f
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 22, 2025
Demin finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from three.
Defensive resurgence propels Nets to another upset win
Michael Porter Jr. turned in another solid performance, posting 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on 9-of-18 shooting. Meanwhile, Noah Clowney had one of his better two-way performances of the season, posting 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 4-of-8 shooting from three.
The win marks Brooklyn's fifth in its last eight games. A shocking defensive turnaround has fueled the team's recent success. Following a 0-7 start during which they held the NBA's worst defensive rating (128.5) by a wide margin, the Nets are 8-12 over their last 20 games while ranking 14th in defensive rating (112.0).
They've limited opponents to 102.3 points per game in December, the fewest in the NBA.
“Our defense has been pretty solid this past month,” Nic Claxton said. “It's been really good. We just gotta keep taking steps in the right direction. We got a lot of switchable defenders. There's are still a lot of areas we can get better. We gotta just keep going.”
Brandon Ingram (19 points) and Immanuel Quickley (17 points) were the only Raptors to reach double figures on Sunday. The Nets held Scottie Barnes to just six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
With Drake Powell sidelined by an ankle injury, Nolan Traore received his first extended NBA minutes in nearly two months on Sunday. The rookie point guard looked confident, posting eight points, three rebounds and two assists on 3-of-9 shooting in 22 minutes.
The win brings the Nets to 8-19 on the season. They'll travel to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday before another road matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
