TORONTO — Deron Williams got to the line and got everyone involved. Anthony Morrow got some space. Kris Humphries got his usual crowd grief, but also got a boatload of rebounds. DeShawn Stevenson got going early and also got into Raptor DeMar DeRozan’s kitchen. Jordan Farmar got an opportunity and capitalized.
Everybody got time, including four guys named Williams, who played together.
And as a result last night, the Nets, again shorthanded, got what they absolutely, positively most craved: a 97-85 dismantling of the Raptors to stop a six-game losing streak.
“It’s fun to win. It’s fun to be up, and not down 20,” said Williams, who returned from a one-game absence with a sore side to tally 24 points, nine assists and five rebounds — and was seen actually cracking a smile as he walked to the bench at one juncture.
If ever the Nets came up with a team victory, this was it. Morrow, who took an inadvertent Amir Johnson elbow to the mouth, matched Williams with 24 points, hitting six of the season high 15 3-point shots the Nets (2-6) buried against the Raptors (3-4).
Humphries, booed again, grabbed 16 rebounds after missing two games with a sore shoulder and helped the Nets to 28 second-chance points.
But the fates giveth and taketh away so MarShon Brooks (ankle) was scratched before the game and Damion James (foot) also sat as expected. Then, three minutes in, Mehmet Okur was lost to back spasms.
Thus, Morrow and Stevenson started. How fortuitous.
“Guys made shots,” coach Avery Johnson said, “but the player of the game for us was DeShawn Stevenson. The defense he played on DeRozan was incredible.”
It really was. DeRozan, averaging 18.5 points per game, had three points and was 1-of-6 from the floor as he answered the question, “What was 6-foot-7 and invisible?”
“I just wanted to be physical and he’s a great player,” said Stevenson, explaining he sought to “lock up, be a great defender. He had tough shots early on, missed them and I think after that, the basket got smaller.”
Not the other way.
“I got open shots, A-Mo got open shots,” Stevenson said.
With Morrow (who needed to visit the dentist after the game because of the elbow to the mouth) supplying 14 of his points before the intermission, the Nets opened up an eight-point halftime lead. The lead hit 14 in the third and 21 in the fourth as Williams picked apart the defense.
Everyone got in the act, including Farmar who was out of the rotation three games ago, but had 10 points and four assists off the bench.
“We were playing together on both ends. We shared the ball, had good spacing. Defensively we were rotating,” Farmar said. “It felt like we were a team.”
And at the core orchestrating was Williams.
“I was just trying to get people involved,” he said.
One day after the Nets (who face Miami in Newark tonight) finally had their first practice of the season, players and coaches praised that session for helping them clean things up and right some nasty ways.
“The practice definitely helped, there’s no doubt about that,” Williams said. “It was much needed. We made some adjustments. We were able to get out and just shoot and try to get our rhythm back.”
And they got in the history books. Late in the third quarter, there were four players surnamed Williams — Deron, Shelden, Shawne and Jordan — on the floor at the same time for New Jersey. They were with Farmar, so someone pointed out they also had two Jordans: Farmar and Williams.
Oh, and the Raptors had one DeMar.
By then, the Nets were well on their way to one important victory.