A night after Paul Pierce was celebrated for his historic career in Boston, he nearly carried the Nets to a win.
Pierce poured in a season-high 33 points — including 23 in the second half — to help nearly bring the Nets back from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit before eventually falling 104-103 to the Raptors inside Barclays Center Monday night.
Pierce, who finished 10-for-16 from the field and 7-for-10 from 3-point range, looked like a player with the weight of the world removed from his shoulders. He understandably struggled to six points on 2-for-10 shooting Sunday night in his first game back in Boston after last summer’s blockbuster trade that brought his 15-year tenure with the Celtics to begin his career to a close.
“Last night was a tough game to play in,” Pierce said after Monday’s game. “There was so many emotions. … It was just good to get some normalcy back today, and I felt comfortable and relaxed.
“But it would’ve been better if we got a win today, though.”
Kevin Garnett, who also was celebrated Sunday for his tenure in Boston, finished with six points and 11 rebounds, though he missed a layup and an open jumper on back-to-back possessions late in the game.
“We didn’t have much of a choice [to get refocused],” Garnett said. “Back-to-back games, we knew what it was. Going up to Boston was going to be emotional, but turning around and having another game at home, you have to be ready for it.”
Joe Johnson struggled for the third straight game, as he’s followed up his seven-game hot streak earlier this month by going 6-for-22 overall and 3-for-11 from 3-point range in his last three games, including going 3-for-10 and 1-for-4 for 12 points Monday.
“It’s about rhythm,” Johnson said. “Some nights it finds you, and some nights it don’t. The last three or four games it hasn’t been dropping for me, so to speak, but as a team we’ve been playing pretty well, so I’ve been cool with it.”
Like it did when the Nets lost in Toronto on Jan. 11, Monday’s loss to the Raptors snapped a five-game winning streak for Brooklyn. The loss also saw the starting five of Shaun Livingston, Alan Anderson, Johnson, Pierce and Garnett fall to 8-1 in the nine games that it has started this month for the Nets.