TORONTO — As Paul Pierce let go of the potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 24.9 seconds remaining Tuesday night, everyone on the Nets expected Pierce to come through once again.
“He got a great look at it,” Joe Johnson said.
“Epic Truth,” Kevin Garnett said. “He usually hits that.”
This time, however, he didn’t. Pierce’s shot rimmed out instead, and the Nets would never get another chance to tie or take the lead as they eventually lost 100-95 to the Raptors in Game 2 of the first-round series in front of an over-capacity crowd of 20,382 inside Air Canada Centre.
The loss meant the teams head back to Brooklyn for Friday’s Game 3 with their best-of-seven series tied at a game apiece, after the Nets wasted a golden opportunity to take both games on the road and take control of the series.
“I got some good looks,” said Pierce, who scored seven points on 2-for-11 shooting, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, in 25 foul-filled minutes.
“Foul trouble kind of threw me off, but the looks I got I was very satisfied with them. Some nights like I said, they fall. Some nights they don’t.”
It was the exact opposite of the way things ended in Game 1, when Pierce scored nine straight points for the Nets late in the fourth quarter to put the game away. This time, while Pierce did make his only two field goals of the game in the fourth, he finished the final quarter 2-for-6 as it was the Nets — who came into the series with the massive edge in experience — failing to close out the young Raptors when they had the chance.
Instead, it was Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan who made the difference, scoring a game-high 30 points — including 17 in the fourth quarter on a combination of free throws and difficult jump shots — to ensure Toronto split its first two home playoff games in six years.
“He’s just a great offensive player,” said Deron Williams, who had 15 points but went 5-for-15 from the floor. “He’s an All-Star, and we knew he was going to bounce back from the first game.
“He took the game over and hit some crucial shots, some tough shots, and we’ve just got to do a better job of stopping him, especially late.”
Even after not playing well through the first three quarters, shooting 42 percent from the field and 29 percent from 3-point range, the Nets still managed to head into the fourth quarter clinging to a 66-64 lead, and in prime position to get a second straight road win.
But it was then their defense failed them, as Brooklyn allowed Toronto to shoot an absurd 75 percent (12-for-16) in the fourth quarter and go 12-for-15 from the foul line to score 36 points and close out the win.
“We can’t have fourth quarters like that,” said Garnett. “Thirty-six points, that’s too many points for anybody.
“Pre-school, Little League, YMCA, Raptors. Too many points. The fourth quarter is supposed to be the best quarter for us defensively, and I don’t think we played our best basketball. But on the road, hostile environment, still having a chance to win, I’ll take it.”
He might take it, but the Nets failed to take advantage of an opportunity to put the Raptors away — something that could come back to haunt them. A 2-0 lead in the series heading back to Barclays Center, where the Nets haven’t lost with their full complement of players since January, would have all but assured moving on to the second round of the playoffs.
Instead, they head home even after letting one that was right there for the taking slip through their fingers.
“They did what they’re supposed to do, defend home,” Garnett said.
“It’s time for us to go home and do the same.”