Nets again blow big lead, fall to Raptors

TORONTO — Another big lead blown. Another poor fourth quarter. It’s all getting too familiar for the Nets.

Kyle Lowry had 25 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in his 10th triple-double with the Raptors, Jonas Valanciunas scored 23 and the Eastern Conference leaders beat the Nets 116-112 on Friday night.

D’Angelo Russell had 18 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his first career triple-double, but the Nets lost their second straight. The Nets, who let a 23-point lead slip away in Wednesday’s loss to the Hornets, couldn’t maintain a 14-point cushion over the Raptors.

“We’re not into moral victories but I did like our compete,” coach Kenny Atkinson said.

Russell’s triple-double was the first for the Nets since Terrence Williams had one against the Bulls on April 9, 2010.

“He had command of that game,” Atkinson said of Russell. “I think he took one bad shot the whole night, which he heard about.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Fred VanVleet had 16 and Pascal Siakam 11 as the Raptors bounced back from Wednesday’s loss at the Cavaliers.

“For us to come out and play like we did, it was terrible,” DeRozan said. “We can’t have lapses like that.”

Serge Ibaka scored 10 points for the Raptors, who improved to 30-6 at home — the best home record in the NBA.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Allen Crabbe each scored 18 points, DeMarre Carroll had 14 and Jarrett Allen 13 for the Nets.

The Nets led 91-84 through three quarters but DeRozan scored eight points in a 9-2 spurt that cut it to 95-94 with 8:30 left.

Lowry gave Toronto its first lead of the second half with four straight free throws, putting the Raptors up 100-99 with 4:50 remaining.

Allen answered with a pair at the line before VanVleet hit a 3-pointer, giving Toronto the lead for good. Lowry followed with a layup and Valanciunas added a pair of free throws.