Raps lose a 3-OT marathon in London
LONDON. ENG–The nets outlasted the Raptors in triple overtime, winning 137-136. Londoners who sold out the O2 Arena had to endure an emotional rollercoaster that kept them in stadium until 11:30 London time. Entering the third overtime, the game was tied 126-126. The final frame was a tale of two teams. New Jersey scored the first 9 points of the overtime, while Toronto retaliated by scoring the next 10. Travis Outlaw than put the game away with 2 free throws with less than 10 seconds as Bargnani missed a potential game winning shot.
The Raptors attack was led by, drum roll please, Bargnani and Derozan. Both had extremely productive nights with Bargnani posting his first double-double in some time. Bargnani scored 35 points from 11-28 shooting, while grabbing 12 rebounds. Derozan scored 30 points from 11-26 s
hooting.
Together, Bargs and Derozan accounted for almost half of the Raptors offense. The Raptors bench was also extremely productive, (as you would expect in a 136 point, triple overtime effort.) Barbosa led the second unit with 22 points, Bayless scored 10 while Ed Davis had a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Brook Lopez was a beast for the Nets scoring 34 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out at the start of the second over time. New Jersey benefited from a very balanced attack that saw Kris Humphries score 20 points, Sasha
Vujacic score 25 and Deron Williams who added a double-double with 21 points and 18 assists.
Both teams fly back over the Atlantic after an exhausting back-to-back stretch in London. The Europeanexperiment has been a success and London fans should be applauded for the enthusiasm in NBA basketball. New Jersey and Toronto have represented the NBA as best as both teams could. Expect future games in Europe as rumours have been circulating about NBA maybe expanding into Europe in the mere future.
Toronto is now 17-46 while New Jersey improves to 19-43. Both teams get a well-deserved break before their next games. Both play Wednesday night, with the Raptors playing Utah at home.
Photo Courtesy: Yahoo Sports
