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Nets best shorthanded Raptors to end skid

Dec 13, 2012 - 3:12 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - C.J. Watson scored all 16 of his points in the second half behind 4-of-4 shooting from behind the arc to wake up the sluggish Brooklyn Nets in their 94-88 comeback win over the Toronto Raptors.

Joe Johnson led Brooklyn with 23 points, while Andray Blatche added 14 points and nine rebounds to help halt the club's five-game skid, which included a three-point loss to the Knicks on Tuesday.

The Raptors weren't playing the second game of a back-to-back like the Nets, but they were limited with the injuries to starters Andrea Bargnani (elbow) and Kyle Lowry (triceps) and because of Amir Johnson's suspension.

"Guys looking for minutes are going to get more playing time," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. "It's a tough situation. It's a challenge. They're not going to cancel games."

Ed Davis paced Toronto with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Jose Calderon added 10 points and 15 assists in the loss.

Toronto, coming off a winless five-game road trip, failed to hold an 11-point lead in the third. The Nets were in front, 68-64, heading to the fourth and immediately took control with a 14-4 flurry to open up a 14-point lead.

Joe Johnson and Watson each hit from long range on the first two Nets possessions, and Watson hit another during the pivotal run.

Toronto went on an 9-0 spurt in the final two minutes to make things interesting, but after Davis' free throw cut the deficit to 90-86 with 17 seconds left, Watson made a pair from the stripe to close out the victory

"We didn't have a lot of energy in the first half," Nets head coach Avery Johnson said. "Once we got adjusted, we were able to get some great energy from C.J."

The Raptors used a late 10-2 run in the first quarter, as well as 20 combined points from Davis and Jonas Valanciunas, to take a 27-20 lead into the second.

An ugly second stanza ended with Aaron Gray tipping in a DeMar DeRozan miss to give the hosts a 45-37 halftime advantage.

Late in the third, the Nets took their first lead since it was 2-0 when Johnson drained a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 run for a 60-58 edge with 2:27 on the clock.

Game Notes

Toronto has lost 12 of its last 13 games ... Amir Johnson was suspended for one game as a result of an altercation with an official in Monday's loss in Portland. The forward got into a tug-of-war for the ball with referee David Jones after a free throw and threw his mouthpiece at Jones after he was ejected ... The Nets shot 10-of-19 from 3-point range ... Deron Williams scored 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting for Brooklyn ... DeRozan logged 11 points, seven below his season average ... Valanciunas finished with 15 points -- six after the opening quarter.