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BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. It turned out, the Toronto coach had good reason to be. The Raptors couldnt overcome a horrible first quarter -- their worst 12 minutes of the series -- en route to a 97-83 loss to Brooklyn Nets on Friday, sending the series back to the Air Canada Centre tied at three games apiece. "Any Game 6, a team is going to come out with a desperate mindset," Casey said. "This team they built to win a championship this year. Theyre going to come out and give you their best shot. . . knew that coming in and tried to warn our team. "Guys who havent been in Game 6 before, its one of the toughest things to do. Again, experience is the best teacher. Now were going into Game 7, its our first time at that. Luckily we have it at home." DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points but got little help from the rest of the Raptors who trailed 34-19 at the end of the first quarter against a Nets team that was facing elimination. Now its down to one game for Toronto to make the second round of the post-season for just the second time in the franchises 19-year history, and a date with the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat. "Yeah, its Game 7," Kyle Lowry said. "We all grew up watching Game 7s and want to be a part of Game 7s. Weve still got to go out there and not be too over anxious. Weve still got to go out there and do what we need to do. "Me personally, Im not going to be all amped up. Its going to be a game that we have to go home and win." Theyll clearly need a better effort than they gave Friday. Lowry was the only other Raptor to score in double figures with 11 points. Jonas Valanciunas had nine points and nine rebounds, while Greivis Vasquez added nine points. "We just didnt come out with the competitive nature that we needed tonight," Lowry said. "They did an unbelievable job of forcing their will on the game tonight, but we have to find a way to match that intensity." Deron Williams, playing on a bad ankle for the better part of the second half, led the Nets with 23 points, while Joe Johnson added 17 points, Kevin Garnett finished with 13 and Paul Pierce added 12. "We were at home. Brooklyn. You cant come in here and get a win, not when its like this," said Garnett. "It was all on the line and thats what we did. I had to go into my vintage bag of tricks. Its the same thing in Game 7. Stay aggressive." Coming off victories in Games 4 and 5, the Raptors were outhustled and outplayed by the Nets from the outset Friday, looking much like the fourth-quarter Raptors in Game 5 on Wednesday that coughed up a 26-point lead yet still managed to hold on to win. The Nets -- who assembled an all-star squad this season, trading for Pierce and Garnett with sights set on an NBA title -- played easily their best basketball of this series. "We started the game out with the opposite disposition that we wanted to, I thought they came out in a desperate mode and we didnt," Casey said. "We didnt start to play that way until we got knocked down in the second half. Thats what the playoffs are about, your start probably tells you how youre going to finish. And tonight, they got their foot on the pedal a lot quicker than we did." Toronto trailed by 26 points midway through the third and went into the fourth down 79-59. The Raptors pushed back in the fourth, opening with a 17-7 run to pull within 10 on a three-pointer by Lowry with 5:02 to play. With the fans at the Barclays Center on their feet, Williams drained a three with 1:13 to play that put the Nets up by 13 and secured the victory for Brooklyn. The fans chanted "U-S-A!" as the final seconds ticked down. A grinning Garnett high-fived Jay-Z. DeRozan who, along with starters Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross, had never played in the post-season before this, said the Raptors werent ready for the intensity of a Game 6. "We didnt really realize, we had Brooklyn against the wall and we didnt take advantage of it like we should have," he said. "We should have known they were going to come out throwing haymakers, and we werent ready for it until the second half." Outside the Barclays Center, there were tongue-in-cheek missing person posters taped to posts of Williams, that read: "MISSING Have you seen this person?" above Williams mug shot. Reward was listed as $63,128,400 -- the amount remaining on the point guards contract. Williams showed up Friday, but the Raptors didnt. Despite spraining his left ankle early in the third quarter, Williams made good on 8-of-16 shots from the floor and dominated his matchup with Lowry, who shot 4 for 16. The Nets shot 47 per cent from the field, while the Raptors shot 38 per cent on the night. Toronto was outrebounded 45-42. With the Nets cobbling together their star-studded lineup with its payroll plus taxes of more than US$180 million, experience was a theme early in the series -- Pierce alone had almost as many post-season appearances as the entire Raptors roster prior to Game 1. And it reared its head again Friday with the Raptors response to Game 6. Pierce said he cant wait for Game 7. "Its going to be fun," Pierce said. "This is what the NBA is all about -- these pressure-type moments. These are the types of games that elevate good players to great players. We have so many of them coming up this weekend, its an exciting time, and were going to enjoy it. Its a hostile environment -- win or go home. "Hey, this is the type of situation that I love and want to be in. I love our chances." Casey, however, doesnt believe this loss will affect his teams confidence in its win-or-go home game on Sunday. "To listen to some of this (talk of losing momentum), we may as well not play Game 7," Casey said. "Every game is different and I know our team will bounce back. Weve got to come out of the gates a lot fresher, a lot harder, especially starting on the defensive end of the floor." The sellout crowd of 17,732 included Drake, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Rosie ODonnell, Ellen Pompeo -- Meredith on "Greys Anatomy", New York Giants receiver Mario Manningham, and Brooklyn rapper Fabolous, who announced the Nets lineup. There were numerous pockets of red-clad Raptors fans who stood out against the Nets fans, wearing white T-shirts as part of a giveaway. This series has been drama-filled since Game 1 when Raptors GM Masai Ujiri dropped his famous F-bomb about Brooklyn -- earning him a US$25,000 fine -- and the shot clocks malfunctioned at the Air Canada Centre. There was Drake and his lint roller, and the huge crowds that packed Maple Leaf Square for every game, home and away. Several thousand braved the chilly temperatures again Friday to watch the game on the big screen outside the Air Canada Centre. Nets coach Jason Kidd was fined US$25,000 earlier Friday by the NBA for public criticism of officiating. The New York Daily News back cover photo Friday morning was of the Brooklyn coach, under the headline "Whiny Kidd." When asked about the fine prior to tipoff, Kidd replied: "Fine? Its a beautiful day today isnt it? Did it rain?" The Raptors trailed by double digits less than eight minutes into the game. DeRozan scored 10 points in the first, but got little help from his teammates, and the Raptors trailed 34-19 heading into the second. It was more of the same in the second, a putback layup by Andray Blatche giving the Nets a 21-point advantage with four-and-a-half minutes left in the half. Former Raptor Alan Anderson drained a 17-foot step-back jumper with less than a second on the clock to put the Nets up 60-41 heading into the halftime break. A three-pointer by Pierce gave the Nets a 26-point lead five minutes into the third quarter, and the Nets took a 79-59 lead into the fourth. Adidas Yeezy 350 Uk Release . Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early. Cheap Yeezy Boost 350 Real . Prado stuck his glove down with Colorados Charlie Blackmon sliding into the bag, and quickly jumped back in pain after applying the tag. Prado held his left wrist as trainers came out of the Diamondbacks dugout to check him. http://www.yeezy350saleuk.com/. With Van Osch out with a flu bug that has been rampaging through the tournament, Knezevic stepped in to lead B.C. (4-3) to a pair of victories on Tuesday before 1,131 at the Maurice Richard Arena. Yeezy Boost 350 For Sale Uk . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. Yeezy 350 Uk Sale . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley.UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Steve Mason was good enough to earn a shutout and get the Philadelphia Flyers a rare point on the road. Jaroslav Halak and the New York Islanders are just too good in shootouts for Mason to leave Long Island with a win, too.Frans Nielsen and John Tavares finally solved Mason, and the Islanders outlasted the Flyers 1-0 on Monday night to post the best 21-game start in franchise history.We stayed with it, Tavares said. We felt like we were wearing them down and we would eventually get through it. It just took until the shootout.Mason stopped 46 shots through overtime, but after denying Kyle Okposo, he was beaten twice. The shutout was his first this season.Its just frustrating not being able to get the extra point, Mason said. Hopefully, it wont hurt us in the playoff race.We knew what to expect with their speed. They were as advertised. It has to be frustrating for the players, too. We left another point out there. Its unacceptable.Philadelphia has dropped five of six overall, and five straight on the road — including consecutive shutout losses. The Flyers are 2-6-1 on the road.New York, which tied its season high in shots, has a team-record 15 wins through 21 games (15-6) and is 5-0 in shootouts.Halak made 21 saves for his third shutout this season. He has won seven straight, allowing only eight goals. The Islanders have won four in a row and nine of 10.Its a different makeup, its a different attitude, a little different swagger to our team, coach Jack Capuano said. No matter what the score is or what the adversity that were facing throughout a game or how the momentum is going, were just going to continue to play the way we know how.Mason made 43 saves through regulation and was heavily tested in the final few minutes. He reached up to glove Okposos rising drive with 1:40 left in the third period and fell onto his back in the crease.The boys played well, Tavares said. You want to score, and if you dont beat the goaltender he was probably better than you in the play. You just stay with it. What else can you do? You look to the next shift. You cant control what is in the past.Phhiladelphia managed only 20 shots in regulation.dddddddddddd The Flyers had a great chance to break the deadlock when New Yorks Matt Martin charged Luke Schenn from behind and slammed him into the boards. But the power play was shortened after 49 seconds when Wayne Simmonds was called for high-sticking.The Islanders had the better of the chances in the first two periods. New York held a 12-6 shots edge through the opening 20 minutes and 27-16 before the third, not counting several drives that were wide of the mark or deflected out of play.We want to and have to play better, Simmonds said. We were trying to pass too much. They are a fast team, and they showed that all night. Mase was awesome, for sure. He kept us in it all night.The only thing that found its way into the net before the shootout was Islanders defenceman Johnny Boychuk, who got shoved in there by Flyers defenceman Braydon Coburn with 7:55 left in the second.Boychuk nearly broke the scoreless tie 46 seconds into the second when he fired a drive from the right point that found its way through traffic and was barely stopped by Masons skate at the post.Mason also stood tall when Brock Nelson used speed to get free to the net. Mason blocked his shot from in close that appeared to catch a piece of the post, too.Halak faced fewer shots, but also was challenged. He denied Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in tight in the second period, but Halaks best stop came in the first when he held his ground through several dekes as Sean Couturier came in on a short-handed breakaway.We just have to keep playing the same way, Halak said. We will enjoy this win tonight and get back to work.NOTES: A moment of silence was held for Pat Quinn, a former coach of the Flyers and several other teams. Quinn died on Sunday. ... Islanders D Matt Donovan made his season debut, and was joined by Brian Strait, who was scratched nine of the previous 10 games. They replaced Thomas Hickey, who sat out for the first time this season, and fellow defenceman Calvin de Haan, who was scratched after playing 17 straight games. Both defencemen were sidelined by illness. ' ' '