Sluggish Raptors can't capitalize on comeback in road loss to Brooklyn Nets

Down by as many as 15 points before a 15-0 run was forged with their two best players on the bench, Sunday night in Brooklyn turned into a wild ride for the Raptors.

Sluggish and inept, the visitors found their footing to close out the third period, producing a compelling finish to the Raptors 96-81 loss to the Nets to begin a three-game road trip.

The evening’s most competitive moments arrived in the fourth quarter, which seemed fitting, despite the many moments of inefficiency that characterized Toronto’s play up until its late-quarter surge in the third period that would carry over into the fourth.

Brooklyn responded by going on its own run to retake a double-digit lead in the final period, taking advantage of a poor Raptors defence, aided by too many quick shots heaved by the visitors.

The following are three takeaways on a night the Raptors managed to score a season-low 39 points in the opening half.

POELTL PROBLEM

This is getting a bit ridiculous, an ongoing issue that continues to take more twists and turns amid so few answers.

Given the nature of lower-back conditions, it might behoove the Raptors to hold centre Jakob Poeltl out of games until he’s as close to 100% as possible.

Or perhaps it’s best they finally realize that another big must be acquired.

Poeltl started Sunday after sitting out Saturday’s home tip. But against the Nets, he would last a grand total of seven minutes before being ruled out for the rest of the night because of back stiffness, per the club.

On the injury report, he was listed as questionable. The question now being asked, however, is if Poeltl will be healthy any time soon.

In the nine full games Poeltl has missed, the Raptors went 4-5 and were routinely abused on the glass. With Poeltl limited to seven minutes, the Nets outrebounded Toronto 48-39.

RJ Barrett (knee), meanwhile, continues to be out, but was seen pre-game doing some on-court basketball-related work, an encouraging sign for the team’s starting small forward.

BIG SCARE AVERTED

There’ve been a handful of games when Brandon Ingram, who was limited to 18 games last season following an ankle injury, dodged a bullet.

The latest arrived at the Barclays Center on Sunday when he appeared to have hurt his ankle in the opening half. He was accompanied to the Raptors’ locker room by Alex McKechnie, the team’s VP of player health and performance. It’s never a good sign when McKechnie is seen with a player leaving the court area.

Fortunately for the Raptors, Ingram did return with his ankle re-taped.

He finished with a team-high 19 points in 33 minutes. Immanuel Quickley scored 17, but Scottie Barnes had a brutal game, managing just six points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Toronto’s main issue was containing Michael Porter Jr. Three minutes into the third quarter and Porter was responsible for 22 of Brooklyn’s 55 points as the Nets built a double-digit advantage. He finished with 24 points.

THE PLANE TRUTH

Travel issues and the associated headaches caused are as part of the NBA as back-door cuts or buzzer-beaters.

Too often they become convenient excuses when poor starts to a game play out.

The Raptors had to deal with a mechanical problem in the hours following their loss to the visiting Celtics on Saturday night. Instead of arriving at their hotel at a reasonable time, the Raptors didn’t check in until 5 a.m.

Chartered aircraft are prone for the occasional hiccup and the Raptors became the latest victim.

Sunday’s tip wasn’t until 6 p.m., allowing for enough rest time.

How do you explain why the Raptors had more turnovers (6) than baskets (5) with 2:40 left in the opening quarter?That had nothing to do with any plane malfunction.

The cause of Toronto’s self-implosion was its poor decision-making. The Raptors played poorly to begin the game and were even worse to close out the opening half.

Just don’t use the travel snafu as an excuse because it simply won’t cut it. This team was too soft and showed no backbone in the face of duress.

UP NEXT

Raptors are back in South Beach for the second time in eight days with a Tuesday night tip on tap against the host Miami Heat. When the Raptors beat the Heat 106-96 last Monday, Miami was without scoring guard Tyler Herro (toe), while reserve Nikola Jovic injured his elbow 12 seconds after he entered the game when he took a hard foul from Collin Murray-Boyles while driving to the basket.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com