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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. Vince Carter Magic Jersey . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Tracy Mcgrady Magic Jersey .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. http://www.magicauthentic.com/kids-dwight-howard-magic-jersey/ .com) - Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 11. Jerian Grant Magic Jersey .com) - Houston Texans interim head coach Wade Phillips confirmed Monday that starting quarterback Case Keenum sustained a sprained right thumb during Sundays 25-3 loss in Indianapolis. Grant Hill Magic Jersey .com) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to win two straight games for the first time since mid-January on Monday night as they play host to the struggling New York Islanders.Huge early deficit? No problem. Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem. Down to the last out in the bottom of the ninth? No problem. The Winnipeg Goldeyes (16-9) came back from all of that in a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Grand Prairie AirHogs (10-15) Tuesday night at Shaw Park before 5,549 fans. The win pulls the Goldeyes within half-a-game of the St. Paul Saints for first place in the American Associations North Division. Grand Prairie took a big lead by scoring five runs with two out in the top of the second inning, which was highlighted by a three-run home run by Palmer Karr Jr. After that though, Salamida settled in and gave Winnipeg a chance to get back into the game. The Goldeyes started their climb in the bottom of the third when Ryan Pineda singled in Josh Mazzola, who reached first base on an error. Following two scoreless innings, the Goldeyes tied the game in the sixth inning. With one run in, Donnie Webb hit a two-run home run off the Manitoba Hydro superboard in right-centre field. Four batters later, Pineda singled in Mazzola again, as the Goldeyes belted out six hits in the inning. The Goldeyes missed a glorious opportunity by leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, but Casey Haerther erased that memory with a leadoff solo home run an inning later. It was his first home run of the season. “I was seeing it pretty well tonight,” Haerther said.dddddddddddd “The one I hit out was a fastball middle-in. Ive been looking for that swing for a while and I finally got it. That gave me a lot of confidence right there.” Grand Prairie battled back to score a run off Goldeyes reliever Kyle Bellamy in the top of the ninth, but Winnipeg answered with a two-out RBI single from Haerther in the bottom of the ninth. Winnipeg tallied three consecutive two-out hits in the final inning to pull off the comeback, as Reggie Abercrombie and Mazzola led it off. “Without Abercrombie and Mazzola ahead of me, that would have never happened,” Haerther said. “It all happened with two outs, which was fun. “It was a great team win. We were down 5-0 most of the game.” Haerther had four hits in the game for the Goldeyes, as did Ryan Pineda. Along with Webb, they also had two RBI. Despite the five-run second inning, Salamida went 6 1/3 innings and took a no-decision. Bellamy got the win for Winnipeg. Despite the blown save, he got a double play with the bases loaded to end the top of the ninth. Bennett Whitmore suffered the loss for Grand Prairie. The rematch goes Tuesday night at Shaw Park. In a battle of lefties, Nick Hernandez (1-0, 5.75) will take the ball for Winnipeg against Grand Prairies Brandon Bargas (2-2, 5.80). ' ' '