TORONTO – Gary Trent Jr. didn’t miss any of his shots in the first half but when his Toronto Raptors teammates missed open passes to him in the third, he started to struggle.
A quick talk with head coach Darko Rajakovic turned that around.
“Just pulled me out three minutes into the half and says ‘get focused,’” said Trent. “I said ‘OK coach, I understand you’ and kept pushing.
“That’s all I really can say, y’know? Obviously, you see something on the floor I’m all ears.”
Trent had 10 points in the fourth quarter — again making all his shots in the period — to lead all scorers with 25 points as the Raptors routed the Brooklyn Nets 121-93 on Thursday to snap Toronto’s three-game losing skid.
“I just went out there and played hard, tried to contribute to winning,” said Trent, who was 9 for 12 on field goals with five three-pointers and 2 for 2 from the free-throw line.
We came out of the all-star break and got a win so that was probably the most important thing.”
Scottie Barnes had a double-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists as Toronto (20-36) tries to slip into the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament.
The Raptors now trail the Nets by 1 1/2 games for 11th in the East, with both teams chasing the Atlanta Hawks (24-31) for the 10th and the final spot in the play-in tournament.