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NEW YORK -- Plagued by foul trouble in the first three quarters, Paul Pierce came up big down the stretch for the Brooklyn Nets. Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston each scored 18 points and an ailing Pierce hit a key late 3-pointer to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 101-97 victory over the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors on Monday night. Pierce scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Joe Johnson added 14 for the Nets, who won their season-high eighth straight at home. Brooklyn moved three games behind Toronto in the Atlantic. The 35-year-old, who had been battling through a "stinger" in his right shoulder felt fine during the morning after receiving treatment and admitted that he wasnt expecting to play but he couldnt pass up on the opportunity Brooklyn had to close the gap in the division standings. "I knew the implications of this game. Maybe if it was a different type of game, (I sit out)," Pierce said. "But this was one of our biggest games of the year. Division rival, a lot on the line tonight, so you can always pen me in with those type of games." Pierce was all over the floor in the final 12 minutes of the game, hitting a pair of shots beyond the arc, making four free throws and stealing the ball twice. The victory was critical for the Nets, who lost to Toronto last time they played, on Jan. 27, after Williams turned the ball over on an inbounds play with 12 seconds left and Patrick Patterson hit the eventual game-winner with 6 seconds left on the clock. "This was a big game. It give us the split," Williams said. "We didnt want them to get three up on us in case of tiebreakers. We gained a full game on them. That much closer to catching them." The Nets next big test comes on the road as they go for a season-series sweep over the two-time defending world champion Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Kyle Lowry scored 21 points to lead Toronto, which had won three straight and nine of its previous 11. Tyler Hansbrough and Amir Johnson added 16 points each. The Nets played their sixth straight game without Kevin Garnett, who was in the starting lineup but was scratched minutes before tip-off. Nets coach Jason Kidd said the 38-year-old veteran, who has been bother by back spasms, "tightened up, so we pulled the plug on him". Brooklyn also missed Andrei Kirilenko, who was out because of a sprained right ankle. The Nets trailed 94-92 after Lowry split the defence in the lane for a lay-up with 2:15 left. Brooklyn then answered with five straight points as Andray Blatches reverse lay-up tied the score at 94 and Pierce followed with his 3 with 1:14 left despite Lowrys attempt to block the shot. Brooklyns small lineup gave the Raptors trouble. "Their lineup is funky, man. When you have Paul Pierce at the 4, it is tough to guard," Lowry said. "Amir is an unbelievable defender but he is also our help guy and sometimes it is tough for him to get back out. I mean, Paul made a 3 over me and I was literally on him, in which I could smack him in the face." DeMar DeRozan then beat Livingston to the basket but was fouled and made two free throws to pull to 97-96 with 1:03 to go. On Brooklyns next possession, Williams drove to the lane but his shot was blocked by Johnson, setting the stage for a go-ahead or game-tying shot. However, Terrence Ross lost control of the ball and Pierce came up with the steal. Livingston hit two free throws to extend the Nets lead to 99-96 with 22.8 seconds left. Lowry had a chance to tie with a 3 but missed. Blatche was then fouled with 6.5 seconds left and was only able to hit the second free throws to push the lead to four points. As the Raptors proceeded to move the ball up the court, Lowry was fouled. He hit the first shot to make it 100-97 with 5.2 left. He purposely missed the second one but was called for a lane violation. Pierce, who exited Sunday nights game in the first quarter with 10:45 left due to a sore right shoulder, then hit two free throws to seal the win and even the season series between both teams at two games apiece. The matchup between Toronto and Brooklyn, who are in third and sixth place, respectively, in the Eastern Conference, had a playoff atmosphere to it with the home crowd at the Barclays Center on its feet once Pierce hit that 3-pointer. In the long run, it would definitely help Raptors coach Dwane Caseys inexperienced post-season squad. "Again, it was playoff type of basketball with physicality. Ive said it forever that we have to get ready to play that style of basketball", he said. "We had three big time turnovers because they got into us at the end of the game." Brooklyn trailed 30-19 at the end of the opening period but had a strong second quarter, pulling to 51-50 at the half. Down 60-59 after a tip-in shot by Jonas Valaciunas in the third quarter, Johnson and Williams each hit two 3-pointers to spark Brooklyn on a 14-0 run, leading 73-60 with 4:28 left. But the Raptors answered with an 11-0 run over the next 3 minutes, capped by two free throws from Hansbrough. NOTES: Kidd said the Nets will re-evaluate Garnett on Tuesday. Rookie Mason Plumlee started in Garnetts place and had six points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes. Theyre 5-1 in Garnetts absence. . Brooklyn last won eight straight at Barclays Center back on Dec. 28, 2013 to Jan. 28, 2013. . The Nets 22-9 record since Jan. 1 is tops in the East. Cheap Minnesota Vikings Gear . The 18-year-old Januzaj has made his breakthrough at United this season, including scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Sunderland before the recent international break. His performances have sparked a debate about where his international future lies. Custom Vikings Jerseys . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. http://www.cheapvikings.com/. Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization. Stitched Minnesota Vikings Jerseys . The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor. Discount Minnesota Vikings Jerseys .com) - Bradley Beals 22 points and seven rebounds helped the Washington Wizards erase a halftime deficit and top the Utah Jazz, 93-84, on Sunday.PHILADELPHIA -- Despite a poorly timed losing streak, Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle still believes Toronto can turn its season around before its too late. The Leafs dropped a 4-2 decision on Friday to the Philadelphia Flyers, their seventh straight loss, and remain outside of a post-season berth. Carlyle, however, said that his team just needs to clean up the little things and they should be fine with seven games remaining in the regular season. "Theyve proven to us before that they can play the game at a high level," said Carlyle. "If we can tidy up the turnover situation...we got to win more one-on-one battles for the puck. Those are the things at this juncture in the season thats imperative, that we win those battles. And right now were not winning enough." Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk, who scored his 29th goal of the season on Friday, agreed with his coach. "I think our work ethic has been good, we havent quit," said van Riemsdyk. "Weve played hard to the end, sometimes were just not getting the bounces." Vinny Lecavalier, Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Flyers, while goaltender Steve Mason stopped 32 shots for the win. David Bolland also scored for the Leafs and Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves in defeat. Lecavalier opened the scoring for Philadelphia 5:35 into the first period as Toronto tried to kill off 1:36 of a 5-on-3 power play. Leafs defenceman Dion Phaneuf was forced to take the face-off after centre Jay McClement was tossed from the draw. After Phaneuf lost the faceoff to Giroux, Lecavalier one timed the puck past Bernier after being set up by defenceman Kimmmo Timonen.dddddddddddd "They score a five-on-three goal, our centre gets kicked out, I dont know if we could have covered it differently," said Carlyle. Van Riemsdyk responded for Toronto just four seconds into the second period, tying the NHL record for the fastest goal to start a period. After centre Tyler Bozak won the draw forward, van Riemsdyk skated ahead and put the puck past Mason to even the score. "Bozie made the play pretty much, he decided he was going to push it ahead," said van Riemsdyk. "He made a great play and I just fired it on net." "It was a big spark," Carlyle said of the goal. "We had a lot of momentum for our hockey club but we just werent able to carry it through." Hartnell killed any Toronto momentum when he gave Philadelphia the lead back at 11:03 of the second after a backhand tip on a shot from Timonen. Giroux made it 3-1 at 4:55 of the third period when he fired a slapper from the circle over Berniers right shoulder. Bolland brought the Leafs within a goal at 6:18. Simmonds, however, put the game out of reach at 12:39. "I look at it as we came here to work, we worked hard," said Carlyle. "Were we smart enough in some areas? No. But we gave ourselves a chance." Toronto is in a four-way tie for the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, but sit outside a post-season position because of playing more games than any of the other three clubs. One of those teams is the Detroit Red Wings, who the Leafs will face on Saturday. Carlyle knows a win over the Red Wings is as big as it gets. "We have an opportunity tomorrow night, its the biggest game of the year." 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