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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. wholesale jerseys . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. wholesale nfl jerseys . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/ . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. cheap jerseys from china . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. nfl jerseys china . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm.WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkins absence added to the Washington Capitals offensive woes and the Ottawa Senators were only too glad to take advantage. Kyle Turris and Jason Spezza scored, Craig Anderson made 34 saves and the Senators beat the Capitals 2-0 Tuesday night to hand Washington its sixth straight loss. With NHL scoring leader Ovechkin out with an unspecified lower-body injury, Washington failed to convert on five power plays. During their six-game skid, the Capitals have scored just seven goals, three of them by Ovechkin. "Yeah, hes absolutely a dangerous goal scorer, leading our team and leading the league in goals," Washingtons Troy Brouwer said. "Wed love to have him out there, but we dont have him right now. Even when he was in the lineup the last few games we still havent been scoring goals." In Ovechkins absence, some of Washingtons other offensive threats were silent. Nicklas Backstrom and Mikhail Grabovski had one shot each. Defenceman John Carlson whiffed on a promising slap shot, fired high on another and was stymied by Anderson on a breakaway. "Their goalie played well, but we had a lot of guys with some really good looks, good chances," Washington coach Adam Oates said. "We have to score some goals. I would say the chances were good chances tonight, and we had a lot of them. It is a matter of finishing." It was the 12th loss in the last 15 games for the Capitals, while Ottawa improved to 7-1-2 in its last 10 games to vault Washington in the Eastern Conference standings. Turris scored his 15th of the year with just over 7 minutes left in the second period when he converted on a rush down the right side. Spezza scored his 13th goal on a power play midway through the third period, rifling a wrist shot from the left wing that went just inside the near post and past Caapitals goalie Braden Holtby, who finished with 24 saves in first start since Jan.dddddddddddd4. As they tried to rally, the Capitals didnt get their customary boost from their fans. The Verizon Center, which regularly sells out, was less than half full because of a snowstorm that closed schools and shut down the government Tuesday. "Its a building where they are notorious for coming back and getting momentum," Spezza said. "So to get the two-goal lead lets us play a little different style and with a little more confidence. I thought we played better with the lead tonight in general." It was the 32-year-old Andersons third shutout this year and 25th in his career. He was at his best in the third period when he sprawled for a save to help the Senators kill a penalty and later kicked away a drive by Marcus Johansson. "We played really well for 60 minutes," Anderson said. "From the start of the game to the end of the game we did things we were supposed to do." Washingtons frustration appeared to spill over late in the game when Grabovski received a 10-minute misconduct penalty during a tussle with Zack Smith. "I want the guys to compete and be frustrated," Oates said. "But you cant live in the penalty box. Were not doing a good enough job killing penalties. So that doesnt make sense, either. But I want them to fight for everything we can." NOTES: The Capitals recalled Nate Schmidt to fortify the defence after Steve Oleksy was sent to Hershey and John Erskine sustained an upper-body injury. Schmidt, 22, opened the year in Washington, totalling six points in 28 games. ... The move came a day after Washington sent goalie Philipp Grubauer back to Hershey. The rookie had been pulled from his previous two starts. ... 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