Patrick Patterson stole Deron Williams’ inbounds pass and made the go-ahead jumper with 6 seconds left, and the visiting Toronto Raptors stopped a five-game winning streak by the Brooklyn Nets for the second time this month with a 104-103 victory Monday night.
Brooklyn had a three-point lead with 17 seconds left behind Paul Pierce in his best game with the Nets, but John Salmons scored on a drive with 12 seconds remaining before Brooklyn took its last timeout to move the ball into the frontcourt.
Patterson stole the pass and fed Kyle Lowry, who got it back to Patterson for his jumper. Pierce was well off on a final attempt.
Lowry finished with 31 points and seven assists for the Raptors, who moved 2½ games ahead of the Nets for the Atlantic Division lead.
Pierce scored 33 points, making seven 3-pointers in a strong bounce-back performance after going just 2 for 10 in his emotional return to Boston on Sunday. He had the Nets in position to win after scoring their last nine points before Toronto stole it.
The stunning turnaround deflated the crowd at Barclays Center for a back-and-forth game that drew a visit from several Seattle Seahawks, who will hold their Super Bowl media day Tuesday at the Nets’ last home, the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Richard Sherman and Bobby Wagner grabbed a baseline seat in the first half, while Russell Wilson and other players sat above in a private box.
Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who played without injured leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. Terrence Ross, who tied a franchise record with 51 points and made 10 3-pointers Saturday, had a quiet 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Suns 124, 76ers 113: At Philadelphia, Gerald Green scored 30 points and Goran Dragic had 24 to lead Phoenix over Philadelphia.
There was no need for a Suns comeback in this one. They led wire-to-wire over the hapless Sixers, one night after they rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to win at Cleveland.
Thunder 111, Hawks 109: At Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 41 points, including the game-winning jumper with 1.5 seconds left, and Oklahoma City rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat Atlanta.
Clippers 114, Bucks 86: At Milwaukee, Blake Griffin dominated the paint with 20 points, Jamal Crawford scored 25 and the Clippers ended their seven-game road trip with a win over Milwaukee.
Milwaukee starting center Larry Sanders and veteran guard O.J. Mayo missed the game, the second time in a week that each player has been sidelined by illness.
Sanders and Mayo also missed last Wednesday’s game against the Pistons, the last time the Bucks won.
Timberwolves 95, Bulls 86: At Chicago, Kevin Love scored 31 points to lead Minnesota, and Ronny Turiaf added 14 points off the bench for the Timberwolves, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bulls and won for the fourth time in five games overall.