NBA Game Summary - Toronto at Brooklyn

Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston netted 18 points apiece and the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors, 101-97, on Monday night.

Paul Pierce tallied 15 points and four steals, while Joe Johnson added 14 points for the Nets, who have won six of their last seven games.

"Our crowd was unbelievable tonight," said Pierce. "It was probably the best I've heard them all year. It was a playoff atmosphere and they were really into it."

Kyle Lowry had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Amir Johnson poured in 16 points for Toronto, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

After Andray Blatche's turnaround hook shot tied the game at 94-94, Pierce gave the Nets the lead on their next trip down the floor when he nailed a 3- pointer.

DeMar DeRozan sunk a pair of foul shots to cut the deficit to 97-96 and Williams missed a layup at the other end. Livingston, though, stole the ball away from Terrence Ross and then hit two free throws for a 99-96 Brooklyn advantage with 22.8 seconds to go.

Lowry was off the mark on a potential game-tying triple from the right wing with 10.9 seconds remaining and Blatche split a pair of foul shots to seal the outcome.

"They (Nets) have veteran guys," said Raptors forward John Salmons. "They have guys that can hit guys in the clutch. They got guys that have carried teams in the past. It's definitely a tough team."

Earlier, Ross put in 12 points in the opening frame as Toronto headed into the second with a 30-19 advantage.

Brooklyn, though, outscored the Raptors 31-21 in the second, cutting the deficit to 51-50 heading into the break.

The Nets led 78-73 after three.