Nets' win streak hits 6 behind 61 points from Williams and Lopez

The Brooklyn Nets are fighting tooth and nail for a postseason berth, and they just might get it.

Behind an insane 61-point output from Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, the Nets took down the Toronto Raptors by a score of 114-109 on Friday.

The Raptors were in trouble after power forward Amir Johnson left the game. Johnson had helped limit the Nets to just 15 points in the second quarter, but sustained an ankle injury late in the frame and did not return.

That opened the floodgates for Brooklyn.

The Nets shot 52.3 percent from the floor as they hung 65 points on the Raptors' broken defense in the second half. Every aspect of defense was a problem for the Raptors, starting with Lopez and Williams's pick-and-rolls.

No Raptors perimeter player succeeded in defending Williams, as the hapless duo of Terrence Ross and Greivis Vasquez presented no resistance against the former All-Star. That left the Raptors' big to cover both a rolling Lopez and a driving Williams on the interior. Lopez also recorded 10 offensive rebounds to secure extra possessions for the Nets.

Supplementing the Nets' attack was Thaddeus Young, who chipped in with 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting. Young's hyperactivity overwhelmed the Raptors' short-handed interior defenders. He also finished with four steals in the win.

Overall, the combination of Young, Lopez and Williams finished with 90 points as the Raptors conceded 74 points in the paint, marking a season high for Toronto's porous defense.

DeMar DeRozan led the way for the Raptors with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The loss drops the Raptors a full game back of the Chicago Bulls to the fourth seed, while the Nets solidified their hold on the seventh seed.