Raptors welcome return of full arena in Toronto with tight victory over hobbled Nets

A full arena stood and cheered on Toronto over the final few exciting minutes on Tuesday — a sound the Raptors hadn't heard in two-and-a-half months.

The Raptors rewarded them with a win.

Gary Trent Jr., scored 24 points, while rookie Scottie Barnes had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Toronto to a 109-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Pascal Siakam added 18 points, while Malachi Flynn chipped in 15, and Khem Birch and Thaddeus Young scored 11 apiece for the Raptors (34-27), who beat the Nets for the second straight night.

Former Raptor James Johnson had 19 points to top the Nets (32-31).

Barnes' jumper with 4:06 to play capped a 7-0 Raptors run that had them up by a point. A floater from Trent Jr., then a dunk from Young stretched the difference to five with 1:50 to play.

A driving dunk from Johnson and a three-point heave from Seth Curry tied it up with 51 seconds left. The Raptors locked it down on the defensive end over the dying seconds, and Trent Jr.'s free throws sealed the victory. Johnson connected on a three with less than a second on the clock but it was too little too late for the Nets.

The delighted Scotiabank Arena crowd of 18,903 was just shy of a sellout (19,800).

"I think it'll be great. I think [the fans] will be revved up. They oughta be," coach Nick Nurse said before tipoff. "They oughta be ready to cheer really loud and have some fun and let loose a little bit."

Man the fan energy here tonight is somethin so special ✨✨<a href="https://twitter.com/PreciousAchiuwa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PreciousAchiuwa</a> <a href="https://t.co/EUvDbBonUi">pic.twitter.com/EUvDbBonUi</a>

The Raptors hadn't played in front of a full house at home since Dec. 13 versus Sacramento, when the rise of COVID-19 cases amid the