In a battle between two tanking teams, the Toronto Raptors took care of business Wednesday night at Barclays Center, defeating the Nets 116-86 in a game they controlled for 48 minutes. Brooklyn, which played without forwards Cam Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe, suffered its fifth straight loss and fell to 23-50 this season. The Raptors entered the night with 47 losses and dropped four of their previous five. They led by as many as 32 points on Wednesday, turned 20 Brooklyn turnovers into 30 points, and dominated the paint 58-46. Brooklyn remains tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the fifth-best NBA Draft lottery odds and opened up a three-game lead on the Raptors (26-47) with nine games left. The Nets trailed Toronto 15-8 minutes into regulation and fell behind 32-18 after one quarter. The opening frame did see early minutes for second-year guard Dariq Whitehead, who checked in with 5:42 left, knocked down his first 3-point attempt shortly after, then jogged back on defense while smiling at fellow Montverde Academy and Duke alum RJ Barrett. Whitehead, who made just 10 appearances this season entering the night, finished with nine points and went 3-for-9 from deep. Brooklyn’s reserves were ultimately outscored 45-33. The Nets shot just 37.5% from the field in the first half (15-for-40) and committed 13 turnovers, which gifted Toronto 21 points and largely contributed to their 17-point deficit at the break. Ziaire Williams scored 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the first half as he continued to showcase his improved outside stroke, and Nic Claxton chipped in 10 points. But the Nets didn’t get much offensive production outside of them. D’Angelo Russell went scoreless with one assist and four turnovers in his first 14 minutes of action. Brooklyn never recovered. While it played a much cleaner third quarter, it was still outscored 31-23, which allowed the Raptors to keep it at arm’s length. Claxton finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Williams never scored again after a strong offensive first half. Orlando Robinson led six Raptors in double figures with 12 points, 12 rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes. The Nets will return to action on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers. It will be Ben Simmons’ first game at Barclays Center since he was bought out by Brooklyn in February. ...read more read less