NEW YORK -- Plagued by foul trouble in the first three quarters, Paul Pierce came up big down the stretch for the Brooklyn Nets. Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston each scored 18 points and an ailing Pierce hit a key late 3-pointer to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 101-97 victory over the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors on Monday night. Pierce scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Joe Johnson added 14 for the Nets, who won their season-high eighth straight at home. Brooklyn moved three games behind Toronto in the Atlantic. The 35-year-old, who had been battling through a "stinger" in his right shoulder felt fine during the morning after receiving treatment and admitted that he wasnt expecting to play but he couldnt pass up on the opportunity Brooklyn had to close the gap in the division standings. "I knew the implications of this game. Maybe if it was a different type of game, (I sit out)," Pierce said. "But this was one of our biggest games of the year. Division rival, a lot on the line tonight, so you can always pen me in with those type of games." Pierce was all over the floor in the final 12 minutes of the game, hitting a pair of shots beyond the arc, making four free throws and stealing the ball twice. The victory was critical for the Nets, who lost to Toronto last time they played, on Jan. 27, after Williams turned the ball over on an inbounds play with 12 seconds left and Patrick Patterson hit the eventual game-winner with 6 seconds left on the clock. "This was a big game. It give us the split," Williams said. "We didnt want them to get three up on us in case of tiebreakers. We gained a full game on them. That much closer to catching them." The Nets next big test comes on the road as they go for a season-series sweep over the two-time defending world champion Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Kyle Lowry scored 21 points to lead Toronto, which had won three straight and nine of its previous 11. Tyler Hansbrough and Amir Johnson added 16 points each. The Nets played their sixth straight game without Kevin Garnett, who was in the starting lineup but was scratched minutes before tip-off. Nets coach Jason Kidd said the 38-year-old veteran, who has been bother by back spasms, "tightened up, so we pulled the plug on him". Brooklyn also missed Andrei Kirilenko, who was out because of a sprained right ankle. The Nets trailed 94-92 after Lowry split the defence in the lane for a lay-up with 2:15 left. Brooklyn then answered with five straight points as Andray Blatches reverse lay-up tied the score at 94 and Pierce followed with his 3 with 1:14 left despite Lowrys attempt to block the shot. Brooklyns small lineup gave the Raptors trouble. "Their lineup is funky, man. When you have Paul Pierce at the 4, it is tough to guard," Lowry said. "Amir is an unbelievable defender but he is also our help guy and sometimes it is tough for him to get back out. I mean, Paul made a 3 over me and I was literally on him, in which I could smack him in the face." DeMar DeRozan then beat Livingston to the basket but was fouled and made two free throws to pull to 97-96 with 1:03 to go. On Brooklyns next possession, Williams drove to the lane but his shot was blocked by Johnson, setting the stage for a go-ahead or game-tying shot. However, Terrence Ross lost control of the ball and Pierce came up with the steal. Livingston hit two free throws to extend the Nets lead to 99-96 with 22.8 seconds left. Lowry had a chance to tie with a 3 but missed. Blatche was then fouled with 6.5 seconds left and was only able to hit the second free throws to push the lead to four points. As the Raptors proceeded to move the ball up the court, Lowry was fouled. He hit the first shot to make it 100-97 with 5.2 left. He purposely missed the second one but was called for a lane violation. Pierce, who exited Sunday nights game in the first quarter with 10:45 left due to a sore right shoulder, then hit two free throws to seal the win and even the season series between both teams at two games apiece. The matchup between Toronto and Brooklyn, who are in third and sixth place, respectively, in the Eastern Conference, had a playoff atmosphere to it with the home crowd at the Barclays Center on its feet once Pierce hit that 3-pointer. In the long run, it would definitely help Raptors coach Dwane Caseys inexperienced post-season squad. "Again, it was playoff type of basketball with physicality. Ive said it forever that we have to get ready to play that style of basketball", he said. "We had three big time turnovers because they got into us at the end of the game." Brooklyn trailed 30-19 at the end of the opening period but had a strong second quarter, pulling to 51-50 at the half. Down 60-59 after a tip-in shot by Jonas Valaciunas in the third quarter, Johnson and Williams each hit two 3-pointers to spark Brooklyn on a 14-0 run, leading 73-60 with 4:28 left. But the Raptors answered with an 11-0 run over the next 3 minutes, capped by two free throws from Hansbrough. NOTES: Kidd said the Nets will re-evaluate Garnett on Tuesday. Rookie Mason Plumlee started in Garnetts place and had six points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes. Theyre 5-1 in Garnetts absence. . Brooklyn last won eight straight at Barclays Center back on Dec. 28, 2013 to Jan. 28, 2013. . The Nets 22-9 record since Jan. 1 is tops in the East. Cheap White Sox Jerseys . Goergl, the 2011 world champion, started 28th after the other top contenders had already gone down but had the fastest time at each interval. Goergl finished the demanding 3-kilometre Kaelberloch course in 1 minute, 47. Chicago White Sox Store . -- The Atlanta Braves are facing the possibility of losing another pitcher for the season after general manager Frank Wren said Saturday that Cory Gearrin has a serious injury to his right elbow. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . Nathan Beaulieu, Tomas Jurco, Danick Gauthier and Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist each as the Sea Dogs extended the longest streak in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Fake White Sox Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. Stitched White Sox Jerseys . The Blue Jays lost to the New York Yankees 3-1 Tuesday night, their seventh defeat in 10 games. Rasmus was put on the 15-day DL on May 15 because of a sore right hamstring. Hes hitting .222 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs.MIAMI -- Miscommunication between Colorado Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa and catcher Wilin Rosario had Miami Marlins fans booing in the fifth inning of Mondays season opener. Rockies manager Walt Weiss was unhappy, too. Weiss addressed the issue in a 15-minute meeting with his pitcher and catcher after the Rockies gave up 14 hits and lost 10-1. De La Rosa lasted only 4 1-3 innings and allowed five runs in his first opening-day start. He drew jeers during the Marlins five-run fifth when he stepped off the rubber several times, and he said he had trouble with Rosarios change in signals made with a runner at second base. "He called a lot of my games last year," De La Rosa said. "Today we probably were not on the same page. I still like him. Thats all I can say." Weiss said the postgame meeting helped. "There were some miscommunications," he said. "Weve got to get it straightened out." Jose Fernandez struck out nine and allowed one run in six innings, and Marlins newcomer Casey McGehee drove in four runs with two doubles. The sellout crowd of 37,116 was the largest for the attendance-challenged Marlins since their new ballpark opened two years ago. The 21-year-old Fernandez earned the victory while becoming the youngest NL opening-day starter since Dwight Gooden in 1986, according to STATS. And he picked up where he left off last season, when he went 12-6 and was voted NL Rookie of the Year. "I didnt know how I was going to react to opening day," he said. "But it came out great." Carlos Gonzalez homered for the Rockies in the sixth. "Hes going to have a monster year," Weiss said. But by the time Gonzalez connected, the Rockies trailed 6-0. Even he tipped his cap to Fernandez. "When a guy like that is pitching, you exppect that kind of game," Gonzalez said.dddddddddddd "Hes one of the best." The Rockies, who began their first season since 1996 without retired first baseman Todd Helton, could have used his pop. His replacement, Justin Morneau, went 1 for 4. Michael Cuddyer, who won the NL batting title in 2013, went 2 for 4. Fernandezs strikeout total matched Josh Becketts team record for an opener. Fernandez threw 73 strikes and only 21 balls to 23 batters. The crowd included Fernandezs grandmother Olga, who lives in Cuba. She saw him pitch for the first time since he left that country at age 15. Her grandson improved to 10-0 in 16 career starts at Marlins Park with an ERA of 1.21. "She told me, Good pitching. Youve got to throw a lot more strikes, though," Fernandez said. He threw plenty, given his improved run support. The Marlins, who finished last in the majors in most offensive categories last year, totalled 14 hits while scoring in double figures, something they did only four times in 2013. Marcell Ozuna homered, doubled, singled and scored twice. Giancarlo Stanton had an RBI infield single and a run-scoring double. Adeiny Hechavarria singled three times and drove in a run. NOTES: Marlins INF Rafael Furcal, who began the season on the DL with a strained left hamstring, said he expects to play five or six games on a rehabilitation assignment. He hopes to be activated around April 14. ... Weiss had two hits and two RBIs when he started at SS in the Marlins first game 21 years ago. ... The Marlins bid for back to back no-hitters ended with the second batter, when Cuddyer singled. Henderson Alvarez pitched a no-hitter for Miami on the final day of last season. ... Miamis Nathan Eovaldi is scheduled to start against Brett Anderson on Tuesday. ' ' '