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. Morgan Burnett Jersey . Milan was held to 1-1 at home by Torino. Cagliari scored six minutes from halftime when Mauricio Pinilla blasted home from the penalty spot after Facundo Roncaglia tripped Marco Sau. The home side could have doubled its tally in stoppage time as first Fiorentina defender Stefan Savic almost scored an own goal then Albin Ekdals shot clipped the top of the upright. Morgan Burnett Steelers Jersey . With their coach gone, they finally played offence the way he would have wanted. Amare Stoudemire made all seven shots in the first half, Anthony passed and shot well, and the Knicks shook off the surprising departure of their coach to rout the Portland Trail Blazers 121-79 on Wednesday night, snapping a six-game losing streak. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steel...korafor-Jersey/. However, Jim Popp isnt sure how long hell be able to admire wide receiver Duron Carter. Terrell Edmunds Jersey . -- Brad Gushue of St. Joe Haden Steelers Jersey As Manchester United were edging Manchester City in a five-goal thriller, Juventus were triumphing in the Turin derby and Barcelona squeaked home 1-0 at the Nou Camp, thousands of miles away in California something far more soccer-significant was occurring. The post-match fireworks were purchased. Final preparations were in place. The FIFA president was in town. It was April 6, 1996. Spartan Stadium, the home of San Jose State University, was about to play host to the inaugural match in Major League Soccer when the hometown Clash took on D.C. United in front of a sold-out crowd approaching 32,000. You have to trace it all the way back to American Independence Day, 1988 for when the first MLS seeds were sown. This was the day the US beat back other bids, including one from Brazil, for the rights to host the 1994 World Cup finals. Those rights came with a caveat, one condition from the world governing body: FIFA mandated the United States Soccer Federation to structure a top-flight league. Easier said than done. The year before those 1994 World Cup finals, which eventually would go on to draw a record number of fans, MLS hired its first employee - Mark Abbott. A lawyer by trade, Abbotts soccer connection came via a law colleague, Alan Rothenberg, who was also the president of the USSF. With Rothenberg appointed as CEO of USA 94, it was left to Abbott to draw up MLSs constitution. Then, in his spare time, Abbott criss-crossed the nation in the search for founding investors. A total of 10 clubs took part in that inaugural season. D.C. United, defeated 1-0 during the season opener in San Jose, would eventually go on and be crowned champions when they beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 in the first MLS Cup. Saturday afternoon in Seattle, MLSs 19th season gets underway when the Sounders, a club like the Whitecaps celebrating their 40th-anniversary, entertain the current champions, Sporting Kansas City. To show the measure of how far MLS has journeyed in the intervening years, MLS Cup 1996, which was played in Foxboro, Massachusetts, attracted a crowd of just over 35,000. Today, the Sounders claim that same amount of supporters in season ticket holders. This is not to say that MLS has not had its share of let downs and disappointments. The leagues worst moment happened just ahead of the 2002 season with contraction occurring and gone were the Miami Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny. Long gone, though, are the days MLS teams were merely tenants in NFL buildings - begging their landlords to go easy on the rent and allow them access to the stadiums to play matches on days and at a time of day which were most preferable to attracting in the fans the league so desperately needed. Like all sports teams who look to build on the previous seasons accomplishments, MLS will, as well, in 2014. Nobody needs reminding that we are in a World Cup year and the mommentum those previous tournaments have provided the league.dddddddddddd As it did for South Africa 2010, MLS will shut down for the opening fortnight of group games this June. During this time, the league has mandated each of its clubs, along with the players to be active in their communities. One of Toronto FCs newest designated players, Jermain Defoe, was part of Englands squad for their World Cup warm-up friendly against Denmark at Wembley in midweek. You can be guaranteed that, come the conclusion of Brazil 2014, a number of other players will make the transition to MLS. The most famous of the class of South Africa 2010 to do just that was Thierry Henry, who went into that World Cup still a Barcelona player. Three days after the World Cup final, Henry was introduced as a member of the New York Red Bulls (who visit the Whitecaps on Saturday, live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt). This year is also a pivotal one for soccer in Canada and not just for our three MLS clubs. In January, the Canadian Soccer Association announced it will bid to host the 2026 World Cup finals. In August, we host the FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup finals and, in April, the Ottawa Fury kick off their inaugural NASL campaign. As for our three MLS clubs, Toronto FC have set the bar awfully high. Whilst they sit out the opening weekends fixtures and have a final week of preparation before opening their season in Seattle next Saturday, nothing short of a playoff berth will suffice. With new head coaches at the helm in Vancouver and Montreal, expectations are less lofty. The so-called opinion makers across the league have already written off their chances to make the post-season. However, thats on paper and we all know matches are won and lost on the pitch. Flying under the radar could work to their advantage. As MLS has blossomed and flourished over the years, it has given rise to allow the soccer-playing kids right across North America to dream and believe that they, one day, can fulfil their childhood ambitions. Tell Patrice Bernier when he was a prospect in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League that one day he would share a flight with the 1993 Stanley Cup-winning captain of the Montreal Canadiens, Guy Carbonneau. The Impact left for Dallas yesterday morning where they open their season on Saturday night. Bernier is now the captain of a club that just so happen to play in one of the best attended leagues in all of world football. Then, share a thought for Matt Besler, who will lead the MLS Cup holders Sporting KC out onto the pitch in Seattle on Saturday afternoon. During that inaugural MLS season in 1996, Sporting KC were known as the Kansas City Wiz. Playing their matches out of the NFL Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium , where a nine-year-old Besler served as a ballboy. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca and @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Cheap Warriors JerseysAuthentic Cavaliers JerseysCheap Spurs StoreCeltics Jerseys OnlineCheap Bulls JerseysCheap Nets JerseysCheap Thunder JerseysCheap 76ers JerseysCheap Knicks JerseysWholesale Raptors JerseysCyber Monday Pistons JerseysWholesale Team USA Basketball JerseysCheap Celtics JerseysCheap Nets JerseysCheap Knicks JerseysCheap 76ers JerseysRaptors Jerseys From ChinaCheap Bulls JerseysCavaliers Jerseys From ChinaWholesale Pistons JerseysBucks Jerseys From ChinaPacers Jerseys OutletAuthentic Hawks JerseysCheap Hornets JerseysCheap Heat JerseysCheap Magic JerseysAuthentic Wizards JerseysCheap Nuggets JerseysTimberwolves Jerseys OutletWholesale Thunder JerseysCheap Blazers JerseysCheap Jazz JerseysDiscount Warriors JerseysWholesale Clippers JerseysWholesale Lakers JerseysCheap Suns JerseysCheap Kings JerseysDiscount Mavericks JerseysAuthentic Rockets JerseysDiscount Grizzlies JerseysCheap Pelicans JerseysSpurs Jerseys From China ' ' '