NEW YORK -- On Monday, Cory Joseph found out there was a possibility he would start for a resting Kyle Lowry.

A day later, possibility became a reality for Joseph.

And a player not known for scoring put on a superb impersonation of Lowry.

Joseph scored a career-high 33 points, leading the Toronto Raptors to a 119-109 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.

Lowry, who leads the Eastern Conference with 1,487 minutes this season, did not play for the first time this season. The Raptors announced shortly before the opening tip Lowry was resting some bumps and bruises to ensure he can play in his native Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Lowry was active and in warmup gear as he coached Joseph from the sidelines and then watched the reserve turn in the best game of his five-year career.

"Kyle provides a lot of scoring for us," Joseph said. "I knew that slot would be missing today. So I took it upon myself to try be more aggressive, try to be aggressive and take what the defense gives me. They were giving up a lot of layups and short floaters, so that's what I was taking. It so happened to be making them."

Joseph's previous career high was 20 points for the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 28, 2014 at New Orleans. He shot 15 of 22 from the floor in his fifth start with the Raptors and 48th overall.

"Sometimes necessity is the best teacher," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "He knew Kyle Lowry wasn't out there. When DeMar DeRozan goes out of the game, he knows he has to produce and he did."

Joseph raised his scoring average to 9.4 points, set career highs for field goals and attempts while getting his most minutes since playing 35:32 on Jan. 14, 2016 against Orlando.

"That's just what Cory can do," Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan said. "It's not surprising for us. He has a very high IQ when it comes to basketball. He's great at attacking, knocking down shots and you know he brought it tonight."

DeRozan turned in a streaky shooting night but still led the Raptors with 36 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 13 of 28 and missed 10 shots in a row during the first half but surpassed 20 points for the 13th straight game and compiled his 20th 30-point game of the season.

DeRozan and Joseph outscored Brooklyn's starting backcourt of Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie by a 69-5 margin.

Brook Lopez scored 28 points for the Nets, whose losing streak reached 11 games. Rookie Caris LeVert added 14 points for Brooklyn, which shot 35.7 percent after halftime, outscored 61-48 and had little answers in defending Joseph and DeRozan.

"I think their guards really attacked us in the pick-and-roll," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. "Quite honestly, there was a point when we were giving up a lot of mid-range shots. I thought they really attacked us and DeRozan and Joseph were excellent tonight."

Joseph scored 18 as the Raptors faced a 61-58 deficit at halftime when DeRozan missed 11 of 14 shots. DeRozan scored 10 in the third when Toronto surged ahead and took a 92-85 into the final quarter.

Then just as the Nets appeared to be getting back into it on two free throws by Sean Kilpatrick that made it 99-93 with 8:23 left, Joseph and DeRozan seized command.

The duo scored 16 straight Toronto points on a combination of mid-range, short jumpers and layups. Those hoops pushed the lead to 113-100 with 3:57 remaining and the duo took a seat shortly thereafter.

"They hit some tough shots," Lopez said. I thought that I personally could have been better in the pick-and-roll. Down the stretch they got a lot of good mid-range looks they hit and they attacked the basket well too.''

NOTES: Toronto F Patrick Patterson (sore left knee) was listed as questionable but did not play. Patterson sat for the seventh time in nine games and has played 42:59 since initially getting hurt Dec. 29 at Phoenix. ... Nets G Jeremy Lin (strained left hamstring) missed his 11th straight game. The team did not provide an update as to when Lin might start any basketball activities. ... F Lucas Nogueira (blurred vision) started but did not play after halftime. Nogueira's absence created the opportunity for Pascal Siakam, who was a plus-14 in 14:43 in the second half. ... Brooklyn F Quincy Acy's 10-day contract expires Thursday. Coach Kenny Atkinson said he likes Acy's energy and aggressiveness in the limited minutes the 26-year-old has played. Acy scored five points while playing only three minutes Tuesday.