The Raptors had time and a final chance. Out of a timeout, Jose Calderon accepted the inbounds pass at mid court, dribbled the ball around, and attempted a lob to Chris Bosh in the paint. The pass was intercepted by Richard Jefferson with 1.9. Jefferson, in turn, handed it to Kidd, who dribbled out the remaining seconds before firing the ball to the ceiling. It was bedlam at the Meadowlands, as the Nets put away a tough Raptor team and averted the possibility of returning north of the border for a game 7.
“He (Jefferson) stepped up, not only to make the offensive play, but to make the defensive play,” said Jason Kidd. “This team is a veteran team; we made plays when we had to and we have to give Toronto a lot of credit. They didn’t go away; they kept playing. You have to tip your hat off to those guys.”
“We knew they were going to be tough for game 7, so we wanted to finish it here,” said Bostjan Nachbar (15 points).
“We just wanted to finish it tonight.”
Jefferson finished the game with 24 points and went 11-of-12 from the line. Vince Carter scored 21, and Jason Kidd had another near triple-double with 18 points, 15 assists, and eight rebounds. While Kidd did not get one tonight, his numbers (14 points, 13.2 assists, 10 rebounds) averaged out to a triple-double for the series. It marked the second time in his career that Kidd has accomplished the feat. Kidd joins Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double in multiple postseason series.
This was a great playoff game. It is what the second season is all about. It was one team playing to stay alive, the other playing to close out a series on their home court and stay away from a game 7 on the opponents’ court. There were 22 lead changes, 13 ties, and great players making great plays.
Chris Bosh had his bust out playoff game. He scored 23 points, dished 9 assists, and grabbed eight rebounds. His 13 points in the fourth quarter were the epitome of a big player making big plays at the crucial point of the game. He scored 11 of Toronto’s final 13 points, all coming within the final five and a half minutes.
The Raptor point guards, both playing with injury woes, were fantastic. T.J. Ford had 19 points and Jose Calderon had 14 points, six assists, and four steals.
Andrea Bargnani showed why he is going to be a big player in this league, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds. His assortment of shots makes him a dynamic force.
“They battled and showed a lot of courage and a lot of poise,” said Bostjan Nachbar about the Raptors.
“They were fighting. They were unbelievable. They were scrambling and making big plays. I was really surprised to see how they responded tonight. They played extremely well.”
The Nets and Raptors hung close through the first quarter. Toronto held a biggest quarter lead at 15-10 but the Nets, with the help of seven points from Richard Jefferson, shot back to pull even. The score at the end of one was 21-21.
After Vince Carter started the second quarter with a three-pointer, the Raptors went on an 8-0 run. With a nip-and-tuck feel, the Nets were in danger of falling too far behind for comfort. But Antoine Wright broke the drought with a three-pointer at the 8:07 mark. T.J. Ford responded with a three to put the Raptors back up five (32-27). Then, feeling the pulse of the game, Jason Kidd knocked down a three from the top-of-the-key to cut it to two. Ford scored on a lay up, and then Kidd responded with another top-of-the-key three. Bostjan Nachbar put the Nets up 35-34 after converting on two free-throws.
But there was Ford again. The point guard scored four more points in a 5-0 run that put the Raptors up 39-35. An Antoine Wright driving lay up at the 1:06 mark pulled the Nets to within 41-40, but the Raptors responded with a three from Juan Dixon and a jumper from Andrea Bargnani to go up 46-40. Boki Nachbar nailed a three-pointer from left baseline – off of a beautiful tap feed from Kidd – and the Nets went into the half down 46-43. Ford scored 13 in the quarter, on 6-of-7 from the field.
The Raptors shot 59% in the second quarter and 54% for the first half. There was something amiss about the New Jersey’s offensive flow. Frank said they were tentative.
“We felt we were a little tentative on the offensive end,” said Frank. “We were slow to get into our sets and we didn’t have a great pace or rhythm.”
The Raptors pushed out to a 52-47 lead with 9:24 to go in the third quarter. The Nets then rolled off seven unanswered, taking a 54-52 lead. After that point, the lead went back-and-forth seven times. Jose Calderon hit a lay up, was fouled, and converted on the free-throw to put the Raptors up 65-62. The Nets then hit on a 10-0 run to go up seven. The Raptors cut it back to four but Nachbar hit a three with 21.2 in the third. The Nets led 75-68.
There were 11 lead changes in the quarter, Andrea Bargnani scored 10, and Mikki Moore scored eight. Jason Kidd had seven assists.
Boki hit another three to start scoring in the fourth, putting the Nets up 78-68. T.J. Ford scored five unanswered, following by a Jefferson hook in the lane. The Raptors then scored six unanswered, to pull back within a point (80-79). Vince Carter broke the extended run with a three-pointer, giving the Nets a little breathing room. It was back-and-forth. Three times the Raptors would cut it to two and each time the Nets would go back up four. With 5:27 left, Chris Bosh hit on a three-point play, pulling Toronto within 88-87. Bosh hit two free-throws with 3:52 and gave the Raptors their first lead of the quarter (93-92). Richard Jefferson sandwiched 3-of-4 from the line around 1-of-2 for Carter, giving the Nets a 96-93 lead. Morris Peterson knocked down a jumper to cut it to one with 2:07 and Chris Bosh hit a short jumper from the left side with 47.9, which put the Raptors up 97-96. On the ensuing Nets possession, Vince Carter launched a deep three that missed.
Lawrence Frank said in the post game that he was alright with the quick shot because with it time would be left on the clock if they could hold Toronto on the next possession. The old “two-for-one” as it is called.
The Nets kept the score where it was, playing solid defense. Chris Bosh missed a long jumper, Antoine Wright rebounded it, and the Nets advanced the ball and called a timeout with 12.6 seconds to go.
The Nets went to Richard Jefferson, one of the players who have been here through these six consecutive playoff runs. RJ carved through the Raptor defense and laid the ball in, giving the Nets back the lead. They would not relinquish it.
The Nets now take their momentum and head to Cleveland for a 1 pm Sunday matinee.
But for this night, they can savor a May evening at the Meadowlands. You can look at the numbers; you could feel the desperation; and you could carve the intensity in the arena with a knife. This is what sports are all about and it is nights like these that keep you coming back for more.
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