Photos| Box Score Highlights | The One They Needed Quotes | Notes Chris Bosh Points: 25 RBs: 13 FGs:10 of 20 "He was jus great, I mean defensively, offensively, getting to the corner scoring the basketball, we need AP to continue to play like that," said Sam Mitchell. The Raptors recorded 31 fourth quarter points. Team RB ST BLK TOT TOR 44 9 2 55 NJN 45 5 2 52

April 24, 2007

TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Raptors swarmed their coach Sam Mitchell at centre court Tuesday in a pre-game ceremony to honour him as the NBA coach of the year.

Then they showed their appreciation by winning a huge game for him.

Anthony Parker poured in 26 points and eight rebounds to lead the Raptors 89-83 over the Nets on Tuesday, as Toronto evened its Eastern Conference quarter-final series with New Jersey at one game apiece.

Chris Bosh added 25 points and 13 rebounds for Toronto, while T.J. Ford finished with 13 points and six assists.

``I'm just excited for him,'' Ford said of Mitchell. ``I'm glad we got the win. it wouldn't have been special if we didn't. Now he can go home and enjoy it and let it soak in.''

On a feel-good night for Toronto's basketball franchise, the playoff victory came after five years without even a playoff appearance by Toronto. It was also a first for the all-star Bosh, who carried his team down the stretch with 11 points in a fine fourth-quarter performance.

``It feels good, it's been a long time, but this part of the season is about fun,'' Bosh said. ``You play 82 games and you work hard for this moment, and I'm just trying to enjoy it. The home crowd was pretty rowdy tonight, they had our back, and we made big plays down the stretch of the game.''

Former Raptor Vince Carter topped the Nets with 19 points, while Bostjan Nachbar added 17, and Jason Kidd finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

If the finest form of flattery for a coach is when a team plays in his image, the Raptors did just that Tuesday, grinding it out with a strong defensive performance on a night their offence wasn't flowing. The Raptors had just 12 assists on the night.

``We know that these games are going to be hard to win, and in order to win, you have to grind it out,'' Bosh said of Mitchell, who was known as a grinder in his 13 seasons in the league. ``We know that Sam wasn't the prettiest player, but he got the job done, and that's kind of how the playoffs are, you have to get the job done no matter what happens.''

The Raptors and Nets paced each other for most of the night, neither team playing particularly well, and it was New Jersey that was up 63-58 with a quarter left to play.

But with Bosh leading the way, the Raptors shrugged off the jitters that plagued them in Game 1 and turned it on in the fourth, opening the quarter on a 10-0 run. And when the all-star forward went up for a monstrous block on Richard Jefferson and then Parker connected on a three-pointer the next time down the floor to put the Raptors up by five points, the ACC crowd of 20,239 went nuts.

``That's kind of my job, that's what everybody was telling me, `now it's time to try to take over the game,''' Bosh said. ``I just wanted to be aggressive. I knew I could get a jump shot but I wanted to get to the basket.''

The Nets weren't going down easy though, and a three by Jefferson with 46 seconds left made it a one-point Nets lead. Ford went to the free throw line twice, connecting on all four shots, and then with the entire arena on its feet in the dying seconds, Nachbar missed on a wide open three and then Carter missed on a three attempt.

``It was great, that's what I want,'' Nachbar said on the wide open look he got. ``I made it the previous game, a big shot, this time I missed it.''

Parker followed with a pair of free throws sealing the win for Toronto as red streamers fell from the rafters to mark the win.

The series now switches to New Jersey for Games 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. Game 5 will be back in Toronto next Tuesday.

Mitchell was presented with the Red Auerbach trophy as NBA coach of the year by commissioner David Stern in a pre-game ceremony, leading his team a brilliant 20-game turnaround season en route to their first division title in franchise history.

He called Tuesday his proudest day as a coach.

``I would say that, but it's a little bit embarrassing to make too much out of me, it's more about these guys in the locker-room. None of this could have happened without those 15 guys in the locker-room,'' Mitchell said.

Both teams shot 41 per cent on the night, and the Nets outrebounded the Raptors 45-44. But the Raptors played with more poise than they did in Game 1, outscoring the Nets 12-8 on fast-break points, and played well down the stretch when they needed to.

The Raptors again did a decent job of containing Carter, with Parker guarding him most of the night.

``AP played great,'' said Bosh. ``When we needed stops, he was right there on Vince, he didn't give up any easy baskets.''

Carter didn't play particularly well in either game here, shooting 13-for-43 combined, as fans booed the former Raptors and erupted into spontaneous chants of ``V-C sucks!'' again Wednesday.

``We're going to ride him until hopefully they start falling in this building,'' Kidd said. ``But the good thing is we have two at our place so we don't have to worry about this building until Game 5.''

The Raptors also held Richard Jefferson to just 13 points, after the Nets swingman scored a game-high 28 in Game 1 _ a 96-91 Nets victory last Saturday.

The fans were similarly inhospitable to Jefferson, likely because of his comments after Game 1. The fans wore red T-shirts as part of their `Go Red, Go Raptors' promo, but the Nets pulled a fast one, wearing their red jerseys, and Jefferson sarcastically thanked the fans for their support afterward.

The game got off to an ugly start with some horrible shooting, the Raptors going just 5-for-22 from the field. A fadeaway jumper by Carter put the Nets up by five midway through the quarter, but the Raptors finished on a 7-0 run, a three by Parker at the buzzer giving Toronto a 14-12 lead heading into the second.

The Raptors kept up the pace at the start of the second, stretching their lead to seven points midway through the frame. But it was the Nets' turn to battle back, a fadeaway jumper by Carter with four seconds left putting New Jersey up 36-33 at halftime.

The Nets shot 56 per cent in the third quarter and the Nets took a 63-58 lead into the fourth quarter, a shot by Bargnani at the buzzer ruled no good.

NOTES: San Diego Chargers running back LaDanian Tomlinson was at the game. . . Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen was in the crowd.