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NBA Scores: Richard Jefferson’s Bucket Lifts Nets Past Raptors, Ends Series in Six
Jason Kidd scored 18 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and handed out 15 assists, Vince Carter scored 21 points and Richard Jefferson finished with 24 points including a bucket with eight seconds remaining to give the New Jersey Nets a 98-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors and win their first round Eastern Conference playoff series 4-2.
The Raptors grabbed a one point lead on a Chris Bosh jumper with 47 seconds but it was Jefferson who provided the answer 39 seconds later with a driving layup and then closing the game out with a steal on a bad pass from Jose Calderon.
New Jersey led by as many as ten in the fourth but an 11-2 run by the Raptors cut their deficit to one. Toronto stayed close throughout the remainder of the quarter and took the lead with a pair of free-throws from Bosh with 3:51 on the clock. The Nets hit four free-throws to go up by three until Morris Peterson hit a long jumper and Bosh hit his 13-footer with under a minute to grab the 97-96 lead.
It was then Jefferson’s moment, driving to the bucket to sink the go-ahead basket with eight seconds and then stole Calderon’s pass to put the Nets in the second round and set up showdown with the Cleveland Cavaliers set to begin on Sunday.
New Jersey hit 52 percent of their three-pointers and sank 82 percent of their free-throws to earn the home win.
