Carter Quiet, But Nets Still Silence Raptors In Game 1

Vince Carter didn’t exactly light it up in his highly-anticipated return to the Air Canada Centre. Instead, he left it to his teammates.

Richard Jefferson poured in a seemingly effortless 28 points Saturday, to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 96-91 win over the Toronto Raptors in the opening game of their Eastern Conference quarter-final.

Chris Bosh finished with 22 points in his first ever playoff appearance, but sat for much of the first half after picking up two quick fouls.

And the all-star’s absence was noticeable for the Raps, even though T.J. Ford did his best to fill the void contributing 21 points. Anthony Parker added 16, while Jose Calderon chipped in with 13 and Rasho Nesterovic grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

But there was something ominous about Toronto ‘s first playoff game in five years. Despite the team handing out red t-shirts to 20,000 fans, it was the Nets decked out in their red uniforms and they seemed, for the most part, impervious to the crowd’s otherwise deafening roar.

“Biggest shock for us was how much support we got from the Toronto fans,” said Jefferson.

“I think that was exciting, the fact they all came out and wore red. They showed us a lot of love.

“I think it might be the first time in my playoff situation where I’ve ever seen the opposing crowd come out and wear the same colour as the opposing team. I think that right there gave us a little jolt of energy to start off the game. I’d like to thank all the Toronto people for that.”

Jason Kidd had 15 assists and 10 rebounds to go with eight points for the Nets, and while Carter finished with 16 points, nine of them came in the fourth quarter.

But even with all of that, Toronto still had a shot. New Jersey led by 13 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Raptors answered, cutting the lead to just one with five minutes remaining.

Unfortunately that’s as close as they’d get, and some costly turnovers down the stretch made completing the improbable comeback impossible.

The good news for Toronto is that as poorly as they played, they lost a very winnable game and in the process held Carter to just 5-for-19 on the afternoon.

One thing’s for sure though, the sellout crowd was into it, and there were plenty of anti-Carter signs that got the point across. One read, “Vince: Half-Man. ‘Nuff Said.”

And the fans will almost certainly have it cranked up again Tuesday, when Game 2 goes at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto will surely be treating it as a must-win, not wanting to head to New Jersey in a 2-0 hole.

Elsewhere in NBA playoff action:

• The Chicago Bulls took a 1-0 series advantage over the defending NBA champion Miami Heat with a 96-91 final.
• The defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons got off to a good start with a 100-92 win in the first of a best-of-seven set with the Orlando Magic.