Vince Carter had a rough afternoon, but his teammates made up for it as the Nets survived a late Raptors run Saturday afternoon to take the opening game at Air Canada Centre. Carter shot just 5-of-19 from the floor and never got a rhythm, but Richard Jefferson did the heavy lifting on the offensive end with 28 points and the Nets' bench outscored that of the Raptors 29-26. It was a game of runs, but the Nets held a 13-point lead after three quarters. They then went cold, as Toronto closed to within two and had a chance to tie with 2:58 to go in the game. But Chris Bosh missed one of two free throws and the Nets answered with a 6-0 run, with Boki Nachbar scoring five of the six. The Raptors never had a chance to tie after that and the Nets took home-court advantage away with a five-point victory. Nachbar finished with 16 points and Antoine Wright was solid off the bench as well. Jason Kidd shot just 3-of-11 for eight points, but dished out 15 assists and grabbed 10 boards. The Nets outscored the Raptors 46-22 in the paint and got 20 points off of fast breaks.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Jefferson Helps Nets Steal Home-Court Advantage - AP
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Raptors in playoff fog - Larry Millson - Toronto Globe & Mail
- Nets-Raptors Series Blog - Maurice Brooks & John Schuhmann - NBA.com
- Vince Carter Interview (Video) - Mark Jackson - YES Network
- Richard Jefferson & Jason Kidd Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Chris Bosh Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Raptors red campaign a bust as Nets swingman Jefferson thanks fans for support - Canadian Press
- Nets take a stand to take Game 1 - Al Iannazzone - YES Network
- Raptors can't overcome slow start - Lori Ewing - Canadian Press
- Five Star: Jason Kidd (Video) - NBA.com
- Raps disappoint in hard-fought game - Doug Smith - Toronto Star
- Nets hold off Raptors - Larry Fleisher - SNY
- Raptors lose to Nets at start of seven-game series - CTV Toronto
- Don't blame Calderon for key mistake - Michael Grange - Toronto Globe & Mail
- NBA: New Jersey 96, Toronto 91 - UPI
- Nets Open the Playoffs the Way They Did the Season - John Eligon - New York Times
- Breakdowns cost Raptors game one - Bruce Arthur - National Post
- Vince Carter Press Conference (Video) - NBA.com
- Three things about the Nets - David Waldstein - Star-Ledger
- Nets make Carter hype a non-issue - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Raptors seeing red - Larry Millson - Toronto Globe & Mail
- Nets get in zone, Raptors get out of way - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Will to survive - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Nets strike first - Julian Garcia - New York Daily News
- Photo Gallery: New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors - Dave Abel - Toronto Globe & Mail
- Green machine - Steve Buffery - Toronto Sun
- Nets make Toronto fans see red - Rodney McKissic - Buffalo News
- Nets' star inspired by fans - Doug Smith - Toronto Star
- Basketball notes - Doug Smith - Toronto Star
- Game 1 Sights and Sounds - Toronto Star
- Backups have no impact for T.O. in series' first game - Doug Smith - Toronto Star
- Nets take the Raps for Carter - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- New Jersey takes Raps out of zone - Ryan Wolstat - Toronto Sun
- Advantage goes to the Nets - Steve Buffery - Toronto Sun
- Raptors zoned out by Nets - Steve Kerr - Yahoo! Sports
- Photo Gallery: New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors - Jonathan Daniel - AFP
- Photo Gallery: New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors - William Perlman - Star-Ledger
- Stolen Moments - Joe - Joe Netsfan