RJ's Last-second Plays Put Raptors in Extinction

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Richard Jefferson drilled in a point-blank shot against the outstretched arms of Chris Bosh with 8.3 seconds, and did a double black eye on Bosh as he stole the Jose Calderon pass in the ensuing play as the New Jersey Nets endured a late Toronto Raptors run and finished off the Raptors, 98-97 to book a trip to Ohio to meet LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. RJ scored 24 points in 6-of-12 field goals and 11-of-12 free throws, while Jason Kidd was just two boards shy of his 11th playoff triple-double. He had 18 points and 15 assists. Former Raptor Vince Carter managed to score 21 despite a subpar 6-of-19 shooting. CB drilled 23 points but on a 8-of-22 FG performance and a career-high nine assists. The Raptors became the 162nd team who failed to squander a 3-1 lead and the third straight who did not do so. Toronto had a chance to take the series back to Canada with a Chris Bosh's jumper with 47.9 to play and put a gallant defensive stand on the Nets, but on the next Raptors play, Bosh missed a wide open 20-footer and three Nets boxed out Morris Peterson properly. Mo Pete thought he was warded off. In the final NJ offensive, Jefferson took the ball strong to the hoop for the layup, the Nets's first field goal in almost seven minutes (6:46 to be exact). In the final play, Bosh provided a screen for Andrea Bargnani, but forcing a double team on Bargnani, leaving Bosh open for the game winning slam, but Jose Calderon threw a pass anticipated by Jefferson for the Raptors' loss, ending a Coach of the Year worthy season for Sam Mitchell. The Nets are the third lower seeded team to book a quarterfinal matchup. The Nets entered the postseason the sixth seeded team in the East. The earlier lower seeds to enter were the East's fifth seed Chicago Bulls and the West's eighth seed Golden State Warriors. A possible fourth team could enter, the West's fifth seed Houston Rockets, and they will try to do so as they will face the Utah Jazz one last time in Game 7 of their round-of-16 encounter tomorrow at 9:30 AM (Manila Time). The home teams went on to win the first six, so the odds will favor Houston being the host squad. The winner of this win-or-go-home match will face the Warriors in their own q'finals series starting Tuesday (Manila Time). In the first game, the Bulls will start their conference semis battle against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons at 7:00 AM (Manila Time). The other East battle, the Nets-Cavs, starts on Monday at 1:00 AM (Manila Time).