Nets rout Raptors to lead series 3-1
(AP)Updated: 2007-04-30 10:32 The New Jersey Nets made quick work of the Raptors again.
Now they head back to Toronto looking to put a quick end to the first-round series.
Vince Carter scored 27 points, Richard Jefferson added 23, and the Nets took a 3-1 lead over the Atlantic Division champions Sunday night with a 102-81 victory -- their second-biggest ever in a playoff game.
 New Jersey Nets' Josh Boone (2) battles for a rebound with Toronto Raptors' Andrea Bargnani, of Italy, during the first quarter of Game 4 NBA first-round basketball Sunday night, April 29, 2007, in East Rutherford, N.J. [AP]  |
Jason Kidd added 17 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds for New Jersey, which can advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night. If the Raptors win that one, Game 6 would be back in New Jersey on Friday.
Toronto's first postseason since 2002 is shaping up as a short one. Teams taking 3-1 leads in series have won 158 and lost only eight.
Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points for the Raptors, who led for all of 15 seconds in the two games at the Meadowlands. Toronto has lost eight straight road playoff games since beating Philadelphia on May 6, 2001, in Game 1 of Eastern Conference semifinals.
Kidd, who missed practice on the eve of Game 3 with a sore knee that Raptors coach Sam Mitchell doesn't seem to believe he had, sat the entire fourth quarter. That's probably all that prevented him from a second straight triple-double, leaving him with 10 in the postseason, tied with Larry Bird for second on the career list.
The Nets punished the Raptors with their fast break in the first three games, outscoring them 49-25. New Jersey did its damage from the 3-point line Sunday, making a franchise playoff-record 14.
The first round in the East is shaping up as a brief one. Detroit and Chicago both swept their series, and Cleveland is up 3-0 on Washington in the other.
New Jersey, which rolled into the postseason with 10 wins in its last 13 games, is doing its part to keep up. The Nets took home-court advantage by winning Game 1, and never gave the Raptors any hope of regaining it this weekend.
After three straight poor starts, Mitchell inserted Bargnani into the starting lineup in place of Joey Graham -- even though Bargnani, the No. 1 draft pick, hadn't been playing well, either, since returning from a 14-game absence after an appendectomy late in the regular season. He shot only 5-of-18 in the first three games of the series.
But he opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, giving the Raptors their first -- and only -- lead in the last two games. Jefferson made one 15 seconds later, and it wasn't long before the Nets blew it open.
Carter shot 6-of-8 and had 15 points -- as many as the Raptors -- as New Jersey led by 17 after one. The Nets were up 31-19 after one quarter of Game 3, when they never trailed and led by as many as 21 points.
The Raptors are averaging just 18.3 points in the first quarter.
New Jersey led by 21 in the second before the Raptors closed to 47-36 on Bargnani's jumper with 3:47 remaining. Kidd answered with consecutive 3s, pushing the lead back to 17, and the Nets were ahead 56-37 at the half.
Jefferson ensured there would be no comeback, scoring 16 points in the third. The Nets shot 65 percent in the quarter and opened an 86-56 bulge after three.
Chris Bosh had 13 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 5-of-12 in another shaky game at Continental Airlines Arena. He came in averaging 12.3 points and making 34 percent of his shots in Toronto's first three games here, all losses.
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