USA - Jefferson leads the way for triumphant Nets

EAST RUTHERFORD (NBA) - Richard Jefferson scored 24 points and had the decisive basket and steal with seconds remaining as the New Jersey Nets beat the Toronto Raptors 98-97 in Game Six to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Vince Carter had 21 points and fellow All-Star Jason Kidd added 18, eight rebounds and 15 assists for New Jersey, who pushed their way into the second round of the play-offs for the fifth time in six years.

"Winning this round feels good," Jefferson said.

"We've been a confident group throughout. We stuck together, even through a lot of adversity. We got healthy at the end of the season and now we're doing alright."

The Nets will now visit the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

Trailing 97-96 after Chris Bosh missed an off-balance jumper with 16 seconds left, New Jersey called time out.

Kidd took an inbounds pass and threw it to Jefferson, who drove the lane from the right, spun in the paint and laid the ball in with eight seconds left to give the Nets a 98-97 lead.

"I haven't had the ball in my hands for a game-winning shot in I don't know how long," Jefferson added. "Especially having the play drawn up for me."

Following Toronto's timeout, Jose Calderon attempted to throw a pass to Bosh, but Jefferson made a leaping interception to seal the win for New Jersey.

Bosh, who finished with 23 points and nine assists, had given the Raptors a 97-96 lead with a 13-foot bank shot from the left block with 47 seconds left.

In a game that had 13 ties and 22 lead changes, the Nets trailed 46-43 at half-time before outscoring the Raptors by 10 points in the third quarter to take a 75-68 lead into the final period.

The Nets shot 49 percent (32-of-65), including 10-of-19 from three-point range, while the Raptors also finished at 49 percent (36-of-74).

Nets coach Lawrence Frank knows his team is in for a tremendous battle when the Nets face the Cavaliers.

"Cleveland has, if not the, then one of the best players in the league in LeBron (James)," Frank said.

"But what quickly gets forgotten is it's a whole lot more than LeBron and that's why they won win 50 games."

T.J. Ford finished with 19 points and Italian rookie Andrea Bargnani added 17 for Toronto, who have only one play-off series victory in their history - a first-round win against the New York Knicks in 2001.

"Yeah we're hurting," Ford said. "We just have to learn how to play better next time."

FIBA