TORONTO - The Nets are taking their talents to South Beach.
They held on, barely - and their struggles against the Raptors are probably not a good sign for a series against the two-time defending champs - but the Nets came up with a Game 7 road victory, 104-103, in front of a raucous crowd at the Air Canada Centre.
Led by their bread-and-butter, Joe Johnson, the Nets survived some frantic moments and furious comeback from the Raptors. But Paul Pierce blocked Kyle Lowry's potential game-winning runner at the buzzer, and the left to a chorus of boos while blowing kisses to the crowd.
Johnson was the goat of last year's Game 7 for the Nets. But he was also battling a ruptured plantar fasciitis in that game, whereas he was healthy Sunday, scoring 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter.
The result was a second straight victory in an elimination game for the Nets over the Raptors, who battled back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit and had an opportunity to win the game on the final possession.
They gave the ball to Lowry, who finished with 28 points. He met Pierce in the lane and lost.
The Nets are in Miami for Game 1 on Tuesday. They beat the Heat in all four of the regular season match ups.
The crowd was revved up from the start again in Toronto, wearing coordinated t-shirts - handed out by the team - to have alternating red-and-white colors circling the Air Canada Centre.
Outside, in Maple Leaf Square, fans stood by the thousands to watch the game on a big screen.
It was a little more chaotic than usual in Toronto, anyway, with the Goodlife Marathon taking place on Sunday morning. Toronto coach Dwane Casey was caught in the traffic on his way to the arena, so he turned around - "hit a U-turn," he said - and took the subway.
Claus Andersen/Getty Images
The Nets' bus, meanwhile, found an easier route, and Jason Kidd was relaxed before he tried to become the first rookie coach to win a Game 7. He stuck with the lineup that worked well in Game 6 - keeping Shaun Livingston in a reserve role and Alan Anderson as a starter - and maintained his usual calm demeanor in his pregame press conference.
Reserve guard Marcus Thornton, a non-factor in the first six games, exploded for 14 points in the first half, hitting three of his four 3-point shots. Paul Pierce scored all 10 of his points in the first half.
But much of the game was defined by fouls. There were 53 combined, and Toronto's Amir Johnson, who was dominant in the first half with 18 points and six rebounds, picked up his fifth personal early in the third quarter. He fouled out early in the fourth. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
At one point or another, six of the 10 combined starters played with foul trouble.
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