Out

The Toronto Raptors had one one the best seasons in franchise history. To keep it up, they would have to win in New Jersey.

Skip to the final seconds of the 4th quarter, where the Raps had a 1 point lead. But Richard Jefferson got the ball and scored to give New Jersey the lead. Then, in the final play of the game, Jose Calderon threw the ball away to Jefferson for the Nets to win the series.

Toronto will now have to get ready for next season where there will be some high expectations.

Game 5

In game 5 of the Nets - Raps series, Toronto had to win 3 straight to win the series.

The 1st game of those 3 games was in Toronto..

The Raps started the game great getting a 20 point advantage at the end of the 1st and having a 17 point lead at half-time. But the Nets then started a comeback. It started with a 3rd quarter in which they scored 5 more points than Toronto. Then, in the 4th, they got within 2 points of Toronto in the final seconds. In those final seconds, Bostjan Nachbar had an open 3. He missed to the left to give the Raps the win and prolonged their season 1 more game.

Toronto will now have to win the next game in New Jersey, and then game 7 in Toronto.

Raptors Netted (Part 2)

The Toronto Raptors were down 2-1 to the New Jesrey Nets going into game 4 in New Jersey.

The Raps didn't play like it was a playoff game as they were beaten to every rebound and every lose ball. This led to a 81-102 New Jersey win.

Toronto will now have to win 3 in a row to take the series. And 1 of those games will be in New Jersey where they have been awful all year. They've lost all 4 games in New Jersey and lost badly. But Toronto has been great at home all year and should be ready to go on Tuesday.

Raptors Netted

In game 3 of the Nets, Raptors series, the Nets looked to win on home-court.

The Raps didn't start out good letting the Nets scored 31 in the 1st compared to their 19. Through the rest of the game, Toronto couldn't get within 4 points of the Nets lead. This led to a 102-89 win by New Jersey.

The player of the game was Jason Kidd. Playing with a sore knee, he poured in a triple-double and a career high in playoff assists with 19. Vince Carter also got out of a slump scoring 37 in the game and leading the Nets to a win.

Toronto will try to regroup for Sunday's game against New Jersey.

A Fresh Start

The Toronto Raptors played their 1st playoff game in 5 years on Saturday. They lost. But yesterday, they had a chance to tie up the series at the ACC.

Before the game, head coach Sam Mitchell was presented the NBA Coach Of The Year Award for leading the Raptors to a +20 win differential from last year to this year. If you started watching the game at the end of the 1st quarter, than you would be surprised because it was only 14-12 for the Raps. But in the 2nd, the Nets took over as they got a 4 point lead into halftime. In the 3rd, the Nets bested Toronto again increasing their lead to 6 points. But the Raptors took over in the 4th. Led by Chris Bosh they got a 2 point lead into the final minute of the game. But with 40 seconds left, the Nets drained a 3 to grab the lead. And then T.J Ford grabbed the lead for the Raps again 2 free throws. Then, with 8 seconds left, the Nets top 3-point man had an open 3 and missed! That led to a 89-83 win for the Toronto Raptors.

The series is now tied up and is going to New Jersey for the 3rd game.

The Playoffs

The Toronto Raptors have had one of their best regular seasons in franchise history. Now they had to do it in the playoffs against VC and the Nets. With the sea of red watching on, the Raptors played their 1st playoff game in 5 years.

The Raptors were off all night. They never got any good offensive rhythum going and could not stop the nets on the fast-break. New Jersey also bettered the Raps by 24 points in the points in paint. Despite the Raptors having all of these things against them, they still had a chance to win the game. But a missed 3-pointer cost them as the Nets took game 1 96-91.

After the game, none of the Raptors were worried though. Most were encouraged that they had a chance to win the game even with all the faults they had.

The next game will go Tuesday at the ACC.