Kidd, Carter give Nets 2-1 series lead
(AP)Updated: 2007-04-28 10:53 Jason Kidd's knee looked fine. Same with Vince Carter's shot.
In fact, it was hard to find anything wrong with the New Jersey Nets on Friday night.
Kidd had a playoff career-high 19 assists in his 10th postseason triple-double, Carter scored 37 points, and the Nets beat the Toronto Raptors 102-89 to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
One day after missing practice because of a bruised left knee, Kidd was back in the starting lineup and added 16 points and 16 rebounds. He had 14 assists by halftime and easily passed his previous best of 16, set when he was playing for Phoenix. He also had the previous New Jersey record of 15.
 New Jersey Nets' Jason Kidd, right, drives to the basket as he is guarded by Toronto Raptors' Jose Calderon, of Spain, during the second quarter of Game 1 NBA first-round basketball Friday night, April 27, 2007 in East Rutherford, N.J. [AP]  |
Kidd snapped a tie with Wilt Chamberlain and moved into one with Larry Bird for second on the career postseason triple-doubles list. He is still 20 behind Magic Johnson, the career leader.
The Nets, who never trailed and led by as many as 21 points, host Game 4 on Sunday night.
T.J. Ford scored 27 points for the Raptors, who haven't won a postseason road game since beating Philadelphia on May 6, 2001, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. All-Star forward Chris Bosh was limited to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Carter was only 13-for-43 (30 percent) from the field in the first two games. But just like when he was traded to New Jersey in 2004, getting out of Toronto did wonders for his game.
Carter's six field goals in the first quarter were one more than he had while going 5-for-19 in a Game 1 victory. He was 8-of-24 in Game 2, making only one of his seven 3-point attempts.
But he mostly stuck close to the basket while making nine of his first 10 shots Friday, and the Nets quickly raced to a double-digit lead, which they maintained for much of the game. Carter finished 15-of-23.
Kidd averaged 11 points, 11 assists and 10.5 rebounds in the two games in Toronto, where he hurt his knee attempting to take a charge early in Game 2. He is trying to become the first player to average a triple-double in a postseason series since he did it against the Boston Celtics in the 2002 Eastern Conference finals.
New Jersey shot 61 percent and led 31-19 after one quarter behind 13 points from Carter. The Raptors closed to 36-28 early in the second, but Carter made consecutive 3s, then a spinning layup on a feed from Kidd to push the lead to 44-28 with 7:56 remaining in the half.
The lead was 58-39 at halftime and never fell below eight in the second half. That came early in the fourth, and Carter then had a jumper and three-point play and Kidd added a basket to push the lead back to 15.
Those two combined for a spectacular play midway through the period, with Kidd throwing a behind-the-back pass on the break to Carter, who threw down a dunk while being fouled.
Richard Jefferson scored 18 points for the Nets, who shot 53 percent and had 31 assists on their 41 field goals. Anthony Parker scored 14 points and Jose Calderon had 12 for Toronto.
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