Nets take opener at Toronto

TORONTO – Vince Carter heard boos all afternoon. They couldn’t ruin his return to Toronto for the playoffs.

“I didn’t come here to worry about the crowd and the response, I came here to win a basketball game,” Carter said.

Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd made sure the New Jersey Nets did just that.

Jefferson scored 28 points, Kidd nearly had a triple-double, and the Nets withstood a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Raptors 96-91 Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round series.

Carter, the former Raptors star who was jeered from the opening introductions, scored 16 points but shot just 5 of 19.

But Jefferson stepped up to make 11 of 21 shots, including eight of his first 10.

Eleven of his points came in the first quarter.

Kidd fell two points shy of a triple-double, finishing with 15 assists and 10 rebounds. He had eight assists in the first quarter.

Chris Bosh led Toronto with 22 points while T.J. Ford scored 21. Anthony Parker scored 16 points and added nine assists for the Raptors.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Toronto.