Raptors hang on and defeat the Nets

Jose Calderon scored a career-high 25 points, Andrea Bargnani added 18 and the Toronto Raptors avoided elimination Tuesday night with a 98-96 victory over the New Jersey Nets in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Nets lead the series, 3-2.

Toronto point guard T.J. Ford left after colliding with New Jersey’s Vince Carter in the first quarter.

Ford suffered what team officials called a “stinger.” Calderon, Ford’s backup, rolled an ankle in the final minutes. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first-round series is Friday night at New Jersey.

“We’re going to need these couple of days in between games,” Raptors Coach Sam Mitchell said. “We’ve got some guys banged up but hopefully they’ll feel a little bit better tomorrow.”

The Nets got within a point in the final minute when Calderon rolled his ankle and lost the ball. The Nets’ Vince Carter made a three-point basket to make it 95-94 with 27.6 seconds remaining.

Two free throws by the Raptors’ Chris Bosh and a putback from the Nets’ Mikki Moore made it 97-96. Bosh was fouled again but made only one of two, giving the Nets a chance. Carter drove and passed to Bostjan Nachbar, whose three-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired.