NEW YORK, 7 November 2005 — Richard Jefferson converted a three-point play with 1.5 seconds remaining to give the New Jersey Nets a 100-99 win over the Chicago Bulls in National Basketball Association in East Rutherford on Saturday.
Trailing 99-97, Jefferson sank the tying basket and then hit the free throw after he was fouled by Tyson Chandler on the play to give the Nets (2-1) their second victory in as many nights.
The Nets blew a seven point lead in the final 2:49 and trailed by two with seven seconds left after Ben Gordon made the first of his two free throws. But Gordon missed the second and Jefferson raced down the court and drove the lane to sink the tying basket and draw the foul, setting up the winning score.
Chicago had one last chance to win after the final free throw, but Andres Nocioni failed to get a shot off as time ran out.
Jefferson finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Nets, while Vince Carter also had 28 points and added 12 rebounds. Jason Kidd had a triple-double for the Nets — 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists — and Nenad Krstic added 17 points and eight rebounds for New Jersey.
Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 26 points, while Gordon added 23 points and six rebounds for the Bulls (1-1). Mike Sweetney had 14 points for the Bulls while Luol Deng added 13 points and nine rebounds.
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 34 points as the Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-84. Devin Harris scored 22 points and Josh Howard added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks, who handed the defending NBA champions their first loss of the season.
In Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points as the Wizards beat the Orlando Magic 87-79. Antawn Jamison added 23 points and had 13 rebounds for the Wizards.
In Auburn Hills, Tayshaun Prince scored 27 points as the Detroit Pistons routed the Toronto Raptors 117-84. Richard Hamilton scored 18 points and Ben Wallace had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the unbeaten Pistons (3-0).
In Indianapolis, Alan Iverson had 29 points and 12 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers 111-109. Chris Webber added 25 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers.
In Memphis, Pau Gasol scored 29 points as the Grizzlies beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-106. Eddie Jones scored 19 points and Lorenzen Wright had 13 rebounds and added 10 points for the Grizzlies.
In Charlotte, Gerald Wallace scored 25 points, including the go-ahead basket in overtime, as the Bobcats beat the Boston Celtics 107-105 in the opener of their new arena.
In Milwaukee, Bobby Simmons and Michael Redd both had 23 points as the Bucks beat the Miami Heat 105-100.
In Houston, P.J. Brown had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the New Orleans Hornets beat the Houston Rockets 91-84. Yao Ming had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets.
In Salt Lake City, Shawn Marion had 20 points and 14 assists as the Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz 97-88.
In Portland, Zach Randolph made a free throw with 0.2 seconds left to give the Trail Blazers a 94-93 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
In Los Angeles, Cuttino Mobley had 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Clippers edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-99 in overtime.
