NEW YORK, 25 April 2006 — Anthony Johnson nervelessly drained a pair of free throws with less than a second on the clock as the Indiana Pacers upset the New Jersey Nets 90-88 Sunday in East Rutherford to draw first blood in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
Elsewhere on a frantic night of quarterfinal action, Rasheed Wallace scored 22 points as the Detroit Pistons crushed the Milwaukee Bucks 92-74 in Auburn Hills to take a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference best-of-seven contest.
In Phoenix, Tim Thomas scored 22 points as the Suns held on to claim a 107-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference opener.
And Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks clawed their way to an 103-93 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarter-final.
Johnson, a former Net, drove a spike through the hearts of New Jersey supporters when he was fouled by Nenad Krstic then calmly sank two shots to earn the Pacers a Game 1 win.
With just 0.9 seconds left to play, Richard Jefferson had a final chance to win the game for the Nets but watched his shot from the corner clang off the rim as time ran out.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled Tuesday in East Rutherford.
“This is what you think about growing up playing in the backyard, making big shots and winning big ball games,” Johnson told reporters. “Winning Game 1 was very important to us, if you want to win a championship you have to win on the road.
Jermaine O’Neal, who ran into early foul trouble and spent most of the third quarter on the bench, caught fire in the fourth, scoring 11 of his 15 points while Stephen Jackson chipped in with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds.
Johnson finished with 12 points.
The Pistons claimed the 92-74 victory in their opener against the Bucks despite losing Richard Hamilton early in the game after he had contributed 21 points, but it was their defense which starred, holding Bucks guards Michael Redd and Jamaal Magloire to 11 points each.
Game two of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday at The Palace in Auburn Hills.
Pistons forward Wallace led the scorers with 22 points, including nine from three-point range.
In a matchup of MVP candidates in Phoenix, the Suns’ Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists to slightly outshine the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who got the game off to a sluggish start but came to life in the final quarter finishing with 22 points and five assists.
Shawn Marion contributed 19 points to the win while Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa each added 15 but it was Thomas who stole the spotlight hitting on his first eight shots and grabbing a career high 15 rebounds.
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Wednesday in Phoenix.
In Dallas, Nowitzki was the standout for the Mavericks while Jason Terry contributed 20 points to the Dallas total.
Erick Dampier chipped in with 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Mavericks ensured they will avoid the 0-2 hole they fell into last year when they absorbed two home losses.
Pau Gasol bagged 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss but misfired on his first five shots.
Game two of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Wednesday in Dallas.
