TORONTO: Paul Pierce blocked Kyle Lowry’s shot from the lane on the final play of the game as the Brooklyn Nets held off the Toronto Raptors 104-103 in Game 7 on Sunday to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

The Nets will begin the conference semifinals at Miami on Tuesday night to play the two-time defending NBA champion Heat.

At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 32 points as the San Antonio Spurs led by as many as 31 on their way to a 119-96 rout of the Dallas Mavericks, closing out a tense first-round series in seven games.

Leading by one point, Brooklyn used its final timeout after failing to inbound the ball. On the second opportunity, Shaun Livingston tried a lob pass to Pierce but Terrence Ross got a hand on the ball, then knocked it off Pierce and out of bounds for a turnover.

Toronto used a timeout and gave the ball to Lowry, whose driving shot was blocked by Pierce as time expired. Lowry lay prone on the floor as the Nets surged onto the court in celebration.

Joe Johnson scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Nets. Marcus Thornton scored 17, Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the series and Deron Williams scored 13 points.

Amir Johnson fouled out with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, which trailed by 10 points with just over six minutes remaining before storming back and having a chance to win it at the buzzer.

Lowry finished with 28 points and DeMar DeRozan 18 for the Raptors, who fell to 0-2 in franchise history when playing in a Game 7. Toronto lost Game 7 of the conference semifinals to Philadelphia in 2001.

The Raptors, who won the Atlantic Division and set a franchise record with 48 wins, have not won a playoff series since 2001, losing in all three appearances.

Dallas played San Antonio in Game 7 of their series later Sunday.

San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili scored 20 points, Danny Green added 16 points and Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had 15 points each.

The Spurs advance to face the fifth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who beat the Houston Rockets in six games.

Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Dallas.

Last season ended for the Spurs with a Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Facing a much earlier end, San Antonio rode a raucous home crowd and overwhelmed Dallas in this deciding game.

76ers guard Carter-Williams wins Rookie of Year

Meantime, Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams has won the NBA’s rookie of the year award.

Carter-Williams was only the third player since 1950-51 to lead all rookies in scoring (16.7), rebounding (6.3) and assists (6.2), joining Oscar Robertson (1960-61) and Alvan Adams (1975-76).

The league said on Monday that he received 104 of a possible 124 first-place votes. Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic finished second and Trey Burke of the Utah Jazz was third.

Allen Iverson is the only other player in Sixers history to win the award.

The 11th overall pick in last year’s draft, Carter-Williams is the first player picked 10th or lower to win since Mark Jackson did it in 1987 for New York.

Philadelphia went 19-63 this season.