Nets 94, Raptors 87: Joe Johnson had 24 points and eight rebounds and Paul Pierce had nine of his 15 points in the closing moments as visiting Brooklyn took Game 1 of a best-of-seven first-round matchup in the Eastern Conference.

Deron Williams also had 24 points and Shaun Livingston finished with 10 points for the sixth-seeded Nets, who missed 19 straight 3-pointers at one point and finished 4-of-24 from beyond the arc. Kevin Garnett converted his only basket in crunch time and grabbed eight boards as Brooklyn won its playoff opener for the second straight season.

Kyle Lowry collected 22 points and eight assists and Greivis Vasquez added 18 points off the bench for the Raptors, who fell to 1-6 all-time in series-opening games while dropping their first playoff contest since 2008. Jonas Valanciunas recorded 17 points and 18 rebounds while leading scorer DeMar DeRozan missed his first eight shots and was held to 14 points.

Vasquez was good from long range to put the hosts up 76-75 with 5:13 left but Johnson answered to regain the lead for the Nets, Garnett made his only basket and Pierce hit Brooklyn's first 3-pointer since the first quarter to make it 82-76 with 2:58 remaining. Valanciunas scored moments later before Pierce had three straight Nets baskets to put them up 88-81 with under a minute to go, and Williams and Johnson iced it at the line.

Williams scored 18 points in the first half, while Lowry had 15 to keep Toronto within 50-46 despite no field goals for DeRozan (0-for-5) and zero points from Terrence Ross. DeRozan's first basket with 2:35 left in the third quarter kept it a four-point margin and Lowry's 3-pointer at the buzzer got the Raptors within 67-62 entering the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The game was delayed for several minutes midway through the third due to a clock malfunction, and officials were then forced to utilize stopwatches to keep time. ... Brooklyn made three of its first four 3-pointers before the prolonged drought. ... Game 2 is Tuesday in Toronto at 7:30 p.m. ET.