TORONTO – Vince Carter drew plenty of boos in his return to Toronto for the playoffs. Yet he wasn’t the real problem for the Raptors.

Richard Jefferson scored 28 points, Jason Kidd had 15 assists and 10 rebounds, and the New Jersey Nets held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Raptors 96-91 in Game 1 of their first-round series on Saturday.

Carter, the former Raptors star who was jeered throughout the afternoon, scored 16 points but shot just 5-of-19. But Jefferson stepped up to make 11 of 21 shots, including eight of his first 10. He scored 11 points in the first quarter.

Bulls 96, Heat 91

CHICAGO – The Miami Heat endured a difficult regular season. Defending their championship won’t be easy, either.

Luol Deng scored 33 points, Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni each hit two free throws in the final 19 seconds, and the Chicago Bulls held off the Heat 96-91 Saturday in Game 1 of their opening-round rematch.

The Heat trailed 92-91 after Dwyane Wade found Udonis Haslem for a layup with 38 seconds left, but Gordon hit two foul shots with 18 seconds remaining.

Pistons 100, Magic 92

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons demonstrated Saturday night why they could return to the conference finals for a fifth consecutive season.

The Orlando Magic proved they have a ways to go.

The Pistons never trailed in a 100-92 victory, while the Magic – the only playoff team with a losing record – turned the ball over 21 times, missed 18 free throws and never really threatened to win.

Rockets 84, Jazz 75

HOUSTON – Maybe Tracy McGrady just needed a minute to adjust.

Playing with homecourt advantage for the first time in his career, the seven-time All-Star had just one point at halftime before scoring 16 points in the third quarter to lead the Houston Rockets to 84-75 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night in Game 1 of their first round playoff series.

McGrady, who scored 23 points, was 0-for-6 in the first half. Before his outburst, the Rockets relied on Yao Ming, who finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds.

Utah led by nine at halftime and was ahead 49-41 before Houston went on an 8-2 run, fueled by 7 points by McGrady to get within two. A jump shot by Deron Williams made it 53-49 before a 3 by Battier put Houston within striking distance.

The Rockets took a 54-53 lead late in the third when Derek Fisher missed a fast break layup and Rafer Alston got the rebound and found Yao alone at the other end of the court for a one-handed dunk.