Nets 104, Raptors 103: Joe Johnson scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and visiting Brooklyn survived a near-collapse to take Game 7 and advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in seven years.

The Nets, who will face two-time defending champion Miami in the next round, saw a 10-point fourth-quarter lead cut to one in the final minute and then gave Toronto a chance for the win with a turnover with 6.2 seconds to go, but Paul Pierce got a piece of Kyle Lowry's shot at the buzzer to end it. Marcus Thornton scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half, Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Deron Williams chipped in 13 points for the Nets.

Lowry also had 13 fourth-quarter points en route to 28 for the Raptors. Amir Johnson had 20 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 7:53 remaining and DeMar DeRozan finished with 18 for Toronto, which remained without a playoff series win since 2001.

Johnson scored 11 straight Nets points to establish a 10-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter but Lowry fueled an 12-4 run, cutting Toronto's deficit to 102-101 on a layup with 16.7 seconds left. Shaun Livingston made two free throws on the other end but had a pass intercepted by Terrence Ross to give Lowry one last chance that went awry.

Pierce had a dunk and Thornton a 3-pointer as Brooklyn finished the first half on an 8-3 run to take a 61-53 lead into the break. DeRozan's corner 3-pointer at the buzzer in the third kept it an eight-point margin before Thornton - who did not play in the third - buried a 3-pointer early in the fourth to make it 86-75.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The team that led at halftime won all seven games. ... Garnett's double-double was his first since Feb. 1. ... Pierce and Livingston chipped in 10 points apiece for Brooklyn, while F Patrick Patterson had 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting for Toronto.