EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The Toronto Raptors put aside trade rumors to claim their first road win of the season, but turmoil still bubbles beneath the surface for the New Jersey Nets.
Morris Peterson's free throw with less than a second remaining lifted Toronto to a 81-80 victory over New Jersey.
Leading most of the game, the Raptors had a 14-point cushion early in the fourth quarter, but the Nets fought back with a 16-2 run. New Jersey's Richard Jefferson made a pair of free throws to knot it at 76-76 with 1:59 left.
With 14 seconds to play, Kerry Kittles hit a jumper for the Nets to tie it again, 80-80. Raptors star Vince Carter worked the clock before driving toward the basket. He got tied up by Kenyon Martin, who tipped back the ensuing jump ball, but Peterson gained possession and was fouled by Martin.
"I thought it was a bad toss and I thought we would re-jump it," Martin said. "I got a piece of it, but he got a piece of it, too. I wasn't tipping it that way."
After making the first free throw, Peterson missed the second. But Jefferson could not get off a shot at the other end with three-tenths of a second remaining.
Peterson finished with 13 points off the bench for the Raptors, who squandered a 20-point third-quarter lead. His name has been mentioned in a reported trade that would bring Jalen Rose in from Chicago. Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams also have been brought up.
"Everybody was making such a big deal about it, it was a great win more than anything with all the controversy in the air," said Carter, who started slowly but totaled 21 points, nine assists and six rebounds. "It's easy for this team to lose focus, but for those guys involved in (the rumors), they gave a valiant effort."
Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill deflected the trade talk.
"Our beat writers make me aware of it 10 to 12 times a day, so I'm very aware of it," he said. "We are all professionals. I don't feel like I've got to talk about trade rumors. I'll talk about trades."
Toronto improved to 1-5 on the road and earned its third straight win over New Jersey. The Raptors had lost nine straight away from home since an 89-78 victory at Detroit on April 6.
"I knew we weren't going to go 0-41 on the road, but it's just nice to win the game," O'Neill said.
Martin and Alonzo Mourning feuded in practice earlier this week, but the two big men sparked the Nets' rally. Martin totaled 26 points and Mourning added a season-high 15.
However, New Jersey's locker room was a tense scene. Martin finished his time with the media on a sour note after he was asked about the shouting match between him and Mourning during Thursday's practice.
Martin stopped talking, then walked past the reporter who asked the question and uttered an expletive. The Nets forward moved toward a member of the team's public relations staff and shouted, "It's over, it's over."
New Jersey was without All-Star point guard Jason Kidd, who sat out with a sore left knee. He expects to return for the start of a five-game road trip Tuesday.
