The Toronto Raptors will try to finish their five-game western road trip with a winning record when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers in a west coast affair Friday night at the Staples Centre. Catch all the action on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto won at Denver and Utah, but lost in Portland and Sacramento. The Kings loss was the most recent game for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry had 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, DeMar DeRozan poured in 18 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, losers in two of their last three games. "I didnt think our disposition at the beginning of the game was in fighting mode or hungry mode. We havent done anything, Ill keep repeating this, we havent done anything in this league yet," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. The Raptors still lead the Atlantic Division by 3 1/2 games over the Brooklyn Nets and return to Canada for two games before the All-Star break when DeRozan will head to New Orleans. The Los Angeles Clippers will try to put the brakes on a two-game losing streak Friday night against the Toronto Raptors at the Staples Center. The Clippers, who have dropped three of four, lost at Denver on Monday, then fell at home to the two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat on Wednesday, 116-112. Miami built a 19-point lead, but the Clips whittled it down to two with 1:04 left in the game. Ray Allen buried a 3-pointer and LA never got within four the rest of the way. "Im happy with the fight we had, that says a lot about our team. We just had too many mistakes. I cant fault the effort from our guys," Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. Blake Griffin tallied a season-high 43 points to go with 13 boards, while Jamal Crawford netted 31 points for Los Angeles. DeAndre Jordan finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds, followed by 12 from Matt Barnes. The Heat shot 69.6 percent (16-of-23) in the opening frame and set a first- quarter team record with 15 assists on their 16 made field goals. They finished shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from long range. Miami forced L.A. into 20 turnovers. The Clippers beat the Raptors in the great white north on Jan. 25 and have taken four of the last five meetings, including three consecutive victories in Los Angeles. Richard Dent Womens Jersey . The 49ers announced the deal Thursday. San Francisco selected Kilgore in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of Appalachian State. He has played in 33 regular-season games, plus all six playoff games the last two seasons. Tarik Cohen Womens Jersey .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. https://www.bearssportsgoods.com/Womens-...nverted-Jersey/. With the Nets winning streak in jeopardy, Williams scored 23 points, 11 in the final six minutes, to lead Brooklyn to a 104-99 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. Brian Urlacher Womens Jersey . LOUIS -- Julius Randle had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Aaron Harrison finished with 18 points and No. David Montgomery Youth Jersey .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night.BROOKLYN - There are more than a few self-inflicted ways to explain the Raptors Game 3 loss, a contest they deserved to lose, but when it was all said and done the conversation surrounded a familiar quandary. How much did a series of questionable late-game calls derail Torontos comeback bid? "I mean, is that something new," Patrick Patterson asked rhetorically on the heels of Fridays 102-98 loss to Brooklyn, giving the Nets a 2-1 series advantage. Its not the first time hes made this point. Its not the first time hes had to. "In regards to calls not going our way or us feeling a certain way about referees, it has been taking place all year long," he continued. "For us to think it is going to change in the playoffs, we are fooling ourselves." The Raptors were making one final push, flirting with what would have been another unlikely comeback - which has become something of a specialty - when a couple of poor calls shifted the attention from their wretched play to the men in grey. They were down by as many as 15 points midway through the fourth quarter as they began to chip away at their well-earned deficit. Patterson hit a triple, his first of two during the run, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry both converted three-point plays. A disappointing Barclays Center crowd went from apathetic to pathetic in a hurry and before long, the Nets lead was down to four. Surprised by the comeback? "No," Patterson exclaimed. "We have done that all year long." That they have. Unfortunately, procrastination is a dangerous thing, especially in this league, especially at this time of the year. More often than not it renders you vulnerable to the elements. With 47 seconds remaining, Greivis Vasquez was whistled for a foul, one he and his team vehemently disagreed with. Moments later he was slapped with a subsequent technical foul, a rare late-game penalty - especially in the playoffs - for the fairly pedestrian protest that took place. "I wasnt really cursing or anything like that," Vasquez told reporters after the game. "I was just saying he pushed me off a little bit and they called a tech. Thats just the way it is." "I cant remember one [being called at that point of game]," DeRozan added. "Its tough, especially during that time." From that point on five fouls were called, three on the Nets, two on Toronto, one of which was intentional. The officials had put their stamp on the game. "Lets let the game be dictated by [the players]," urged Dwane Casey, who is frequently tight-lipped after his team gets jobbed by the officials, a disturbingly consistent occurrence. This night was no different. Casey began his post-game address by using whatever voice he had left to apologize for his warn out vocal cords. "Again, I like my money but Ive got to go back and loook at the tape," he said, pleading the fifth.dddddddddddd "I had a different view of [those calls] than [the officials] did." The Raptors coach was barely audible but his face said it all. This is a topic hes grown tired of dodging. "I dont want to talk about the referees," said Vasquez, another Raptor who would rather not write a cheque to the league office Saturday morning. "The referees are going to go to sleep fine, Im not going to go to sleep because we lost." "That wasnt really dictating the game or anything like that. Cant blame it on the referees. Were not going to make excuses. It was just a play and I got a tech. Its part of the game." Therein lies the unfortunate reality. The officials didnt do them any favours, they rarely do, but the Raptors can and should only look inwards. Following a hot start, carrying over from Tuesdays spirited fourth-quarter run, they were outplayed, outmuscled and outworked for the bulk of the evening. The Nets outscored Toronto 58-43 in the second and third quarters, shooting 58 per cent and holding a 20-point advantage in the paint during that stretch. Brooklyn was the aggressor on both ends of the floor and naturally that physical style of play favoured the home team. "They picked up their defence, they were a lot more aggressive," said DeRozan, who led the Raptors with his second straight 30-point outing. "Weve just got to continue to play through the hits, be more aggressive in games. Weve just got to be more conscious of doing that." Thats playoff basketball for you and no one does it better than a veteran, battle-tested team like the Nets. Want proof? See Lowry, as he hobbles out of the visitors dressing room, taking most of the boroughs ice along with him. "Hes been in a 15-round bout," Casey said of Lowry, who tweaked his right knee injury late in the first quarter, limiting him throughout the game, and needed one stitch to close up a cut - still bleeding after the game - on his lower lip. "Its part of the playoffs, man," he said. "Im happy, Im excited to be icing up at this time [of year]." Any doubt hell be in the lineup when the Nets host Game 4 on Sunday? "Is that a trick question," Lowry asked. Hell be ready to go and his team will need him. Theyll need Amir Johnson - seven points in 28 minutes Friday - to be better. Theyll need something, anything from Terrence Ross, who was held to five points, struggling in his third straight playoff contest. Theyll need to move the ball, protect it and engineer a more efficient and cohesive offence. Most of all theyll need their defence, theyll need to match Brooklyns physicality. "Its 2-1," Vasquez pointed out. "[Theres] no need to panic at all. This Sunday is going to be a must-win for us. We cant go home [down] 3-1." ' ' '
« Sidney Powell responds after Trump campaign says she is not part of legal team: | Sears will be 23 in March » |
|
Board Statistics
The forum has 2296
topics
and
2315
posts.
|