"We were just really amazed at h
"We were just really amazed at h
TORONTO - As over 20,000 shell-shocked Raptors fans finally exhaled, juggling their emotions after a bizarre evening at the Air Canada Centre, Dwane Casey laced into his team in a nearby locker room. His post-game pep talk will "remain in-house", which usually means it was R-rated in nature. Did this feel like a win, Amir Johnson was asked after it was all said and done. "Of course," he exclaimed, taking issue with the question. "What? Yes! Did I check the box score wrong? We definitely won." "Does it feel like a win? What?" The box score read 115-113, a pivotal win for the Raptors, who took a 3-2 series lead Wednesday and now sit on the cusp of advancing to the Conference Semifinals, but you wouldnt know if from taking in the head coachs post-game discourse. "You wouldnt want to hear it," Casey said, asked about his emotions as his team squandered a 26-point lead in allowing the Nets to score 44 during a fourth-quarter collapse that was very nearly fatal. "We just didnt play smart. They are a very veteran team, they are going to take advantage of the mistakes you make. We wrote the book on the mistakes in the fourth quarter." "Every mistake that you could think about, we made in the fourth quarter." Just about. The Raptors lead was 22 going into the final frame before their previously spotless performance began to unravel in a hurry. With a lineup of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and reserves Andray Blatche, Mirza Teletovic and Alan Anderson for all but eight seconds in the quarter, the Nets hit 13 of their 21 shots, including five of nine attempts from three-point range. They got into the paint and to the line at will, putting on a clinic offensively. Veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett did not play a second. With just over three minutes remaining, Torontos nightmare became reality. The sellout crowd that had rocked the building all night, the mob of white-shirted Raptor zealots that shouted "Broooook-lyn" minutes earlier - mimicking a chant made famous at Nets home games - they went dead silent. The Nets Johnson drained a three to tie the game and Toronto was on the ropes. Visions of their franchise-worst 27-point collapse in a December loss to Golden State flashed through everyones mind. Infamous Raptors losses of the oh-so-painful past, the beloved Maple Leafs and their tragic Game 7 demise. The city has seen it all. So how would this team let them down? Toronto led by five with nine seconds left, a semi-comfortable scenario provided they refrain from doing something uncommonly foolish. Just dont give up a three or commit a foul. Naturally, they did both. As Williams swung the ball to Anderson in the corner, the Raptors Johnson lunged at him, committing his sixth foul and surrendering the rare four-point play, Brooklyns second of the quarter. With six second to go, the Raptors now up by three, Casey opted to play it safe and send Blatche to the line for two shots. The right call. Intentionally missing the second free throw, Blatche was able to secure his own rebound before letting the Raptors off the hook in tossing the ball away. "We cant live that way," said an irate Casey after the game. "We cant make this many mental mistakes." Buzzer sounds and the Raptors win. The Raptors win? They had mucked it up in just about every way you could imagine, like a greatest hits of Raptor blunders, but they pulled it out. If that seems out of character with what weve come to expect from this franchise, so be it. Isnt that just the perfect representation of a season, an improbably playoff run that defies all semblance of logic? "We made some boneheaded mistakes," Johnson admitted, "but we finished off the game and thats all that really matters." This is a different team producing different results and a point guard who has a lot to do with that change in fortune. "Honestly, hes a hell of player, man," DeMar DeRozan said of Kyle Lowry, who scored 36 points, a playoff career-high, also matching the most hes ever scored in an NBA game. "Hes just a dog. He makes you want to bring your A-game every single night because you know hes going to lay it out there with them." With DeRozan blanketed by multiple defenders all night, Lowry took over. Tied with a minute left, Lowry hit the biggest shot of the night, a step-back three-pointer, followed by another dagger from inside the paint on the subsequent possession. "Sometimes it calls for that situation," said the point guard. "Usually its [DeRozan] doing that but tonight the way they played him it gave me an opportunity to get to the basket and get some shots off down the stretch. Our teammates count on me and him to make the right decisions, make the big plays and tonight it was fortunate enough they were guarding him tightly and I got it going a little bit." Lowry wouldnt let his team lose, willing them to their most important victory of the campaign, and no one seems the least bit surprised, nor should they. "Every time hes out there on the floor Im going to give it my best effort," DeRozan added, "because I know hes going to do the same." "We know theres not going to be no big blowouts either way because both teams are going to fight until the end," he continued. "It just shows you how much weve matured over the season and understanding what we have to do to stay in games and closeout games." DeRozan became the first Raptors player to reach the 20-point plateau in four straight playoff games since Vince Carter in 2001, scoring 23 on Wednesday thanks in large part to another impressive showing from the free throw line, where he was 12-for-13. For the first time in nearly 13 years that Raptors have taken the advantage in a playoff series, now they look to close it out in Brooklyn on Friday. "Were happy we won today but weve got to do a better job Friday," said Jonas Valanciunas, who had 16 points and six rebounds Wednesday. "Were here, were excited about being in the playofffs, somewhere we havent been before, a young team, expecting mistakes," Casey said. "Weve got to crack the whip and learn from it. This is a hell of a time to start learning, going into Game 6 of the playoffs." Mens Ultra Boost . Anything less than gold for either nation is considered a disappointment. Yet for Switzerland, advancing to the semifinal might be a victory in itself. Cheap Ultra Boost Womens . Subway workers in Rio de Janeiro, meanwhile, were holding an assembly to vote on whether they would strike to demand higher wages, threatening to disrupt transportation. By late Tuesday night there was no announcement of their decision. http://www.cheapultraboost.us/. Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community. Cheap Ultra Boost 2019 . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. Adidas Ultra Boost 4.0 Sale . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value.COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Michael Frazier II got one directive from his Florida teammates against South Carolina -- whenever he saw daylight on the court, let the ball fly. The result was a school-record 11 3-pointers -- the most ever in a Southeastern Conference game -- and career-high 37 points as Frazier helped the top-ranked Gators move a game away from a perfect SEC regular season with a 72-46 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday night. "They told me if I got a crack to let it go," Frazier said. That was the easy part for Frazier, the sophomore who frequently found himself open and made the Gamecocks pay. "Somehow, some way we didnt express to our players that Michael Frazier can shoot the basketball," South Carolina coach Frank Martin said. The Gators (28-2, 17-0 SEC) are a game away from going undefeated in the SEC, something no team not named Kentucky has accomplished since Alabamas 14-0 run in 1956. Florida coach Billy Donovan shrugged that off, preaching his players will take the same approach to Saturdays Senior Day meetings with the Wildcats as they have each game all season. "I still think theres things in front of this team," he said. "We cant get wrapped up in the moment." Fraziers performance topped the 1986 mark of Floridas Joe Lawrence, who had nine against California. It was also the most ever in a league contest, although Rotnei Clarke hit 13 in 2010 and Alex Dillard made 12 in 1994 but both Arkansas players did it against non-conference opponents. Frazier didnt feel anything special in warm-ups, but knew he was onto something with his five 3-pointers in the first half. In the second half, it was Frazier who broke things open with four 3s during a 23-5 run after the Gamecocks (11-19, 4-13) had cut a double-digit lead to 39-35. "We were just really amazed at how open he was getting and how he kept knocking them down," Florida centre Patric Young said. No other Gator reached double digits in points. Mindaugus Kacinas had 12 points to lead South Carolina, which was coming off a win over Kentucky. Frazier blew past his old career best off 21 points set earlier this season against Texas A&M.dddddddddddd He was 11 of 18 from 3-point range while the rest of the Gators were 0 of 13. The Gators built an 11-point lead early in the second half but Brenton Williams had a four-point play and followed with a 3-pointer to get the Gamecocks within 39-35 with 13:05 left. But Frazier connected on a 3, Young had a three-point play and the rout was on. Frazier added four more 3-pointers over the next 6 minutes to stretch the lead to 62-39 with 4:42 left. As time wound down, South Carolina students chanted "Georgia Southern," reminding the Gators of their football loss to the FCS school last fall. Florida came in having clinched the SEC regular-season title last week when second-place Kentucky was beaten twice, including a surprise 72-67 loss here to the Gamecocks last Saturday. The Gators steadily moved through in pushing to the unbeaten conference season, a run that started in January with a 74-58 win over South Carolina. Florida, though, has not dominated on the road the way it has at home in recent weeks, winning its past four road games by an average of six points. This one proved just as tight for the top-ranked team in the first half. Frazier started off hot with two of his five first-half 3-pointers to give the Gators a 7-0 lead. Floridas defence forced three turnovers in the first 5 minutes. But the Gamecocks, still fresh from the court-storming celebration three days ago, took Floridas punch and came out swinging themselves with a 12-2 run to move in front and stayed with the nations top team the rest of the half. There were four ties and five lead changes over the final 10 minutes and it was Frazier who broke the last tie with his last 3 of the period to send the Gators to the break ahead 28-26. Frazier had 15 points in the period as the rest of Floridas big guns misfired in the opening half. Leading scorer Casey Prather was held to one free throw while Scottie Wilbekin was just 1-of-5 shooting for two points. Young finished with nine points and Prather had seven. Wilbekin did not score in the second half. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '