hird quarter, and both were issued technical fouls. Perkins

Geregistreerd op: 16 Jun 2017 Berichten: 164

TORONTO -- In the moments before the Toronto Raptors took the court for Game 4 in Brooklyn, they huddled in the locker-room and watched footage of their fans gathered back home in Maple Leaf Square. Vans Sk8 Hi Reissue Navy . The Raptors went on to win Game 4 and even up the series and say theyve drawn inspiration from the swell of support theyre receiving in their home city. "I told the team, the fans are doing their part, weve got to do our part as a team, as a group of guys to lead the fight on the court, because the fans are behind us 100 per cent and theyre loud and theyre very proud. And they should be," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. The Raptors expect a repeat of Sunday, when a capacity crowd of 2,500 red-clad fans jammed Maple Leaf Square to watch the game on the giant screen outside the Air Canada Centre. Thousands more packed the roads leading up to the ACC in a raucous outdoor celebration similar to the citys playoff party during the Maple Leafs brief run last year. "Oh man, its unbelievable, our fan base," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. "It makes you want to just be a part of it. Things that were doing right now and the way the fan base is going out there, we want to go out there and play hard and give them a reason to keep coming back and packing Maple Leaf Square and packing the ACC. "We need our fans, we love our fans. . . We cant wait to see (Wednesday) night, the vibe and the energy were going to get." The series has been a spirited battle even before the first ball was tossed up, thanks to general manager Masai Ujiris now-famous F-bomb. Its been a fierce fight on the court. Casey said Kyle Lowry looked like hed been through a 15-round bout after Game 4, and the coach expects both teams to come out swinging in Game 5 on Wednesday. "Its not going to be all smiles and bubble gum and fruitcakes. . . Its going to be a street fight," Casey said. "Thats the way weve got to come out, with that mentality." The Raptors, said Lowry, were caught on their heels Game 1 of the series. The less-experienced Raptors -- three of the teams starters had never made a playoff appearance -- werent prepared for how physical post-season action would be. They lost that game. They put up a fight in Sundays Game 4 victory in Brooklyn, holding the Nets to just three baskets in a scrappy fourth quarter. But they were forced to battle back from a lackadaisical third quarter, a bad habit the Raptors havent been able to shake all season long. "Weve got to compete like that for 40-plus (minutes)," Casey said. "The third quarter has been our nemesis. . . thats what we have to remedy, coming out of the locker-room at halftime with that desperate disposition." Despite being the No. 3 seed, the Raptors were considered underdogs in this series based on playoff experience. DeMar DeRozan said theyve played with a chip on their collective shoulder with that underdog mentality all season, so this is nothing new. "We understood coming into this series that people still counted us out, people still doubted us, people said: Brooklyns experience, this, that and the third. . . whatever you want to hear," said DeRozan, who struggled through playoff jitters in Game 1 but has shone for Toronto in the three games since. "Weve been counted out so long, weve got the underdog mentality. I dont think thats going anywhere." Playoff experience was a major theme when this best-of-seven series began. Future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce alone -- with 136 playoff appearances -- had played in almost as many post-season games as the entire Raptors roster combined. None of Torontos starters -- Lowry, DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas -- had ever started in a playoff game. DeRozan, Ross and Valanciunas had never played in the post-season, period. The Raptors say that four games in, experience doesnt mean much anymore. "Its just who wants it more from here on out. Thats what it boils down to now," DeRozan said. Added Casey: "I dont think were as wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as we were in Game 1." Ross remains the one Raptor struggling with the playing on the big stage of the post-season. The athletic sophomore, who poured in 51 points in a game earlier this season, scored zero in Game 4. Casey and the players remain fiercely supportive of the 21-year-old. "Im not going to do anything to crush that young mans confidence or what hes brought to the table thus far," said Casey, pointing out that Ross has done some good things on the defensive end. "And its not about Terrence Ross, its about our entire team," the coach added. "The spotlight should not be on him in any way whatsoever. The reason why we win or lose is not because of what Terrence Ross did or didnt do." Vans Online Australia . "I have had no discussions with Chad Johnson or his representation," Popp said Friday in an email. However, he appeared to confirm a report on Twitter from TSN this week that Johnson was on Montreals negotiation list. Vans Old Skool White . The Henry Burris-led squad finished second in the East Division before advancing to the Grey Cup where they ultimately fell to the home field advantage wielding Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.vansoldskoolaustralia.com/ . Three days after falling to Hamilton, Abbotsford scored three goals in 53 seconds en route to a convincing 5-1 win over the Bulldogs Saturday in American Hockey League play. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durants rare streak of games with least 25 points continued, and San Antonios run of 19 straight wins came to a halt. Another streak might mean more than both of them -- Oklahoma Citys season sweep. Durant scored 28 points and Russell Westbrook scored 27 to help the Thunder defeat San Antonio 106-94 on Thursday night in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City won all four games against the Spurs this season, and this was the most lopsided result. "Thats a big thing," Westbrook said. "When you have a team thats a good basketball team -- theyre the No. 1 team in the West, and we want to be the best team, youve got to beat the best. I think we did a great job of that tonight." Serge Ibaka added 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who trail San Antonio by three games with eight remaining. Durant scored at least 25 points for the 39th consecutive game, the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consecutive times during the 1986-87 season. He reached 25 on a free throw with 3:31 remaining, drawing a roar from the crowd. "That was a cool feeling," Durant said. "I dont want to take those moments for granted. Its not what Im really playing the game for, but it is still cool to see that support from such great fans, no matter what." Durant can match Jordans mark, the longest such streak in the past 50 years, Friday in Houston. "Thats a lot of games to be scoring 25 points in a row," Westbrook said. "You cant just not think about that. Thats an unbelievable stat. I think he may just finish the season doing that. He does that in his sleep." The Thunder shot 59 per cent in the second half to pull away. Oklahoma City scored 30 points off San Antonios 19 turnovers. "Too many turnovers led to too many points, and thats the ballgame," San Antonio guard Danny Green said. "If we changed that, its probably a totally different game." Patty Mills scored 21 points and Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan each added 17 for the Spurs, who hadnt lost since Feb. 21. "We never thought about the streak in the first place," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "To us, it is just another game." Spurs reserve Manu Ginobili did not play. The veeteran guard was not listed on the injury report, and Popovich did not explain why Ginobili was out. Vans Old Skool Leather Black. Oklahoma City trailed 51-43 in the second quarter before Westbrook drained a 3-pointer, then made a layup with 2.6 seconds left in the first half to cut the deficit to 51-48 at halftime. Westbrook had struggled with his shot before that flurry. "You may miss a few shots here and there, but youve got to keep your mind in the game and stay in the moment," Westbrook said. The Thunder continued their surge in the second half. Rookie Andre Roberson hit a 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 57-56 lead. A lob from Reggie Jackson to Durant for a dunk gave Oklahoma City a 75-65 lead. Durant hit a running jumper in the closing seconds of the third quarter to put the Thunder up 80-71. He scored 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the period. Oklahoma City pushed its lead to 16, but San Antonio went on an 8-0 run to pull to 91-83. The Thunder regained control. Westbrook got into the open court, clutched and threw down a reverse dunk to bump Oklahoma Citys lead back up to 95-83 with 5:25 to play. "We just made the second and third efforts," Durant said. "We did a good job of helping each other on the defensive end, and once you do that, you give yourself a good chance." The Spurs said they will study the game and move forward. "You can learn a lot from a loss," Green said. "Obviously, Id rather learn from a win, but sometimes, you feel like you can learn more from a loss. Well go back to the drawing board tonight." NOTES: Jackson played after sitting the previous two games with a mid-back sprain. ... Thunder C Kendrick Perkins returned to action after missing the previous 17 games with a left groin strain he suffered against the Miami Heat. ... Duncan and Perkins got tangled up early in the third quarter, and both were issued technical fouls. Perkins had his arm around Duncan, Duncan threw it off, and Perkins shoved Duncan. ... Thunder reserve F Nick Collison left the game in the third quarter after he took an elbow to the head from San Antonio reserve F Jeff Ayres and was bleeding. He got four staples and was ready to play early in the fourth quarter. ... Westbrook was issued a technical with 1:07 remaining after arguing with the officials. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '