Neues » Weve been through tough times

TORONTO -- Together, theyve logged 10 seasons of mostly disappointment with the Toronto Raptors. Halvalla Nike Air Max . Friday night, DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson wrote the perfect ending to the Raptors 105-103 victory over the Boston Celtics that -- finally -- sent the Raptors into the playoffs for the first time in six years. "It makes it feel all worth it, honestly, the hard work, the struggles, the nights going home where youre just frustrated and dont want to turn on sports," DeRozan said. "It really shows you that if you stick at it and dont give up -- not to sound cliched -- it definitely pays off." DeRozan scored 30 points to top Toronto, including a fadeaway jumper with 34 seconds left. Johnson had a relatively quiet night with eight points and eight rebounds, but it was his putback on a miss by Kyle Lowry with seven seconds left that sealed the win. "Amir knows," DeRozan said. "Weve been through tough times here where we just look at each other like You cant give up now, youve got to learn from it, even when things are going bad. Thats what we did." When reporters walked into the post-game dressing room, Johnson was on his phone with his grandma Dora. "Dora the Explorer, thats what I call her," Johnson said, smiling. "She said shes proud. "This team has worked so hard," he added. "We were playing our butts off, playing through injuries, weve had our ups and downs. But we made it. It was just coincidence at the end of the game that it was me and DeMar making two clutch shots, the players who have been here the longest, so it meant a lot to clinch our spot in the playoffs." Terrence Ross added 17 points, while Greivis Vasquez finished with 15, and Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and eight boards for Toronto (41-31). Former Raptor Jerryd Bayless led the Celtics (23-49) with 20 points, while Jeff Green finished with 16. The Raptors went into the night with a two-and-a-half game lead over Brooklyn for first in the Atlantic Division and tied with Chicago for the No. 3 seed in the East. They needed a win or a loss by the New York Knicks in Phoenix to secure their spot in the playoffs. But the win didnt come easily against a team the Raptors had beaten in Boston 99-90 two nights earlier. Against a team that has been all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, Toronto led by only single digits until late in the third quarter and took an 85-73 advantage into the fourth in front of a capacity crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre. DeRozan scored Torontos first 10 points of the fourth and his basket with 8:03 gave the Raptors a nine-point lead as they looked headed for certain victory. But the pesky Celtics fought back with a 15-2 run and a basket by Canadian Kelly Olynyk with 3:07 left put the visitors up by four. The game was tied with 1:14 to go before DeRozan scored, then Rajon Rondo replied to even it up with 27 seconds left. Then with the crowd on its feet, Johnson darted in to tip in the winner. The crowd went mad. The cheerleaders danced. Kool and the Gangs "Celebration" blared over the loudspeakers. "My hat is off to all the guys who have come through here, to DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson, whove been through it all, and to the fans for being understanding and being patient," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "It was fitting for those two guys, because theyve been through thick and thin and good times and bad times." DeRozan said it was sweet to soak in the applause from the fans, and praised them in the post-game locker-room. "It just sums up everything these past four seasons that weve been through, that it was all worth it," DeRozan said. "Since Ive been here, the fans have been sticking behind us through the tough times, you cant ask for better fans than that. It aint like these fans started coming around this season, our fans have been here from the gate, when we were playing bad, having 20-win seasons. "Just to see it turn around and be able to share that with our fans is definitely cool." Lowry, who had scored 20-plus points in the previous eight games, finished with nine points playing on a heavily-taped ankle after rolling it late in the first half when he stepped on Avery Bradleys foot. He limped to the locker-room, had it taped at halftime and returned to start the second half. Torontos first-round opponent will be determined over the final 10 regular-season games. If the playoffs started today, the Raptors would face the sixth-place Washington Wizards. Other potential first-round opponents: the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets. By all accounts, the Raptors werent expected to do much this season. The turnaround started after a blockbuster seven-player trade in early December sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento. Casey said theres still plenty of work to be done, especially on the defensive end, before the playoffs begin. But he took a moment to talk about the growth of his team. "Its understanding of what it takes, the belief that defence wins, the commitment of: togetherness wins, binding to the culture. . .," Casey said. "The guys who have bought in, they understand what it takes to win and theyve seen the fruits of it. The roots are in the ground for what our culture is about." Olynyk, a Celtics rookie, finished with 10 in 19 minutes. Olynyk was born in Toronto and spent 12 years here before moving to Kamloops, B.C., with his family. He grew up a Raptors fan -- his mom Arlene was a scorekeeper for the NBA team. His dad Ken coached the University of Toronto basketball team for 13 seasons. The Raptors got out to a slow start and trailed for most of the first quarter despite shooting 58 per cent, but came to life in time to put together a 32-26 lead going into the second. A driving layup by DeRozan six minutes into the second quarter gave the Raptors a nine-point advantage, but the Celtics used a 13-3 run to take a one-point lead two minutes before halftime. Toronto took a 56-53 lead into the locker-room at the break. The Raptors finally put together a double-digit lead in the third, taking a 12-point lead on a three by Vasquez with 1:48 to play. NOTES: Casey said injured Patrick Patterson is "a little sore but making great progress." Casey said Patterson, a key player off the bench, could return to action Sunday or Monday. . . The Raptors are at Orlando to face the Magic on Sunday, then head to Miami to play the Heat on Monday. . .Rondo played Friday with the bridge of his nose bandaged; Rondo received nine stitches on Wednesday after an errant elbow by Vasquez. Nike Air Max Suomi . Karlovic of Croatia used his big serve to beat Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (7). Kohlschreiber had lost all of his three previous matches against Istomin but the German broke serve for a decisive 3-2 lead in the third set and held on to reach his first final of the year. Nike Air Max Halvalla .com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury. http://www.suomiairmax.com/ . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt.It seemed somehow serendipitous that on a day when we turned the calendar to June, the Vancouver Whitecaps were establishing a litany of new “firsts” as they overturned the Portland Timbers in a pulsating, enthralling encounter in the Rose City. Vancouvers first ever win over their expansion cousins (and, obviously, a first at Providence Park) came after nine attempts. That seems hard to believe given the Whitecaps run of results leading up to the two Cascadian rivals joining MLS from North Americas second tier. Equally amazing, the 4-3 loss at home was Portlands first in 23 games, a remarkable record stretching all the way back to March 9, 2013 when the Montreal Impact took all three points at the then Jeld-Wen Field. The win extended Vancouvers unbeaten run to six games, another first for the young MLS franchise. That may not pop off the page like a 22-game unbeaten run at home, but when you also include a road game at the Columbus Crew and home games with the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders in that period, the achievement seems a bit more noteworthy. Two converted penalties was a Whitecaps first on the road. (They did score twice from the spot against Real Salt Lake at home, late in the 2011 season). While referee Kevin Stott put himself in terrific position to see both first-half incidents in Portland, its hard not think about the penalty gods who somehow erased a dubious decision from a week ago with the Whitecaps leading Seattle. Erik Hurtado scored his first ugly goal of the season. The Beaverton, Oregon boy came home to bury a psychologically punishing chance that completely changed the complexion at half-time. The predatory instinct of Vancouvers fifth-overall pick from 2013 was clearly on display after he forced a great save from Donovan Ricketts before bundling the ball home by anticipating a rebound. Nike Air Max Ale. Its a difficult feat to score four goals in four-straight games, but Hurtado has done it four different ways and, for good measure, showed a different quality by beautifully setting up Kekuta Manneh leading to the second penalty. Goals at Philadelphia on Saturday and Montreal after the World Cup break would tie and then break the five-goals-in-five-MLS-games record held by Camilo over June and July of last year. But perhaps the most exciting “first” of all was the two goals and two assists from Whitecaps midfield maestro Pedro Morales, who, with each passing game, looks like an odds-on early season choice for MLS Newcomer of the Year. The Chilean conductor out “number 10d” last years recipient of that award, Diego Valeri, by quite some margin. His vision to pick out Hurtado on the first-half stoppage time 3-1 goal was incisive and impossible to defend. But his delay, recognition, and then exquisite ball to Jordan Harvey early in the second was even better and it proved to be the game winner. Morales is a bona fide superstar and one who seems to be relishing his role with the club. It looks likely that hell provide some more milestones before this season is done. The Whitecaps will now get a chance to cross another couple of “firsts” off their list - a first goal and victory at PPL Park in Philadelphia, where the Caps visit the Union this Saturday. Judging by their current form, and their ability to “feast on the East” that seems like a pretty safe bet. 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