Neues » just confident in himself

NEW YORK -- In the final dramatic couple of minutes Sunday night, offensively-gifted DeMar DeRozan turned into a defensive superstar, sent sprawling to the floor when he took two charges. Dwayne Haskins Womens Jersey . Not to be outdone, hobbling six-foot point guard Kyle Lowry dropped a lovely sky hook over 6-11 giant and future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett. The final minutes of the Toronto Raptors 87-79 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday could define this young team and their season -- fighting to the end, finding a way to win. "Thats just us, man," DeRozan said. "Were resilient. Were not going to give up until the games over, were going to fight it through. . . We did it on the defensive end to win this game." DeRozan scored 24 points and Lowry added 22 to lift the beaten-up Raptors to their first playoff victory on the road since Game 1 against Philadelphia way back in 2001. After the final whistle, a smiling coach Dwane Casey said it was the most proud hes ever been of his team. "(But) were on a mission, its a marathon," the coach added. "We cant get too excited about a win, cant get too down about a loss. Thats what the playoffs are about." Amir Johnson, playing on the wonky ankle that has plagued him all season, finished with 17 points. Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez finished with nine points apiece off the bench, and Patterson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series heads to Toronto tied at two wins apiece. Game 5 is Wednesday at Air Canada Centre, while Game 6 will be back at Barclays Center on Friday. The Raptors led by as much as 17 points -- the biggest lead by either team in this series -- in the first half, but struggled through the second and third quarters, running into foul trouble and failing to hit shots. Still, the nailbiter went into the fourth tied at 67-67. From there, the Raptors dug in with one of their best defensive efforts of the season, holding the Nets to just three baskets in the final 12 minutes. And when the final whistle blew, the Raptors fans in attendance at Barclays Center stood and applauded the Toronto players off the floor. "I think were just encouraged," Lowry said. "Were going home 2-2. Were encouraged by that. We got a split, now its a three-game series, now weve got to take care of home. Our confidence is high, were excited." Lowry, who came away from Fridays game with a bad right knee and a busted lip, was noticeably limping at times. "Im OK," Lowry said. "Its something thats controllable, we can do what weve got to do to get through the playoffs, its nothing where I need surgery. Its definitely a pain, but Im not going to worry about it, Im not going to complain about it, Im going to go out there and do my job." Lowry kept his composure despite playing the entire second half with five fouls. "Hes dealing with a lot right now, and he came through with flying colours," Casey said. "Fought through foul trouble, a little bit of adversity throughout the game and still came through." Lowrys teammates heaped praise on their tough-as-nails point guard in the post-game dressing room. "I am not surprised at all that Kyle is limping around," Chuck Hayes said. "Man, he was limping all four quarters. Hes a warrior. Hes everything to this team. The guy gives it his all. We just feed off him." Lowry and DeRozan -- the teams leaders through this remarkable season -- sat side by side at the podium after the game, addressing the media. They talked about the chemistry in this young team. "Were a pretty close-knit team, we understand the situation that were in, its a stepping stone for us," Lowry said. "Were getting our feet wet. This man (DeRozan) is becoming a superstar in front of everybodys eyes. Hes doing it on the defensive end, the offensive end." They both chuckled when Lowry was asked about his late-game hook shot over Garnett that gave Toronto a six-point lead. "I think that was the first time (Ive done that) in a game," Lowry said. "Thats something I work on in the summertime. Kevin Garnett is 6-11, hes a guy who can block shots, and I thought that was a shot I can go to. I took the shot to be aggressive. It looked good. It felt good." There was more laughter when DeRozan was asked if the two charges he took down the stretch marked a career high. "Nah. I dont think so. I hope its not," DeRozan said. "With Kyle (being injured), I knew I had to pick up the offence early, so I did that, just come out aggressive and I knew they were going to change up and start trying to get the ball out of my hands. . . I knew I could do some things on the defensive end and thats what I did." Paul Pierce led the Nets with 22 points, while Mirza Teletovic had 12. Garnett and Deron Williams finished with 10 points apiece. "Theyre a competitive group," Pierce said on the Raptors play down the stretch. "Weve seen that all season long, how well they play, getting 48 wins, how well they play in the fourth quarter, so many comeback wins. We understand that this is a group thats not going to back down, thats not going to give up. They earn a lot of respect around the league." The Nets won Games 1 and 3, while the Raptors took Game 2 in whats been an incredibly even matchup all season between these two teams. Prior to Sunday, Toronto had outscored the Nets 678-677 in their seven meetings. The Raptors had struggled with turnovers all series, but cleaned up their act Sunday, giving up the ball just 12 times. The one negative on the night was Terrence Ross, who was M.I.A. for a fourth straight game. Couple with his struggles, Landry Fields being sidelined with a bad back, and the number of Raptors in early foul trouble, Casey went deep into his bench, utilizing John Salmons, Chuck Hayes and Steve Novak for stretches of the third and fourth quarters. Ross, who dropped 51 points in a game earlier this season, has struggled in his playoff debut, and had another rough night Sunday, finishing with zero points in 16 minutes. Fields, who got dumped on his back during Fridays game, didnt dress. While the Raptors braced a hostile crowd at Barclays Center -- especially after GM Masai Ujiris now famous F-bomb about Brooklyn -- it never really materialized. The crowds on either Friday or Sunday didnt pack the auditory punch of the Air Canada Centre. Fans waved white towels, and there was the odd chant of "Ref you suck!" A group of Nets fans chanted "Raptors suck!" before the singing of O Canada. There were large pockets of red-clad Raptors fans in attendance, and their cheers for Raptors baskets down the stretch almost negated Brooklyns homecourt advantage. Rihanna sat courtside, along with Michael K. Williams and Felicia (Snoop) Pearson -- Omar and Snoop from "The Wire." Williams did the Nets introductions. Russian boxer Ruslan Provodnikov, the current world light welterweight champion, was also in attendance. Meanwhile, back in Toronto on Sunday, thousands of fans jammed Maple Leaf Square to watch the game on the giant screen outside Air Canada Centre. They chanted "We the North!" Two fans participated in a tug-of-war with a Nets T-shirt on stage, eventually ripping it. Amir Johnson led the way with 11 points as the Raptors sprinted out to an 11-point lead just three minutes after tipoff. They continued to build their advantage, and seven straight points by Johnson put Toronto up by 15. They led 35-22 at the end of the first. The Raptors stretched their advantage to 17 points with 5:40 left in the first half. But the Nets went on a 14-2 run to pull within five points. The Raptors headed to the locker-room with a 51-44 lead at halftime. Toronto went a horrible 1-for-16 to open the third quarter, but managed to remain within five points of the Nets, and the game went into the fourth all tied up. Art Monk Womens Jersey . Every once in awhile, it seems like life lets dreams become real - and that is a gift. Bryce Love Womens Jersey . -- Michigan coach John Beilein is willing to give Nik Stauskas a little leeway when it comes to shot selection. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Redskins+Clinton+Portis+Rush+Jersey.html?cat=1304 . The teams all-time leading scorer, DeRo has won everything there is to win in MLS.PHILADELPHIA -- Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo are gone, but the goaltending position has not been forgotten by the Vancouver Canucks. With their second-round pick in Saturdays NHL draft at No. 36, the Canucks took the highest-ranked goalie on the board, Thatcher Demko, as new general manager Jim Benning begins the process of replenishing the organizations goaltending depth. "I believe youve got to have a succession of goalies coming through the system," Benning said Saturday afternoon. "Goaltending is the most important position in an organization. ... I believe to be a top, contending team in the league, you need good goaltending. You can never have enough good goalies." Benning believes Demko, who plays at Boston College, is capable of developing into a No. 1 goaltender. He immediately becomes the Canucks goaltender of the future, especially considering the uncertainty that comes with Eddie Lack and Jacob Markstrom. "Hopefully theres an opportunity for me," said Demko, a native of San Diego, Calif., who brushed off the idea of pressure. "I think once I get there, youll start to feel it a little bit more with the Canucks fans and how passionate they are." It was at last years draft when ex-GM Mike Gillis traded Schneider -- coincidentally also a Boston College product -- to the New Jersey Devils for the ninth pick, which Vancouver used on London Knights centre Bo Horvat. Just before the trade deadline, the Canucks sent Luongo to the Florida Panthers for Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. Markstrom started just three games for the Canucks since the trade. Demko, who has the option of playing one to three more years at Boston College, isnt worried at all about the microscope that goalies are under in Vancouver. He cant wait to see what its like to play in a Canadian market. "Im going to thrive in it," he said. "Youve got to play in pressure and thats kind of just the nature of it. Youve got to thrive in those situations or youre not going to have success." Demko might get a taste of a pressure situation at the world junior championship because hes a candidate to start for the United States in the tournament that takes place in Montreal and Toronto. &quoot;Obviously you want to be the starter at world juniors, (it) is a goal," he said. Sam Huff Jersey. "But theres a lot of other guys that could easily have that position." Part of drafting Demko was Bennings familiarity with him from living in Boston and watching him play often. The same can be said for winger Linden Vey, whom the Canucks acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday for the 50th pick. At 22, Vey has just 18 games of NHL experience and five assists in that time. But Benning watched him play with the Kings AHL affiliate in Manchester and said hell make the Canucks next season. "Hes ready to play in the NHL now," Benning said. "Hell start out as a third-line guy. I think once hes up and going, maybe it takes a year, maybe it takes a year and a half but I think hes got the skill to be a second-line centre at some point." It doesnt hurt that Vey also played for new coach Willie Desjardins with the WHLs Medicine Hat Tigers. Derek Dorsett, acquired from the New York Rangers on Friday, also was in Medicine Hat with Desjardins. That No. 50 pick wasnt the Canucks until they traded defenceman Jason Garrison to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday afternoon. The Kings used it on Victoria goalie Alec Dillon. Vancouver took six-foot-seven Russian defenceman Nikita Tryamkin 66th, Swedish defenceman Gustav Forsling 126th, Erie Otters centre Kyle Pettit 156th and Prince Albert Raiders defenceman MacKenzie Stewart 186th. Those players join the Canucks youth movement along with first-rounders Jake Virtanen and Jared McCann. But the most intriguing addition on Day 2 was Demko, who has prototypical NHL goalie size at six-foot-three. "My size is a tool, but I dont like to rely on it," Demko said. "I can use it, but I still like to react to pucks and kind of play athletic. Its something Im still working on, but its one of the biggest pieces of my game." Demko isnt just confident in himself but also in his ability to withstand the heat in Vancouver. He grew up considering Martin Brodeur a role model but ultimately might want to get some advice from Luongo. "Hopefully I can appeal to the fans up there and make them love me instead of hate me," Demko said. ' ' '