Neues » Casey expressed

LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Hornacek and Doc Rivers played against each other for 13 seasons in the NBA. This was the first time they matched up as head coaches in a game that counted, and Hornaceks Phoenix Suns gave the Los Angeles Clippers a not-so-subtle reminder of how quickly turnovers can turn into fast-break points. Goran Dragic had 26 points and eight assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, Gerald Green added 21 points off the bench, and the Suns ended the year with a 107-88 rout of the Clippers on Monday night. The Clippers went up against a team that began the day averaging a league-best 19.1 fast-break points, and allowed 18 for the game. Phoenix scored the first nine points, seven off three Clippers turnovers. The Suns converted 20 turnovers into 20 points overall, including a three-point play by Dragic that gave them a 45-34 lead with 4:55 left in the first half. "This is our game. We try to play a fast, up-tempo game, and I think things are going to be much better if you play like that," Dragic said. "Playing a half-court game is really tough for us, so we have to push the ball and try to get everybody involved. And when we get into the open court, we have all those open shooters." The Suns have won 10 of their last 12 after a 9-9 start and trail the defending Pacific Division champion Clippers by a half-game for the top spot. "It was a huge win for us, especially in L.A.," Dragic said. "We knew it was going to be a hard game. Theyre a really good team, a playoff team, and they have a lot of stars. So our job was to play them strong -- especially in the first half -- and force them to play our rhythm. We did a good job of that." Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford each scored 15 points for Los Angeles, while Chris Paul had 11 points and seven assists. It was the most lopsided loss of the season for the Clippers, who beat the Suns the previous three times they hosted them -- by an average margin of 20 points. "I think we did a good job of being really unselfish and looking for each other," said Channing Frye, who put the clamps on Griffin following his 40-point effort over Utah on Saturday night. "We had 26 assists, so we did a better job of pushing the pace and executing. Its not like were shooting off the wall, but guys are taking the right shots most of the time. Hopefully we can remember how hard we played tonight and can continue that into the new year so we can stay in that groove were in." The Suns were 12 for 31 on 3-pointers against the Clippers, who came in with the leagues best defence against 3-point shooting (32.7 per cent). Dragic, who averaged only 9.2 points in his 17 previous games against the Clippers, powered the Suns to a 61-40 halftime lead with 20 points. Green added 14 in the second quarter, including a trio of 3-pointers that helped fuel a 16-4 run in the final 4:08 of the half. "We have a tendency every once in a while to go into a lull and give up some easy baskets, but tonight I thought we were really alert," Hornacek said. "When they rolled to the basket, we were there to help. And when they kicked it out, the guys were rotating. We just challenged every shot, and they didnt have a lot of easy shots." Los Angeles got no closer than 16 in the second half. Griffin and Paul both sat out the fourth quarter with the Clippers trailing 88-59 through three. "They just kept pushing it at us," Paul said. "On a night like this when our offence isnt going, we have to be able to rely on our defence. Tonight we couldnt. I dont think they caught us off guard. We knew how they were going to play. They hit us in the mouth early, and they just dominated us through and through. Luckily it only counts as one loss." Eric Bledsoe, who came in as Phoenixs leading scorer with an 18.4 average, played his first game against the team he spent his first four NBA seasons with and finished with seven points and four assists in 31 minutes. NOTES: This will be the first time in franchise history that the Clippers make it to New Years Day without a losing streak of more than two games in a full season. ... Griffin has drawn a league-high 123 fouls. The Suns fouled him six times. ... None of the Clippers other 11 losses were by more than 14 points. ... Los Angeles C DeAndre Jordan played 21 scoreless minutes in the first half with 12 rebounds. He finished with two points and 19 boards. ... The Clippers took their only lead, 14-13, on a pair of free throws by Griffin. Shohei Ohtani Jersey .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. Trevor Cahill Jersey . Armstrong was given the rank of "Chevalier" -- or Knight -- in the "Legion dHonneur" in 2005, the last year of his seven consecutive Tour de France victories. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/cj...-angels-jersey/. Vonn punctuated her near-perfect season in perfect fashion Friday, earning her fourth overall World Cup title with a dominating giant slalom victory. Darin Erstad Angels Jersey . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. Cody Allen Jersey . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat.TORONTO - With just over seven seconds left on the clock and Fridays game hanging in the balance, a sellout Air Canada Centre crowd rose to their feet, holding their breath in anticipation. Theyve been holding their breath for six years now, but finally they can exhale. As Celtics forward Jared Sullinger forced up a wild, off-balance runner, the building erupted. It was official. The Raptors are heading back to the post-season. "We made it," shouted Amir Johnson repeatedly as the media filtered into Torontos locker room. "Its a satisfying, kind of overwhelming feeling," he described, following his teams 105-103 victory over Boston, officially snapping the Raptor five-year playoff drought. "Its been six years since this team, this organization made it to the playoffs. This team has worked so hard. We deserved it. Weve been playing our butts off, playing through injuries. Weve had our ups and downs." "Weve made it." Not lost on the team was the fact that they stole a game, their 41st victory of the season, that probably shouldnt have come down to the final possession. Down by four with under three minutes to play, it looked like the Raptors would have to hope for a New York Knicks loss later in the evening or wait until Sunday to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Theyve been resilient all year, so why wouldnt they be now? First DeMar DeRozan drained a fadeaway jumper, then Johnson hit the game-winning put-back layup. "It was fitting," Dwane Casey said. DeRozan and Johnson, the teams longest tenured players, were responsible for Torontos final four points. For them, this moment was a little sweeter. "It means a lot, honestly, man," said DeRozan, the Raptors fifth-year guard, who will make his post-season debut next month. "Especially for me and Amir and what weve been through here with the tough seasons, through the ups and downs and the struggles. We stuck with it." The only player in the building that could give a firsthand account of the Raptors last playoff experience - a five-game, first round defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic in 2007-08 - was Celtics forward Kris Humphries. Only four other players from that team are currently on an NBA roster, but DeRozan and Johnson – who arrived the year after – have both been in Toronto long enough to appreciate what a night like this means to the franchise, the city and the Raptors long-suffering fan base. "It was all worth it," said DeRozan. "These fans stuck behind us every single day and theyre going to continue to do so. Thats the reason why we work extremely hard. Our fans definitely push us." Of course, it was just a formality. It was inevitable, only a matter of time. Toronto wasnt going to go winless in its remaining games, just like the Knicks were not going to run the table the rest of the way. Still, they have refused to count their chickens before they hatched and for that you can credit the humility and focus of their head coach. Moments after the win, a loud chorus of applause could be heard from outside the teams locker room. Finally, they could celebrate, albeit behind closed doors. Even Casey, who wouldnt pat himself on the back and likely never will, found a way to indulge in what the evening represented. "Were excited about it," he admitted. "My hat is off to all the guys whove come through here," said Casey, crediting MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum as well as former general manager Bryan Colangelo for their contributions to the process. "To DeMar DeRozan [and] Amir Johnson, who have been through it all and for the fans, the fans for understanding and being patient. I know they didnt see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but its a process. You dont build Rome overnight in this league. Is very difficult to do. You talk about rebuilding, its a hard gig." The Raptors have surpassed every rationaal expectation, going 35-19 since the trade of Rudy Gay in early December.dddddddddddd Its been a season of firsts for a franchise on the cusp of its 20th birthday, a franchise many pundits wrote off for dead after selling off its highest-paid player. "Everybody who writes something on a piece of paper isnt always right, thats how I look at it," said DeRozan, the first-time All-Star. Hes right. He and his team have proven a lot of people wrong. As the Celtics made their run, cutting their deficit - once 14 - down and ultimately taking the lead, DeRozan came through yet again. With Kyle Lowry slowed by an ankle injury he sustained in the first half, DeRozan picked him up and scored 24 of his game-high 30 points in the final 24 minutes. 16 of his 27 career 30-point games have come this season. With 10 games remaining and their spot in the pos-tseason locked up, the team can shift its attention to seeding but most importantly, going into the playoffs healthy and with momentum. "We cant be satisfied," Casey repeated, with his team moving into soul possession of the third seed following the Chicago Bulls loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. "We still want to continue on and weve still got to get better." Lowrys injury scare With three minutes to go in the second quarter, Lowry limped to the locker room after turning his right ankle while back-pedaling to get back on defence. After being examined by the medical staff, the Raptor point guard and most important player was able to return, starting the second half with his ankle taped up. As per usual, Lowry shrugged off whatever pain he was in after the win. "Im a little sore, but Im fine," he said after scoring nine points in 33 minutes. "Im okay. Good to go." Revenge of the second unit Naturally, Casey was frustrated with his under-performing bench after they were outscored 51-7 in Boston on Wednesday. "I challenged them before the game," said the Raptors coach. "I got on them about their productivity or lack thereof in the Boston game. I challenged them. I said, Look, guys want playing time, when the opportunity comes, youve got to do something, whether its defence, knocking somebody down, taking a charge, whatever. And they came through." Greivis Vasquez, who scored all seven of the benchs points on Wednesday, led the teams reserves with 15, but Chuck Hayes and John Salmons were also productive on both ends of the floor. Combined, the three former Kings - along with Tyler Hansbrough, who logged five minutes - totalled 28 points on the night. Patterson nearing a return Although he missed his 12th straight game, Patrick Patterson has been making progress and appears to be on the verge of returning from his right elbow injury. Although the Raptors havent had much practice time to get Patterson back up to speed - a concern Casey expressed before Fridays game - the Raptors forward has been able to participate in smaller, three-on-three scrimmages since being cleared for contact earlier this week. "[His] conditioning is probably going to be step behind a little bit," Casey acknowledged. "Its not going to be where he was before stepping away, so thats going to be expected. Thats why now we need to kind of get him back in rhythm and with the lack of practice time its going to have to be in a game situation." Patterson could be back in uniform this weekend in Florida, as the Raptors begin a back-to-back set with the Magic on Sunday before visiting the Heat Monday evening. The stat With their 41st win of the season, the Raptors secured a .500 record for the sixth time in franchise history and first since 2007-08, the last year they qualified for the playoffs. The quote "My grandmother called," Johnson told the media after his team clinched a spot in the playoffs. "She said that she was proud." ' ' '