the Raptors had eight 3s in the first half -- in a span | Forum
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Dec 25 '17
ATLANTA -- After a horrible stretch, the Atlanta Hawks are healthy again -- well, sort of -- and feel like they can move back up in the Eastern Conference. Neymar Jersey . Jeff Teague equaled his career best with 34 points, Paul Millsap had the first triple-double of his career and the Hawks extended their longest winning streak of the season to five in a row, beating the Toronto Raptors 118-113 in overtime Tuesday night. Millsap had 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Hawks, who have bounced back after losing 14 of 15 to strengthen their hold on the final playoff spot in the East. Theyre looking to improve on that position in the final month of the regular season. "We wanted to win this game really bad," Teague said. "Weve been playing well lately." Even after losing centre Al Horford for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, the Hawks were surprisingly four games above .500 at the start of February when the injuries really started to pile up. That sent them into a tailspin that threatened their bid to even make the playoffs. Now, they seem back on track. "Were not going to make any excuses," Millsap said. "Weve just got to push forward and try to win some games." Coming off a victory the previous night at Charlotte, the Hawks overcame an early 13-point deficit in a game that went back and forth in the final quarter. Millsap missed a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Teague knocked down four free throws in the closing seconds to clinch it for Atlanta. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 29 points, but he had two crucial turnovers in the last minute of regulation, getting called for an offensive foul and slipping on another drive, losing the ball out of bounds. "A lot of things didnt go our way," DeRozan said, "but we shouldnt have put ourselves in that situation to start with." The Hawks went ahead for good when Millsap found DeMarre Carroll all alone under the basket for a layup, which put Atlanta up 111-109 with 2:37 remaining and gave Millsap his 10th assist. Toronto went more than 3 1-2 minutes without scoring in the overtime, allowing the Hawks to hang on when most of their shots werent falling, either. "Weve got to learn from it," DeRozan said. Kyle Korver added 16 points for Atlanta. DeRozan had a double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds, while Kyle Lowry chipped in with 20 points. The Hawks got off to a miserable start, making just 6 of 24 shots in the opening period and trailing 22-9. But the Raptors failed to take advantage of the poor shooting, and the Hawks bench got the home team back in the game. Shelvin Mack knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, cutting the Raptors lead to 26-17. Then, Atlanta started the next period with a quick 8-0 run -- and, just like that, it was a ballgame again. Cartier Martin swished a par of treys, sandwiched around Mike Scotts driving layup. The game was tied 49-all at halftime. Neither team could break away in the third, the margin never more than four points, and there were 10 lead changes in the final period. NOTES: Teague previously scored 34 points at Cleveland on Dec. 26. ... Toronto C Jonas Valanciunas left the game with a lower back sprain and didnt return. ... The Hawks lost rookie G Dennis Schroder, who sprained his left ankle while hustling back on defence in the fourth quarter. ... Carroll took an elbow near his left eye and had to be taken back to the locker room to get four stiches. He finished the game with a bandage over his wound. ... Atlanta C Pero Antic and Lowry picked up double-technicals in the third quarter for jawing at each other after a play that left Antic sprawled on the court. The big man tried to draw a charging foul on Terrence Ross, and both players went down in front of the Hawks bench. As the teams headed to a timeout, Antic and Lowry picked up Ts. Weverton Jersey . Even that couldnt slow them down against the New Orleans Hornets. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece and the Thunder overcame injuries to two key backups to beat New Orleans 101-93 Monday night for their 10th straight home win. Diego Souza Jersey . Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile.CLEVELAND -- The Raptors arent officially in the NBA playoffs. They dont look ready for them, either. Dion Waiters scored 24 points, Luol Deng added 19 and the Cleveland Cavaliers prevented Toronto from getting closer to a post-season spot with a 102-100 win over the sloppy Raptors on Tuesday night. Toronto fell behind by 21 points in the third quarter, and then battled back to take a 95-94 lead. But the Raptors fell apart in the final minutes. With their fourth loss in six games, the Raptors dropped one-half game behind Chicago for the No. 3 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. "We gotta get back to who we are," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said in disgust. "Its easy to get up for OKC, Miami and Indiana, but the other teams are playing for something too, which is pride. That can be even more dangerous." Despite playing without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who missed his fifth straight game with a strained biceps tendon, the Cavs were able to hold on and snap a five-game losing streak at home. "It was a good win by our guys," coach Mike Brown said. "Thats a playoff team. They were playing good basketball. In a game like that, maybe earlier in the season we might have lost, especially coming down the stretch when a team makes a run against us. Our guys found a way to win." Kyle Lowry scored 22 and Terrence Ross had 16 for the Raptors, who had a chance to tie it in the final seconds but guard Greivis Vasquez lost his footing and committed a turnover with 1.9 seconds left. "I was trying to spin and I lost my balance," Vasquez said. "It was just a bad play for me. It was me going to my weak hand and I lost my balance, stepped kind of weird. I turned the ball over. Ill take responsibility. Im not going to run away. Im a man. I wish I could be in that position again so we have another opportunity tomorrow (at Boston)." Toronto took a 95-94 lead on Vasquezs 3-pointer with 6:45 remaining, but the Raptors went just 1 of 9 from the floor and scored five points the rest of the way. Tristan Thompson added 15 points and 13 rebounds and Jarret Jack had 13 points for Cleveland, which kept its faint playoff hopes alive. The Cavs trail idle Atlanta by 4 1/2 games foor the No. Walace Jersey. 8 playoff slot. The Raptors may be closing in on their first post-season appearance since 2008, but the Atlantic Division leaders looked out of sorts at both ends. They fought back from a big deficit, but fell apart with the game on the line. Toronto missed three free throws in the final 4:26, but still had a chance to force overtime or possibly steal their 40th win after forcing a Cleveland turnover on an errant inbounds pass with 7.8 seconds to go. But Vasquez, who finished with 16 points, drove the left side and slipped about 10 feet from the basket. As he fell, Vasquez flung the ball in desperation and it was intercepted on the right side by Deng. Vasquez remained on the floor for a few seconds grabbing his ankle before he limped off the court. "It was a handoff to Greivis to turn the corner," Casey said. "I thought he turned it pretty well and his ankle went out on him. But one play was not when we lost that game. The game was decided with the way we played in the first quarter." However, Toronto didnt execute when it needed to and lost to a Cleveland team playing for nothing more than pride. At least the Cavs overcame their own mistakes, something theyve rarely done during this disappointing season. "We just stayed with it," Waiters said. "We didnt get rattled and made plays when we needed to." Clevelands offence was clicking early on. The Cavs recorded assists on eight of their first 10 buckets, opened a 14-point lead in the first quarter and pushed their advantage to 18 in the second. Toronto made three 3-pointers -- the Raptors had eight 3s in the first half -- in a span of 1:27 to climb within 49-40, but Cleveland regrouped and led 59-45 at halftime. NOTES: The Cavs are 12-11 since Feb. 7. ... Toronto was just 16 of 26 from the line. ... Irving rode a stationary bike on the side as the Cavs went through their morning shootaround. Afterward, Irving looked good doing some shooting drills. Brown said Irving is "closer" to returning, but its not guaranteed the third-year pro will play again this season. ... Raptors F Patrick Patterson (right ulnar collateral sprain) missed his 10th consecutive game. He was cleared to resume contact practices Monday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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