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He scored 23 points in a win over Phoenix Friday and made 6 of 10 3-pointers against Utah. But
TORONTO -- Jonas Valanciunas cherished the chance to think about nothing but basketball Wednesday night. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Filipe-Luis-Jersey/ . The Raptors sophomore centre cast aside his off-court troubles to score a career-high 26 points and grab 12 rebounds in Torontos 125-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers -- less than three days after he was charged with drunk driving. "It has been a rough couple of days, but I had to find energy to come out and fight. I felt really good fan support -- thank you to them. I felt great, because everybody supported me," said Valanciunas, addressing the media for the first time since his arrest early Monday morning. "I say sorry, and (am) learning to be better. "Its been a really good two-and-a half hours (playing)," he added. Kyle Lowry topped Toronto (46-32) with 29 points in his first game back after missing three with a bruised kneecap. Patrick Patterson finished with 17 in the Raptors fourth straight victory and seventh in eight outings. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points before leaving the game with a minute to play with a nasty gash over his left eye that required three stitches. The swirling trouble surrounding Valanciunas didnt show in his game. He scored the Raptors first points of the night, then grabbed a rebound on the Sixers first shot, and scored on a thunderous dunk on a pass from DeRozan on Torontos next trip down the floor. "I expected it," Lowry said. "He was going to play like trash or he was going to play amazing. And he played amazing like we expected. "Its a tough situation for him to handle, but this is our sanctuary, basketball. We get a chance to be away from everything and basketball is our space, our secret spot. Thats where guys can release a lot of energy and intensity." Henry Sims scored 22 points, Michael Carter-Williams added 19, and Thaddeus Young finished with 16 for the Sixers (17-61). The Raptors are headed for the post-season for the first time in six years, and a victory on Friday versus the visiting New York Knicks will clinch the Atlantic Division. It will also tie their franchise record for wins of 47 -- set in 2000-01 and 2006-07. But the Raptors were coming off a tougher-than-expected 102-98 win over the last-place Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, and the lowly Sixers -- who recently tied the league record for most consecutive defeats with 26 -- gave Toronto a decent game for much of the night. "These are the dog days, teams that dont have anything to play for, our guys see the computer, they see the standings and all the records. But we cant play that way," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I told them weve got to pick our defence up and not have the mental letdown." The Raptors led by only a point midway through the third quarter before taking a 98-89 advantage into the fourth in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,789. "I think for the most part we went out there and played a solid game, (the Raptors) are a good team," Young said. "They are a playoff contending team, third in the East, they have proven it day in and day out. They have a lot of key guys that can make shots and score the basketball." The Sixers trailed by just six points with 2:44 to play after Young drained a 17-foot fadeaway jumper. But Lowry proved once again how valuable he is down the stretch, sinking consecutive baskets to give the Raptors a 10-point lead with 1:52 to play, and the Sixers never threatened again. "Im just happy to be back out there with my teammates, honestly," Lowry said. "When you miss games you feel that you are letting the team down and its great to be back out there with the fellas." There were questions about Valanciunas playing Wednesday in the wake of his arrest, and Casey was asked pre-game about what message that sends. "We sent a message," Casey replied. "We sent a message that we dont condone it, were disappointed in him. By playing him, were not saying were condoning it." Valanciunas was arrested early Monday morning in Wasaga Beach, Ont., and charged with having more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Police say they began investigating after a report that a vehicle went through a drive-thru with open beer bottles visible. DeRozan was pleased Valanciunas "came up big" against the Sixers. "I hope everybody leaves him alone," DeRozan said. "(His game) just shows you hes not letting everything else affect him, everything thats going on, or the situation that happened. Hes just going out there playing, he did what he did, its over with, he apologized to us, and understands whats at stake." Valanciunass first court appearance is scheduled for Collingwood on April 22. The 21-year-old is not required to attend so a lawyer will stand in for him. He could receive a suspension from the NBA, but that would be pending the results of a trial which would likely be during the off-season. Raptors starting forward Amir Johnson missed his fourth game with an ankle injury. Casey said the hardworking forward, who has long battled bad ankles, isnt 100 per cent, but "hes pretty close." "Probably if he had to go tonight he probably could go, but again, were trying to make sure, trying to get him ready for the next couple of weeks," Casey added. The Raptors led for all but a few seconds of the first quarter, and went up by nine points when Lowry converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left. A three-pointer by Elliot Williams cut Torontos advantage to 34-28 heading into the second. The Raptors continued to build on their lead, and Pattersons three-pointer with just under three minutes to go in the second put Toronto up 62-49. The Raptors went into the dressing room at halftime up 68-60. The Sixers opened the third with a 17-10 run, capped by Andersons three-pointer with 6:23 to go that cut the Raptors lead to just a point. The Raptors finished the quarter with a run of their own to give themselves a nine-point lead with a quarter to go. NOTES: The Raptors host the New York Knicks on Friday, then play the Pistons in Detroit on Sunday. They host Milwaukee on Monday then play their regular-season finale next Wednesday at Detroit. 23:08ET 09-04-14 http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Thomas-Lemar-Jersey/ . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Saul-Niguez-Jersey/ . Hes coming back to fulfil them. One of Europes top coaches, Blatt was hired Friday by the Cavaliers, who ended a sweeping, 39-day search with an out-of-the-box selection they hope changes their fortunes.SALT LAKE CITY -- Big Turk lived up to his nickname. After two games in which he was nearly invisible, Enes Kanter loomed large in the middle and scored 24 points to lift the Utah Jazz past the Washington Wizards 104-101 Saturday night. "The big man played big tonight," said Gordon Hayward, who hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to seal the win. Kanter made 11 of 13 shots and the Jazz overcame a 13-point deficit to take control in the fourth quarter and keep the Wizards from moving above the .500 mark for the first time in more than four years. Kanter also took the pressure off of Derrick Favours, who is dealing with a sore hip. "Enes was doing the scoring, so I just tried to go out there and play defence and get rebounds," said Favours, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Hayward finished with 16 points and Alec Burks added 15 as the Jazz swept the two games with the Wizards for the second straight season. Trevor Ariza led Washington with 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left that drew the Wizards within 101-98. John Wall banked in a 3-pointer to get within 102-101 with 3.6 seconds left, but Hayward made two free throws and Wall missed at the buzzer. Kanter scored a total of eight points in two blowout losses to Minnesota and drew his coachs ire for often being in the wrong spots. But in this one, Kanter consistently found himself in the right place at the right time -- picking up loose balls, making timely passes and changing the Wizards shots in the paint. "I personally was really bad two games against Minnesota, but tonight I wanted to come out with lots of energy," Kanter said. The muscular centre from Turkey displayed a deft shooting touch on jumpers and power moves to the basket. When Arizas 3-pointer cut the lead to 92-90, Kanter hit a jump shot. With 57 seconds left, he made two free throws to give Utah a 101-95 cushion after a nifty reverse-pivot down the lane that drew a foul. Utahs schedule has allowed for practices in the past few weeks and the young Jazz players have benefited from the extra work. "My coaches have given me a lot of confidence and weve been practicing really hard," Kanter said. "The things I have been trying to do and now showing in the games." Burks and Hayward drove through the Wizards defence for layups as the Jazz scored on four straight possessions to open the fourth quarter and take an 85-77 lead. "We did a good job of attacking them after playing inside-out. We attacked them in transitiion, attacked them in the half court," said Trey Burke, who had 12 points and eight assists. http://www.atleticomadridpro.com/Kids-Jan-Oblak-Jersey/. The Jazz seemed a step quicker to loose balls as the game wore on, but the Wizards made it interesting in the final minute before yet again failing to move above .500. "We were running in mud half the game, in my opinion," Washington coach Randy Wittman said. "We wouldnt commit ourselves to our pace." Ten times over the past five seasons, the Wizards have had a chance to surpass .500. Theyve lost every time. "I feel like we had this game won. We just didnt do a good job in stopping them and they just kept making good plays," Wall said. Wizards last won a game to go above .500 on Oct. 31, 2009, when they beat the New Jersey Nets to improve to 2-1. They lost to Cleveland on Nov. 3 and havent had a winning record since. The Wizards, who led most of the game, have lost this season at 0-0, 9-9, 14-14, 19-19, 20-20 and 21-21. No one on the current Wizards roster was on the team when it was last above .500. Though Utah is at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Jazz are competitive when healthy. The starting lineup of Burke, Hayward, Marvin Williams, Richard Jefferson and Favours is 12-8 this season. Favours was a game-time decision but felt his right hip strain had healed enough to give it a go and the Jazz needed his defence and rebounding prowess. When Favors needed a rest, Kanter made his presence known, especially with his 10 points in the fourth quarter. After stumbling through a subpar January, Ariza has found his groove. He scored 23 points in a win over Phoenix Friday and made 6 of 10 3-pointers against Utah. But his fellow perimeter players couldnt find their range. Beal was 5 of 16 and Wall made just 4 of 14 attempts from the field. "I thought Trey and the guys playing Wall made him work for everything he got," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. Nene had 19 points, including a handful of emphatic dunks, and Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 11 rebounds, but they couldnt stop Kanter when it mattered most. NOTES: The Jazz claimed third-year forward Malcolm Thomas off waivers on Saturday. He has appeared in 16 career NBA games over three seasons with San Antonio (this season), Golden State and Chicago, averaging 1.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 5.4 minutes. . The teams combined to miss their first seven shots. . The Jazz reserves outscored their Washington counterparts 52-18 but all five Wizard starters scored in double figures. Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Flyers JerseysCheap Penguins Jerseys ' ' '
- Created: Sep 28 '18
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