jinpan1234
ForumsNet Member
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Posts: 1080
|
 |
Papelbons save was his first since May
« on: Mar 27th, 2015, 1:50am » |
 Quote  Modify
|
TORONTO - Kyle Lowry is playing the best basketball of his eight-year career and it couldnt have come at a better time for the Raptors point guard, his team or its general manager. Coming into camp in the best shape of his life, ahead of a contract season for the 27-year-old, Lowry seemed determined to change the league-wide perception of him following a disappointing 2012-13 campaign. In the process he has raised his expected market value while fuelling the Raptors resurgence, dating back to the trade of his best friend, Rudy Gay. "Hes playing at the highest level I have seen," Dwane Casey said after Lowrys season-high 32 points led Toronto past the Knicks, 115-110 Saturday, sweeping a weekend home-and-home set with New York. "He is playing with such force and such confidence. "Thats him, man," said DeMar DeRozan, who added 20 points in the victory. "He could do that every night if he really wanted to, scoring-wise. We feed off him, thats our point guard, we look to him in late-game situations and he always comes through." DeRozan was effusive in his praise of his teammate. "I think this is the best Ive seen him play, ever since he was in Houston and had that tremendous year,” DeRozan continued. “We need that from him and hes been bringing it every night and thats why weve been winning." Lowry flirted with a triple-double against the undermanned Knicks, matching his season-high of 11 assists to go along with eight boards. In his second year with the Raptors, Lowry has recorded at least six dimes in 20 consecutive games, including the last 10 without his good friend Gay. Since Gay was traded earlier in the month, the Raptors have won seven of 10 games, exceeding 20 assists in eight of them. Despite the distractions that accompanied that trade and the subsequent rumours surrounding his future with the team, Lowry has been a pro. "With all the trade rumours and all the bull thats going around, hes been positive and upbeat and a leader from that standpoint," credited Casey. "He could have gone in a shell and kind of isolated himself from everybody else but hes dived in and been positive about it, so Im happy for him and proud of him for handling himself that way." For Lowry, it seems like a no-brainer. Hes auditioning for potential suitors - should general manager Masai Ujiri find an offer that catches his eye - hes playing for a new contract in the offseason and, most importantly, hes too competitive, too prideful to sulk. "What do you want me to do?" he asked rhetorically. "Its my job, its a business. Be mad? It is what it is to me. Im really not worried about it." After a fourth-quarter comeback sealed a victory in New York on Friday, the Raptors carried their momentum over in front of a sold-out Air Canada Centre crowd 24 hours later. They took an early lead and never relinquished it, despite a late push from the visitors, playing without Carmelo Anthony - the leagues second-leading scorer - for the second straight night. As the Knicks made their final run, to no avail, frustrated big man Tyson Chandler got tangled up with Raptors centre Jonas Valanciunas. It was Lowry who stepped in to defend his young teammate and prevent any altercation. "Im not a vocal leader, Im more of an action leader," said Lowry, who has scored 20 or more in four of the last five games. "Weve got a bunch of guys in this locker room who are soldiers and troupers and theyre going to follow whoevers leading them on the court." With a pair of wins over the Knicks, the Raptors extended their lead in the Atlantic Division to a full game over Boston, four over Brooklyn and five ahead of New York and Philadelphia. Taking advantage of a weak conference and an injury-plagued division, the Raptors are moving the ball, playing hard on defence and carrying themselves with more confidence than they have in the three-year Casey era. One of the biggest beneficiaries has been sophomore guard Terrence Ross. Ross made a career-best seven three point shots on 11 attempts, scoring 23 points in just under 32 minutes on Saturday. "T-Ross is firing that ball and nobody is even second guessing him when he fires it," Lowry said of his teammate. "Tonight, he was 7-of-11 and, if he went 1-for-11, we would still tell him to shoot the ball. I think he knows that we all have confidence in him and thats playing a big part in the way hes playing." "Hes just playing confident," DeRozan added. "I tell him, ‘Dont go out there second guessing yourself. You have the ability to do anything on that court, you jump higher than everybody on that court, youre a great shooter, you could do so much just use it and dont worry about messing up so much. Thats what hes doing." The Raptors will rest up on Sunday before traveling to Chicago for a meeting with the Bulls on New Years Eve. Dave Schultz Jersey . -- Michael Phelps has competed in the second event of his comeback and failed to advance to the 50-meter freestyle final. Chris Pronger Flyers Jersey . The 22-year-old from Notre Dame started 29 games and had five goals and six assists this season. The league announced Monday that Powers received 93 per cent of team, media and player votes. http://www.hockeyflyersofficial.com/womens-r-j-umberger-flyers-jersey/. Brad Richards scored twice on New Yorks previously anemic power play, Martin St. Louis had three assists in his best game since joining the Rangers last month, and Henrik Lundqvist kept the Carolina Hurricanes at bay in a 4-1 victory on Tuesday night. Wayne Simmonds Flyers Jersey . Gooden is expected to sign the deal and join the team in time for Thursdays game against the Toronto Raptors. Steve Mason Flyers Jersey . Beaulieu has four goals and 10 assists in 32 AHL games and had one assist in five games for Montreal this season. The 23-year-old Nattinen has five goals and six assists in 37 games for the Bulldogs this season.PHILADELPHIA -- A.J. Burnett and Marlon Byrd were the two acquisitions the Philadelphia Phillies were hoping would help them get back to the post-season. Well, they helped them get a win in a season going nowhere. Burnett threw 7 1-3 sharp innings, Byrd hit a three-run homer and the Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Tuesday night. "Create some momentum. We just have to carry it over into tomorrow," manager Ryne Sandberg said. Back from a 1-5 trip that left them tied with the Cubs for the worst record in the NL, the Phillies opened a six-game homestand with only their 13th win at Citizens Bank Park. Burnett (4-5) allowed two runs and three hits to earn his first win since May 20. "It all starts with our pitching," Burnett said. "If we hold them down and give our guys a chance, the better off well be." Jonathan Papelbon left the bases loaded in a scoreless ninth to record his 300th career save, becoming the 26th pitcher to reach that mark. He has 14 consecutive saves after blowing his first try. "It was tough because I didnt feel that emotion in a while," Papelbon said. "It means a lot to me, more than most people would think." Will Venable hit a solo homer for San Diego. Starter Ian Kennedy (5-7) gave up five runs and seven hits in seven innings. Kennedy retired the first nine batters before Ben Revere lined a double to right to start Philadelphias fourth. Chase Utleys RBI single tied it at 1. After Ryan Howard singled, Byrd hit an opposite-field shot into the seats in right-centre field for a 4-1 lead. "It seems theres always one pitch youd like to take back and that was the pitch," Kennedy said. "Not a good location." Utley and Howard hit consecutive singles before Byrd drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 5-1. That was enough for Burnett, who shook off his recent struggles and was in control throughout. The righty was 1-4 with a 7.25 ERA in his previous six starts. Burnett waalked two after issuing 10 in his last two starts.dddddddddddd "It looked like he was throwing more strikes and he had some contact outs early in counts," Sandberg said. "He also mixed in some two-seam fastballs, which worked for him in getting ground-ball outs to left-handed hitters." Burnett only threw 89 pitches before giving way to Jake Diekman, who got the final two outs in the eighth on strikeouts. Diekman reached 100 mph on one of his fastballs. "I dont like to come out of a game, period," Burnett said. "But he throws a little harder than me." The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the third when Venable lined a 3-1 pitch into the seats in right for only his second homer in 179 at-bats. Venable hit a career-high 22 homers last season. The light-hitting Padres entered with the worst batting average in the majors at .218. Carlos Quentin snapped an 0-for-24 slump with a seventh-inning double. But Everth Cabrera (0 for 1 and Jace Peterson (0 for 1 were 0 for 5 to extend their hitless streaks. Quentin scored on Yonder Alonsos sacrifice fly to cut it to 5-2. NOTES: The Phillies had some positive injury news. LHP Cliff Lee could start throwing soon. Hes missed the last four starts because of an elbow strain. 3B Cody Asche (hamstring) should start a rehab assignment this weekend. An MRI showed that RHP Mike Adams doesnt have a torn labrum. Adams will get a cortisone shot and expects to return after a stint on the DL. ... Only Arizona has fewer home wins (12) than Philadelphia. ... Papelbons save was his first since May 24. ... The Padres lost for only the 11th time when having a lead at any point in a game. Thats the third-fewest total in the majors. ... The Phillies and Padres have 11 sacrifice flies this season. Only Pittsburgh had fewer (9). ... The Phillies signed RHP Aaron Nola, the seventh overall pick in last weeks amateur draft. ... RHP Tyson Ross (6-5, 3.22) of the Padres faces LHP Cole Hamels (2-3, 3.49) on Wednesday night. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
|
Sponsored by: The Fans!
Home
Help
Search
Members
Chat
Member Map
Login
Register
Reply
Add Poll
Notify of replies
Send Topic
Print