Vorlagen » 26:34, after playing 26:16 in Chicago Sunda

TORONTO - There was a feeling of restrained joy in the Raptors locker room Wednesday evening. Amir Johnson video-bombed a teammate during their post-game scrum, a semi-regular occurrence in Torontos dressing room following a win. Rudy Gay showed off his best Johnson impression. Players cracked joked and debated where they were headed for a late bite to eat. They were 1-0, undefeated after a gritty 93-87 opening night win over Boston. They were in good spirits, understandably, but they were not celebrating. Dwane Casey would never allow a celebration. They just barely stole the victory in their season opener and with each glance toward the white board, located on the front wall of the room, they were reminded that theres a long way to go. "81 more!" was written with an exclamation mark in the centre of the board. "One game at a time," Gay said, referring to the significance of that board. Not the first athlete to utter those words but given their increasingly difficult early-season schedule the cliche does apply. "We have 81 more but we have to take it one game at a time," he continued. "Were just trying to get [off to] a good start and [build] a cushion because theres going to be times where you cant find a win but we want to prepare for that by getting these wins in the beginning." This isnt the way they envisioned their first win of the young season but the rust they displayed was not a big surprise to Casey or his players. "It was a grind," said DeMar DeRozan, who struggled in the victory scoring 13 points on 6-of-19 shooting. "We were rusty but we just went out there and tried to play hard, tried to scramble as much as we [could] and fight it out." Four of Torontos five starters played over 30 minutes (Johnson battled foul trouble and played 24), the first time theyve logged that much playing time after resting in the fourth quarter of all seven preseason games. Accordingly, the team strung together some great moments - holding Boston to 11 second-quarter points - along with some stretches theyll likely hear about in practice Thursday, including a 34-point third quarter for the Celtics. "[It was the] first game of the season, first real minutes weve played all season," said Gay, who scored seven of his team-high 19 points in the final minutes to help seal the win. "I think we did pretty good. We were a little rusty in the beginning, shook the rust off, they came back and we closed the game. Its all about Ws in this league." Grinding it out Much of the discussion in camp focused on rising above adversity and grinding out close games, things the team didnt do especially well last season. Toronto will face stiffer competition and tougher tests than the young Celtics but to Bostons credit they hung around - as they will do throughout the season despite their lacklustre offence - and fought their way back from a 16-point third-quarter deficit. A Brandon Bass buzzer-beating dunk tied the game going into the fourth and the Celtics would take a three-point lead on a Jeff Green three pointer shortly after. Tied again at 78 with 7:41 remaining, the Raptors ripped off a 12-2 run led by Gay and Johnson, each of them scoring five during that stretch. "A lot of times last year when a team [came] back or a team [made] that run we kind of let that get the best of us," DeRozan said. "We [understood] they were going to come out and make a strong run we just had to sustain that the best way we could, and we did." Work in Progress Although the gritty performance matched the identity Casey wants this group to uphold, the Raptors coach knows his team was lucky to come away with the win given their aforementioned early-season rust. Boston scored 25 of their 87 points off 18 Toronto turnovers, the Raptors registered just 15 assists, made 12 of their 23 free-throw attempts and allowed the Celtics to shoot 49 per cent from the field. "We have a lot of work [to do] defensively," Casey said. "Thats not who we are, thats not we have to stand for. I thought we grinded it out when it got tough. They made their run and like I said at halftime, a team worth their salt in the NBA is going to make their run, and they did. I like the way our guys bounced back but we should never put ourselves in that hole." Stagnant down the Stretch Torontos 15 assists are indicative of the teams lack of ball movement, especially late in the game when they relied heavily on isolation sets, settling for a series of difficult shots. "Too many one-hand passes [and] too much one-on-one," Casey said of the teams late-game offence. "A good defensive team is going to shut that out. Weve got to get that ball moving and we had been doing a good job but for whatever reason in the fourth quarter we got standing." Gay and DeRozan were the primary culprits in that department. "Shot selection was little tough today," Gay admitted. "They forced us into some tough shots but again, its the first game. Well get better at that." Rough Night for the Guards Both DeRozan and point guard Kyle Lowry had rough shooting nights in Wednesdays season debut, the backcourt duo combining to shoot 8-for-27 from the field. DeRozan was suffocated by a trio of larger, veteran defenders - Green, Gerald Wallace and Courtney Lee - and was routinely double teamed in the post, where he had excelled in the exhibition season. Uncharacteristically, DeRozan only got to the line twice and missed both shots. "They did a good job of sending people to him," Casey said of the coverage on DeRozan. "Anytime he drove in there he drew a crowd. What weve got to do now is find a draw and kick combination with him because hes got their respect now. Lowry had 11 points and a promising eight assists but shot just 2-of-8 from the floor, 0-of-3 from three-point range and 7-of-12 at the line. The point guard was playing in his first game with the protective splint wrapped around his injured left ring finger, which hell require for the first six weeks of the season. Although Lowrys injury is on his non-shooting hand, the splint is something hes having to get used to playing with. Up Next The Raptors will play six of their next eight games on the road. First up, theyll travel to Atlanta and Milwaukee for a weekend back-to-back on Friday and Saturday respectively. Nik Stauskas Jersey . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. Wholesale Blazers Jerseys . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also listen to all the action live on TSN 1050 at 7pm et. The Knicks are two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference race. http://www.cheapblazersjerseys.com/?tag=...trent-jr-jersey. FIFA said in a statement Friday that "several racist and discriminatory incidents were apparently perpetrated by local supporters during the match, in particular by displaying neo-Nazi banners and by making monkey noises and gestures as well as Nazi salutes. Anfernee Simons Jersey . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were second with 77.01 points, just behind Olympic bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The four-time world champs lead at 79. Zach Collins Jersey . PAUL, Minn.Tuesday nights 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators was the Winnipeg Jets 30th one-goal game of the season and their first home loss under new coach Paul Maurice. It was a game where the Jets did not score first and never had the lead. Rookie defenceman Seth Jones opened the scoring at 3:48 on a wrap around, his fifth goal of the year. But only 22 seconds later, Chris Thorburn would score his first of the year to tie it and thats the way the period would end. Mark Stuart and Jacob Trouba assisted on the goal, giving Stuart assists in back-to-back games. The shots were seven apiece. Nashville regained the lead only 42 seconds into the second on a beautiful passing play with Roman Josi getting the goal, his seventh of the season. The Predators then made it 3-1 on a controversial goal by Nick Spaling. A hit from behind on Keaton Ellerby by Paul Gaustad went uncalled, with Gaustad being the Nashville player to set up Spaling. Under a minute later, Mark Scheifele, with his 11th goal of the season, brought the Jets within one. The Jets would tie the game 27 seconds later when Scheifele set up Blake Wheeler for his team-leading 22nd of the year. Wheeler set a new career high in goals and hes scored five goals in the last five games, with 11 points in the his eight games. The two points give Scheifele 11 points in his last 11 games and 31 points on the season. Trouba also drew an assist on the Wheeler goal giving him seven points in the last seven games. Then came more questionable officiating. Late in the period, Devin Setoguchi took a high hit from Shea Weber and, with no penalty being called, retaliated with a slash that resulted in a Nashville power play that carried into the third. Shots on net in the second were nine each. Mike Fishers power play goal 42 seconds into the third proved to be the winner, as Carter Hutton shut the door as the Jets outshot the Predators 11-8 in thee third and 27-25 over the game.dddddddddddd The Jets outhit the Predators 27-13 with Dustin Byfuglien, Stuart and Thorburn leading the way with seven each. Zach Bogosian led the way in ice time at 26:34, after playing 26:16 in Chicago Sunday. Thorburn and Scheifele were each a plus three in the game, as Thorburn was on the line with Scheifele and Wheeler in the absence of Evander Kane. Kane is out with a hand infection and is not expected back until after the Olympic break. Bogosian and Michael Frolik each had four shots on goal. Scheifele won nine of 14 face-offs. Olli Jokinen has now gone a season high six games without a point, while Setoguchi has one goal in his last 26 games. The Jets had played four games in six nights week last week, with three of the games on the road, and that perhaps led to some of the sharpness just not being there tonight. Ondrej Pavelec has started nine of the last 10 and was not as sharp as he has been in winning five of his previous six starts. “It was a hard grinding game,” said coach Maurice. “A battle all the way through. We spent a lot here in the last week and the guys gave everything they had tonight.” Maurice wasnt impressed with Setoguchis costly penalty. “A penalty we cant take," said the coach. "It was addressed.” In the last eight games the Jets have scored the first goal only twice, but Maurice sees no need to worry. “I am not concerned about our readiness," said Maurice. "Some of the shot selection and offensive things will be our focus going forward.” The Vancouver Canucks are at the MTS Centre Friday (TSN, TSN 1290). The Canucks are the last team to play in Winnipeg since the relocation. The last time the Canucks played in Winnipeg was February 21, 1996. The Canucks were 5-3 victors over the Jets. Trevor Linden and Alexander Mogilny had three points apiece in the win. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '