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CHARLOTTE - Jonas Valanciunas took a quick glance at the stat sheet, no longer banned post-game, crumpled it up into a ball and hurled it across the locker room. At the bottom of the page the final score read "100-95" - Torontos third loss in four games - but it was how they got there that had the Raptors young centre shaking his head as he destroyed the evidence. In the less literal sense he wasnt alone. The Raptors locker room was filled with distraught players drowning their sorrows in a sea of chicken fingers and mac and cheese at the post-game buffet, eager to forget about their most recent setback. "We cant really panic, but weve got to hold each other accountable," said Greivis Vasquez, moments after his team failed to close out what would have been a historic comeback in eventual defeat to a familiar, albeit perplexing foe, the Charlotte Bobcats. "Its easy when we win and you smile and youre cool, youre hanging around, but when you face adversity or obstacles, thats when you really show your character, so now weve really got to show what [were] made of." For Vasquez - who helped engineer Torontos late-game run - his teammates and his coach, there were no moral victories to be celebrated after cutting a 30-point third quarter deficit to one with 26 seconds remaining. No moral victories, not anymore, not if they fancy themselves a playoff contender. Instead the question was, how could they fall behind by 30 to the Bobcats - who had lost 10 of 13 and were playing without Kemba Walker - in the first place? "Effort," Kyle Lowry said, and repeated six times in a three-minute scrum. For the final 16 minutes they played with plenty of it, outscoring the nemesis Bobcats 54-29 to close out the game. For the first 32 it was nowhere to be found. "Thats it, effort," the Raptors point guard continued. "That simple. Effort." Its not that simple, not for the teams fans or coaching staff that were left to wonder where that effort went for two and a half quarters in a game the Raptors sorely needed. "Its a long season but you tell a lot about who you are in these situations," Dwane Casey said. "Today was a gut-check game and the fourth quarter we turned it around but its about what we did in the first three quarters thats disappointing." Coming off a loss to the corpse of the Los Angeles Lakers 24 hours earlier, and an equally disheartening defeat in Boston last week, the Raptors scored a season-low 11 points in the first quarter. For the second straight day they attempted nearly three times as many three-pointers as free throws and allowed the leagues 28th ranked offensive team to score 100 points on 49 per cent shooting. The loss was their seventh straight in Charlotte to a Bobcats team that has been varying degrees of terrible throughout that span of Raptors futility. "Weve got to take these two losses to heart," said Vasquez who had 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, his best line as Raptor. "Were professionals, we know what were playing for, so, [theres] no excuses on this team. Some guys just got to step up and understand what were playing for." "I think were fine," he continued. "Weve just got to wake up and understand that one loss cant really take us down, but one win can really build some good momentum." Veteran bruiser Chuck Hayes put it best. "Its an emotional roller coaster in this league." A week ago they were riding high, winners of three straight and eight of 10, since then theyve crashed back down to earth. Where do they truly stand in the grand scheme of things? Likely somewhere in the middle. Success in the league is fickle, as Casey knows and Hayes has learned in his years of service. "After the momentum we had in December you would kind of hope it would shift over into the New Year but the New Year aint been so good to us so far," said Hayes, who recorded his first double-double - 12 points and 13 rebounds - since Apr. 11, 2011. "But theres a lot of basketball left." Hayes, along with fellow reserves Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, played the bulk of the fourth quarter in place of frontcourt tandem Valanciunas and Amir Johnson, who each played less than 19 minutes, and Terrence Ross, who logged 21. For the fourth straight game Valanciunas failed to eclipse 23 minutes or score in double figures, shooting 6-for-21 over that stretch. On Monday he was overwhelmed in a daunting matchup with crafty, low-post shaman Al Jefferson. The Raptors sophomore bit on Jeffersons pump fakes, got beat on the boards and most alarmingly let his frustration get the better of him. Jefferson, who had a double-double after the first quarter, finished with 22 points and 19 boards. Fellow sophomore Ross has also seen his performance slip over the teams recent slide, recording just one point on Monday, shooting 0-for-6. Meanwhile, Johnson connected on just one of his four attempts and has exceeded 10 rebounds in one of his last 15 contests. "Weve got to find a start that fits us," said Casey, who wouldnt rule out an eventual lineup change but insisted its too early to make that call. "You cant spot any team in this league 25-30 points and expect to be successful." The Raptors will be given a much-needed day of reflection before hosting the Mavericks on Wednesday. It will be the first time theyve faced a winning team in seven games. After squandering three golden opportunities in six days, it could be the wakeup call they need. "Weve got another game," said Hayes. "This is not it, [its] just a little adversity and weve got to find a way to respond." Nike Air Huarache Nere . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Nike Air Max Outlet Online Italia . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . http://www.maxscarpesaldi.com/nike-air-max-outlet-...saldi.h tml .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Nike Air Max 90 Donna Nere-Oro . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Nike Air Max 90 Donna .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore.The struggling Vancouver Canucks hope to secure their first road victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in over 11 years as the two clubs clash on Sunday afternoon. The Canucks have split the first two of a four-game road trip that ends on Tuesday versus the Nashville Predators. Having lost eight of its last 10, Vancouver is aiming to get on track during this swing and will try to do so with its first victory in Carolina since Nov. 27, 2002. Eddie Lack will get the start in net for the Canucks. The Canucks have lost three straight as the guest in this series since, including a 4-3 loss on Dec. 15, 2011 in the most recent encounter between these clubs. Vancouver is coming off a highly-anticipated showdown with the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon, with Canucks coach John Tortorella making his return to Madison Square Garden after being fired in the offseason by the Rangers. He was coincidentally replaced by Alain Vigneault, the former coach of the Canucks who was also dismissed this summer, and could not make his Big Apple return a success as Vancouver was defeated 5-2. "Im not going to lie, its a little weird for me coming back," Tortorella said. "But once the game starts, its about playing and trying to find a way to get a win." That didnt happen despite goals from David Booth and Daniel Sediin.ddddddddddddRoberto Luongo was pulled 17 seconds into the second period after allowing his third goal on 10 shots faced. Eddie Lack allowed two goals on 14 shots in relief of Luongo, who should get a chance to rebound today and is 10-13-1 with three ties and a 2.59 goals against average in 27 career games (25 starts) versus the Hurricanes franchise. Carolina is coming off a split of a home-and-home set with the New Jersey Devils. The Canes won their second straight by picking up a 4-3 victory in the Garden State on Wednesday, but then failed to hold a third-period lead in losing Fridays home tilt 5-2 after giving up four goals in the final frame. Jeff Skinner and Jordan Staal each scored once for Carolina, which has lost five of its past seven as it was held to a season-low 18 shots. Cam Ward allowed all five goals on 31 shots in defeat. "We couldnt close the game out as a team and we have to be able to do that having a lead going into the third," Skinner said. Skinner was playing in his fifth game since missing 11 straight with an upper- body injury and scored his first goal since Oct. 19. Defenseman Andrej Sekera, though, missed Fridays game with an upper-body ailment and is unlikely to play today as well. Ward is 2-2-1 with a 3.38 GAA in five previous starts versus the Canucks. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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