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TORONTO - For the second time in less than a month, Kyle Lowry heard MVP chants rain down at him as he stepped to the line nearing the conclusion of yet another remarkable performance. "Yeah, [I heard them]," he said. "They made me miss the free throw." A year ago, Lowrys post-game antics may not have been so well received but what was snide and snarky is now endearing quick wit. The sound he heard as he missed that free throw was less about his candidacy for an award nobody actually expects him to win - though he has been the Raptors MVP - than it was a sentiment of appreciation. Often misunderstood, Lowry has finally found something in Toronto that had eluded him for seven seasons prior. Lowry has found a team that fits him like a glove, a locker room filled with players who hang on his every word and a city that is ready to embrace him as their own. Lowry has found a home. "Im just playing," said the Raptors point guard, after eclipsing 30 points for the second straight game - the first time hes accomplished that feat as a pro - carrying his team to 98-83 wire-to-wire win over the Magic on Wednesday. "My team, they expect me to do a certain thing every night and when you go out there and play for these guys that give you everything they got in this locker room, you dont want to disappoint them." Lowry had scored 31 in Mondays thrilling victory over the Nets. Two days later, it was a near triple-double, a season-best 33 points to go along with 11 assists and seven rebounds. All of this without Torontos leading scorer. DeMar DeRozan continues to sit out, nursing a sprained left ankle that is steadily improving, according to the Raptors guard. On Wednesday, he watched from the locker room because, as he insisted, he couldnt bare to be a well-dressed spectator on the Raptors bench. What he saw was a team that has come together in his absence and a player, in Lowry, who has taken his game to a whole new level. By the end of the first quarter, Lowry had 17 points, perfect on all five of his three-point attempts. The Raptors, as a team, connected on their first nine treys, making 11 of 14 in the opening half. When his team made their way to the locker room at intermission, Lowry had scored or assisted on 12 of the Raptors 17 field goals in his 18 first-half minutes. The lead was 15. "Hes stepped it up," coach Dwane Casey said of his point guard. "He set the tone in the first half with his threes, just his aggressive play means a lot." He seemed to bring out the best in everybody. Amir Johnson had his best game in well over a month, scoring 22 points and adding 11 boards. Jonas Valanciunas, who was named to the Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend earlier in the evening, recorded his 16th double-double of the season with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Lowrys fingerprints were all over the teams effort. "You cant say enough," Casey continued. "I just hope, I keep my fingers crossed that the coaches voted him in [to the All-Star game] because he deserves it. Hes one of the best point guards in the league right now." Lowry has made his case loud and clear - though both 30-point performances have come after the coaches ballots for All-Star reserves were collected on Sunday - and his fate will be revealed on Thursday. The 27-year-old leads the East in assists in January, averaging 8.3, hitting more threes (49) than any player in the league, shooting them at a 46 per cent clip and leading his team to their second consecutive winning month. On Monday, he became the first player this season to record at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game, a feat that was only accomplished by LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant last year. You have to go deep into the franchises not-so-rich history to find a point guard that even comes close to the level that Lowry is playing at right now. Damon Stoudamire, perhaps? Its been a while. Casey has been pumping Lowrys tires around the league and hopes that will tip the scale in his favour when the All-Star subs are revealed. As it turns out, maybe they should have sent his backup on the campaign trail. "Kyle is an unbelievable player," said Greivis Vasquez, who started Wednesday in place of the injured DeRozan on Wednesday. "Hes doing great things, not just for the team but for the city and thats huge." "Ill tell you this, he should make it," he continued. "Its not because Im his teammate, the numbers dont lie. I mean, Im seeing it, watching it and Im enjoying it." As it happens, Lowrys not holding his breath. Although he would welcome the honour with open arms, hes acknowledged that, of the two, DeRozan will likely be the one to get the call. One way or another, Lowry has 14 teammates, a coach, and the bulk of a city that believes hes an All-Star. Regardless of the result Thursday evening - as the Raptors land in Denver to begin a five-game road swing - that is not likely to change. Adidas Skate Baratas . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Adidas Originals Zx 700 Trainers . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. http://www.airmax-zapatillas.es/adidas-zapatillas/...x-750.h tml . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Adidas Originals Zx 700 w . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. Adidas Originals Superstar 2 Mujer . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Golden State Warriors have always been able to score. Now they are becoming a good defensive team. The Warriors used half-court defensive pressure to beat the Magic 94-81 on Tuesday night. "Defence is not something were known for," said forward David Lee, who led the Warriors with 22 points. "Everyone looks at our team and the ability to shoot the ball and score, but were a Top 10 defensive team too." The Warriors limited Orlando to 38 per cent shooting and led by 12 early in the first quarter and 23 at halftime. They were so comfortable with their defence that when Orlando made its only run of the game late in the third quarter, the reserves stayed on the floor and finished out the game. "Thats the 14th time weve held a team under 40 per cent so weve got to get some recognition as far as the way we defend," Golden State Coach Mark Jackson said. "We defended from the opening jump and were really locked in the whole night." The win was Golden States sixth straight, the first time the Warriors have won that many in a row in six years. Klay Thompson scored 15 points, Kent Bazemore had 12 and Marreese Speights 10 for Golden State, which survived a rash of turnovers (17) to shoot 48.8 per cent for the game. "It starts defensively when we get stops," said Stephen Curry, who had nine points, eight assists and five rebounds, but sat out the fourth quarter along with the rest of the Warriors starters. "That leads to better offensive possessions and its fun. Were enjoying ourselves out there." It was anything but fun for the Magic, who were trying for a season-best third straight victory, but felll well short.ddddddddddddArron Afflalo led Orlando with 15 points, Jameer Nelson had 11 and Glen Davis 10, but the Magic got down early and never made a serious run the entire game. "There has to be accountability everywhere," Davis said. "Thats what has to happen for us to be a team that people take seriously. The Magic lost their leading rebounder, centre Nikola Vucevic, in the middle of the first quarter with a sprained ankle. That was part of the reason Golden State dominated the glass, outrebounding Orlando 56-37. "Hes one of the best centres in the NBA, but he wasnt there so we cant sit and make excuses," said Tobias Harris, who led the team with nine rebounds. "Thats the NBA. Somebody gets hurt, just keep playing. Were better than that and we know were better than that." The Warriors used a 16-2 run in the middle of the first quarter to take a 22-10 lead and never let the advantage get under 10 the rest of the game. Sparked by Nelsons two 3-pointers, the Magic pulled to 74-59 at the end of the third quarter. Harris layup to start the fourth quarter made it a 13-point game, but that was as close as Orlando could come. Golden State shut the Magic down early, trapping Orlando ballhandlers and making the Magic take many attempts late in the shot clock. Orlando shot 38.2 per cent for the game. NOTES: Vucevic injured his left ankle in the first quarter after stepping on Andrew Boguts foot. Vucevic injured the same ankle earlier this season and missed four games. ... Golden State last won six in a row in 2007. ... The Warriors are 5-1 against the East this season. ... The Magic have lost nine straight to West teams. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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