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SACRAMENTO - The Raptors nearly got away with what should have been one of their most lopsided defeats of the season. Cheap Basketball Shoes . Down by 22 early in the fourth quarter, the Raptors - on the heels of yet another fierce comeback - had cut their deficit to six as Kyle Lowry launched what could have been a game-changing three pointer. Kings rookie Ben McLemore closed out hard and the two collided just before Lowrys shot dropped and the whistle blew. Had the bucket counted and, assuming Lowry then connects on the subsequent free throw, the Raptors would have been down by two with 25 seconds remaining. Instead, official Eric Lewis called the foul on the shooter. Lowry had kicked out his leg on the jumper, he explained. The call was bold, to put it mildly, and in disbelief, Lowrys reaction earned him his second technical foul of the game. He was done for the night, heading straight to the locker room, and for all intents and purposes so, too, were the Raptors. On the night, the Raptors were assigned three techs. They finished the game with more personal fouls (35) than Kings field goals (32). Lowry, like the rest of his teammates, didnt say much following Wednesdays 109-101 loss in Sacramento. What he did say spoke volumes. "I cant say what I really want to say," Lowry commented, biting his tongue. "Its as simple as that." Theyve all lived through this narrative before, most recently in Portland this past weekend. Questionable officiating aside - theyve seen their fair share of that, too - slow starts followed by one last-ditch effort to save the day have become the norm. Its a bad habit that the likes of Indiana and Miami can get away with because theyre Indiana and Miami. When the Raptors play with fire, more often than not, theyll get burned. Dwane Casey, moments after lacing into his players in the locker room, could have gone after the officials but wisely chose to save his money and direct his angst at the team. Correct what you can control was the mindset, and the Raptors have displayed a few glaring faults worth correcting. "We havent done anything, Ive been repeating this, we havent done anything in this league yet to come out and play in second gear until we try to turn it on," said the Raptors coach, his team giving up 92 points and trailing by 20 after three quarters Wednesday. "Were not that good and, until we have that disposition from start to finish, were going to be disappointed a lot. Ive said that warning, Ive given that warning and like I just told them, they have to decide how they want to live." The emotions of the evening got the better of them. On a night in which seven players - including the Kings Rudy Gay - faced their former team for the first time since Decembers trade, Sacramento came out with the focus that escaped the Raptors. "Its a business" is a phrase that was uttered over and over on both sides leading up to the much-anticipated reunion between Gay and the Raptors, but only one team followed through on it. "Were out hugging, giving [high] fives and all that," said a disappointed Casey. "This is a business and I didnt think our disposition from start to finish was in the fight mode, the hungry-team mode." The Raptors had rallied around Gay as he made his first trip back to Memphis earlier in the season and the Kings did the same Wednesday. The former Raptors forward and leading scorer had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, but he didnt do it alone because he didnt have to. DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 and Isaiah Thomas added 23. Combined, the three Kings accounted for 41 of the Kings 51 free throw attempts. Toronto made just 24 trips to the line. "Its about putting your body on someone," Casey said. "The fundamental box-out, going to get it, getting to rebounds, all the little things that you have to do. And then you put them on the line 51 times because either youre late or out of position." Just like it did in Portland on Saturday, Torontos defence took the first half off. The Kings - a 16-win team going into the evening - scored 30 points in the first quarter and 37 in the second. By halftime, four of their five starters were in double figures. The Raptors are a resilient bunch, sure. Comeback specialist Steve Novak checked in and promptly knocked down three triples. They made a game of it, as theyve been known to do, but when you rely on the miraculous, you leave yourself vulnerable to the unpredictable nature of crunch time in the NBA. Things happen. In Portland, it was a relatively unforced turnover on the games final possession. In Sacramento, it was a bad call. The visitors locker room in Sleep Train Arena - easily the coziest in the league - was filled with frustrated players, packed together like sardines. They had every reason to be frustrated, but as Casey stressed to them, they need to look inward. "We got guys who are going to fight to the end, but we cant let ourselves get down by 20 and think we are going to come back every time," said John Salmons, one of four Raptors who came over in the trade from Sacramento. "Its not going to happen every time." "Like I told the guys in the locker room, it was probably the worst game weve played since I got here," said Chuck Hayes, another former Kings player. "This ones probably going to [cause us to] lose a couple hours of sleep but weve got to get over it." Cheap Basketball Shoes Discount .com) - Lloyd Sam struck in stoppage time on Wednesday as Red Bull New York hung on for a crucial 1-0 win over Atlantic Cup rivals D. Cheap Basketball Shoes Online . "If we only consider this season," Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini said, "there is just one club in Manchester -- and its ours. http://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.net/ . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday.NEW YORK -- After 10 pitching changes and more than 4 hours of baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers did what they usually do against the New York Mets lately. Win. Adrian Gonzalez homered again in his second consecutive three-hit game and Yasiel Puig reached base five times to lead Los Angeles over the skidding Mets 9-4 Tuesday night. Josh Beckett (2-1) helped himself with an RBI single in his second straight victory after 14 winless starts, but the fiery right-hander left frustrated after failing to get an out in the sixth inning. "I was mad at myself," Beckett said. "Last thing you want to do is kill your bullpen the first game of a series." Carl Crawford scored three times and stole two bases. Gonzalez connected for a two-run shot in a four-run fifth, when Los Angeles chased Rafael Montero (0-2) from his second major league start. "Tonight was great," Gonzalez said. "We took walks, putting pressure on and putting up runs. We tallied up a pretty easy win there at the end." Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe limped off with a right hamstring injury after his ninth-inning double. Puig, who had three hits and scored twice to extend his recent tear at the plate, delivered an RBI single during a three-run ninth. Curtis Granderson (three hits) and Lucas Duda homered in the sixth for the Mets, who dropped to 5-13 in May with their fifth defeat in six games. Twice they loaded the bases with one out and came up empty in the opener of a nine-game homestand. New York (20-24) fell a season-worst four games under .500 and lost for the 10th time in 11 meetings with the Dodgers dating to July 1, 2012. The teams combined to use 12 pitchers in a yawner that took 4 hours, 8 minutes -- a minute short of tying the Mets record for a nine-inning game. "It seemed like we were on the field the majority of the game and thats not good," New York third baseman David Wright said. Puig drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and Gonzalez hit his 11th homer into the Dodgers bullpen in right-centre. The streaking slugger has eight hits in his past 12 at-bats, including a home run in Sundays loss at Arizona. "Im just staying with it all season long. Not going to change a thing," Gonzalez said. Matt Kemp doubled and Crawfords RBI single chased Montero (0-2), who arrived in the majors with a reputation for fine control.ddddddddddddOne of the teams top pitching prospects, the 23-year-old right-hander has walked six and served up three home runs in 10 1-3 big league innings. "Im going to find out what hes trying to do. If hes trying to pitch to the corners, in this league youve got to earn that, youve got to earn the corners," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "Once the umpire knows youll pound that strike zone, hell give you some stuff. He fell behind a lot tonight. Thats why he threw a lot of pitches. Weve got to get him to realize hes good enough to get strike one and go from there." Uribe fisted a run-scoring single over a drawn-in infield against Jeurys Familia to cap the outburst. Puig, the co-NL player of the week, doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the sixth and scored on Hanley Ramirezs single to make it 6-1. Earlier in the game, the exuberant right fielder appeared to lose track of the outs when he fired a throw to third base after catching a fly ball to end the third inning. That drew chuckles from Puigs teammates -- and a long stare from a perplexed Uribe. After giving up three runs on two homers and a double in the sixth, an animated Beckett gestured with his arm when catcher A.J. Ellis came out for a visit that preceded a walk to Wilmer Flores. As he waited to be removed by manager Don Mattingly, Beckett bounced the ball on the back of the mound and appeared to be venting to teammates about a pitch "right down the middle." "He hit a wall, which is unusual for him," Mattingly said. "It happened quick." J.P. Howell struck out three in 1 1-3 scoreless innings and Chris Withrow retired Duda and Flores with the bases loaded to preserve a two-run lead in the seventh. NOTES: Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder inflammation) is scheduled to come off the disabled list Wednesday night to make his first start since April 27. Ryu has not allowed a run in 26 innings on the road this season, going 3-0 in four starts. ... Beckett entered with a 1.67 ERA in his previous six outings. Pitching at Citi Field for the first time, he improved to 7-2 in 15 career starts against the Mets. It was the first time he faced them since 2009 with Boston. ... Mets CF Juan Lagares was home in the Dominican Republic because of a death in the family. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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