SAN ANTONIO - As members of the media waited outside the visitors locker room at AT&T Center, Dwane Casey addressed his players behind closed doors, a standard post-game procedure, win or lose. Harry Kane England Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. "It was a good trip," Casey said after their 112-99 loss to the Spurs capped off a 2-1 stretch in four days, highlighted by impressive wins in Dallas and Oklahoma City. "I told the guys it was a good start. Were just getting started to where we want to go." Playing in the second night of a back-to-back and coming off their most physically and mentally taxing victory of the campaign - a 104-98 win over the league-best Thunder Sunday - the Raptors simply ran out of gas in San Antonio, facing an unforgiving terror of a team. "We missed some good looks, some of it was fatigue, some of it was legs, some of it was their good defence getting into us," Casey said. "We knew that coming in, that it was going to be a battle. "And thats our next step, to be mentally tough, to fight through fatigue, to fight through back-to-backs and try to do the same things we did [Sunday] night." The final score is not indicative of how closely matched this game turned out to be. In fact, the 13-point margin of victory was San Antonios largest lead of the contest. Although the home team maintained control for most of the night, the Raptors kept pace and refused to roll over or look ahead to their upcoming two-day vacation. "We are a team that has to be scrappy," Amir Johnson acknowledged, scoring just seven points and grabbing eight rebounds in a match-up with future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. "Against teams like [the Spurs] we have to play with the physicality just like we did in Dallas and OKC. We have to be the team that pushes the tempo. We cant relax and thats what we have been doing these past couple of weeks. We fight but unfortunately we came up short tonight." Although Duncan had a quiet nine points and 12 boards, the other two-thirds of San Antonios vintage big three controlled the tempo of the game. Tony Parker led all scorers with 26 to go along with eight assists, while Manu Ginobili added 18 points of the Spurs bench. San Antonios second unit - one of the best in the association - contributed 52 points, giving the Spurs 48-minutes worth of high-level production. The Raptors couldnt keep up. The Spurs out-rebounded Toronto by 10 and grabbed 16 offensive boards. They held a 16-point advantage in the paint, dished out 27 assists and recorded a season-high 24 second chance points. "Its always tough playing in a back-to-back, especially against two of the best teams in the West," said DeMar DeRozan. "We understood that coming in but we were in the game. They hit a couple big time threes that pushed the lead up for them and made it tough for us to keep it within arms length but we fought." DeRozan - who had already face a pair of tough wing defenders in Shawn Marion and Thabo Sefolosha on the trip - struggled against Kawhi Leonard, scoring 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting. "He had a rough night but Kawhi Leonard is one of the top defenders in the league," Casey said of DeRozan. "They were double-teaming him in his post-ups so they werent going to let him go." Terrence Ross was the beneficiary of the added attention paid to DeRozan. The Raptors sophomore made 10 of 16 attempts for 23 points, while Kyle Lowry also scored 23 and recorded a team-best nine assists. Although a 2-1 record on this trip is nothing to scoff at - its two wins more than most expected them to get - Caseys message has been received and his team is striving for more. "I wish we would have got that last win," Johnson insisted. "The two wins is great but it would have been nice to finish with one more. "We cant settle," he continued. "We played some tough teams (on the trip) and that is definitely a confidence boost but we want to keep going and keep the focus we have over this break. We are definitely not happy. We just have to keep working." The Raptors players and coaches will be excused for two days to spend Christmas with their family and friends before reconvening in New York City for practice on Boxing Day. "Its coming at a great time," admitted DeRozan, who is among the league leaders in minutes played and could use the rest. "[It] just gives us a chance to refresh our minds and our bodies and understand what lies ahead after this Christmas break." DeRozan and Johnson are each spending their time off in Toronto with their daughters, both of whom will be celebrating their first Christmas. Adam Lallana England Jersey . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Daniel Sturridge Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side.WINNIPEG - It was one of those "oh no" moments for Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel. The Jets finally lived up to their name, roaring out of the gate at full speed Monday night and keeping the throttle full as they outskated and outshot the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. But for a few minutes in the second period, Noel admits he was worried. "Is this going to be one of these nights?" was the thought that crossed his mind. "I thought we had a good first period then OK, before you know it were down 2-1." Bryan Little had scored the only goal in the first period for the Jets (6-8-2), as they outshot Detroit 14-9. But then Henrik Zetterberg put Detroit (9-5-2) on the board at 7:09 of the second after his shot in front of the Winnipeg net glanced in off Jets defenceman Grant Clitsomes skate. Danny DeKeyser had the go-ahead goal, his NHL career first, with a slapshot from the blue-line that beat Jets goalie Al Montoyas glove when Detroit was shorthanded. Its not like it hasnt happened before to the Jets. A good game goes bad and stays that way. But not this time. "I think a big thing is we didnt get down on ourselves," said Mark Scheifele. "We knew we made some mistakes but I think on the bench we were saying, Guys, were still in this, weve still got lots of game. " In the end, Noel had little to complain about as the Jets continued to dominate, outshooting the Red Wings 47-27 and forcing turnover after turnover. "The way that we played, it would have been a really tough game to lose," he said. "We got some games from a lot of players." Matt Halishuck scored the winner and his first goal as a Jet. Michael Frolik and Andrew Ladd also scored for the Jets, who snapped a three-game losing streak The assists tell a fuller story. Devin Setoguchi had two, Scheifele had two and Little and Ladd both had assists in addition to their goals. "There was a lot of things to like in that game," said Noel. With Evander Kane out of the lineup following their last game, the line of Frolik, Scheifele and Halischuk was a solid replacement. Jamie Vardy England Jersey. "They played better that we did," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "I think from start to finish they were the better team on the ice. We didnt look like we had much energy, didnt skate well, didnt execute well." He said four games in six days was no excuse. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak built in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The Jets had as many shots in the first period as Edmonton managed in the entire game the Oilers lost 5-0 Saturday. One stat that wasnt so flattering for Winnipeg was 0-6 on the power play, plus one short-handed goal, but Noel said they will build on the positives. Little got the jump on defenceman Kyle Quincy, who fell and left Winnipegs leading scorer to go in alone against Jimmy Howard. It was Littles team-leading eighth goal of the season. Babcock said Howard did a good job and Detroits penalty killing was one of the few bright spots Monday night. A third Detroit goal in the second was cancelled by a net that came off its moorings. With just under three minutes to go, Scheifele slid the puck through Quinceys skates in front of the Detroit net to Frolik and he popped it in to make it 2-2. A perfectly positioned Halischuk put the Jets ahead at 4:26 of the third when he one-timed a pass from Frolik, who fed it from behind the Detroit net. Ladd backhanded a loose puck past Howard at 10:57 of the third to give the Jets some breathing room. Notes: Defenceman Mark Stuart joined the Jets injury list on the weekend and the Jets called up Zach Redmond from the IceCaps. They also claimed defenceman Keaton Ellerby off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings and Noel said he played well Monday. ... The team has been without defenceman Jacob Trouba and centre Jim Slater since Oct. 20. Paul Postma has been off since Oct. 27. It isnt known how long Kane might be out. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 Jerseys From China Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '
SAN ANTONIO - As members of the media waited outside the visitors locker room at AT&T Center, Dwane Casey addressed his players behind closed doors, a standard post-game procedure, win or lose. Harry Kane England Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. "It was a good trip," Casey said after their 112-99 loss to the Spurs capped off a 2-1 stretch in four days, highlighted by impressive wins in Dallas and Oklahoma City. "I told the guys it was a good start. Were just getting started to where we want to go." Playing in the second night of a back-to-back and coming off their most physically and mentally taxing victory of the campaign - a 104-98 win over the league-best Thunder Sunday - the Raptors simply ran out of gas in San Antonio, facing an unforgiving terror of a team. "We missed some good looks, some of it was fatigue, some of it was legs, some of it was their good defence getting into us," Casey said. "We knew that coming in, that it was going to be a battle. "And thats our next step, to be mentally tough, to fight through fatigue, to fight through back-to-backs and try to do the same things we did [Sunday] night." The final score is not indicative of how closely matched this game turned out to be. In fact, the 13-point margin of victory was San Antonios largest lead of the contest. Although the home team maintained control for most of the night, the Raptors kept pace and refused to roll over or look ahead to their upcoming two-day vacation. "We are a team that has to be scrappy," Amir Johnson acknowledged, scoring just seven points and grabbing eight rebounds in a match-up with future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. "Against teams like [the Spurs] we have to play with the physicality just like we did in Dallas and OKC. We have to be the team that pushes the tempo. We cant relax and thats what we have been doing these past couple of weeks. We fight but unfortunately we came up short tonight." Although Duncan had a quiet nine points and 12 boards, the other two-thirds of San Antonios vintage big three controlled the tempo of the game. Tony Parker led all scorers with 26 to go along with eight assists, while Manu Ginobili added 18 points of the Spurs bench. San Antonios second unit - one of the best in the association - contributed 52 points, giving the Spurs 48-minutes worth of high-level production. The Raptors couldnt keep up. The Spurs out-rebounded Toronto by 10 and grabbed 16 offensive boards. They held a 16-point advantage in the paint, dished out 27 assists and recorded a season-high 24 second chance points. "Its always tough playing in a back-to-back, especially against two of the best teams in the West," said DeMar DeRozan. "We understood that coming in but we were in the game. They hit a couple big time threes that pushed the lead up for them and made it tough for us to keep it within arms length but we fought." DeRozan - who had already face a pair of tough wing defenders in Shawn Marion and Thabo Sefolosha on the trip - struggled against Kawhi Leonard, scoring 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting. "He had a rough night but Kawhi Leonard is one of the top defenders in the league," Casey said of DeRozan. "They were double-teaming him in his post-ups so they werent going to let him go." Terrence Ross was the beneficiary of the added attention paid to DeRozan. The Raptors sophomore made 10 of 16 attempts for 23 points, while Kyle Lowry also scored 23 and recorded a team-best nine assists. Although a 2-1 record on this trip is nothing to scoff at - its two wins more than most expected them to get - Caseys message has been received and his team is striving for more. "I wish we would have got that last win," Johnson insisted. "The two wins is great but it would have been nice to finish with one more. "We cant settle," he continued. "We played some tough teams (on the trip) and that is definitely a confidence boost but we want to keep going and keep the focus we have over this break. We are definitely not happy. We just have to keep working." The Raptors players and coaches will be excused for two days to spend Christmas with their family and friends before reconvening in New York City for practice on Boxing Day. "Its coming at a great time," admitted DeRozan, who is among the league leaders in minutes played and could use the rest. "[It] just gives us a chance to refresh our minds and our bodies and understand what lies ahead after this Christmas break." DeRozan and Johnson are each spending their time off in Toronto with their daughters, both of whom will be celebrating their first Christmas. Adam Lallana England Jersey . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Daniel Sturridge Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side.WINNIPEG - It was one of those "oh no" moments for Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel. The Jets finally lived up to their name, roaring out of the gate at full speed Monday night and keeping the throttle full as they outskated and outshot the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. But for a few minutes in the second period, Noel admits he was worried. "Is this going to be one of these nights?" was the thought that crossed his mind. "I thought we had a good first period then OK, before you know it were down 2-1." Bryan Little had scored the only goal in the first period for the Jets (6-8-2), as they outshot Detroit 14-9. But then Henrik Zetterberg put Detroit (9-5-2) on the board at 7:09 of the second after his shot in front of the Winnipeg net glanced in off Jets defenceman Grant Clitsomes skate. Danny DeKeyser had the go-ahead goal, his NHL career first, with a slapshot from the blue-line that beat Jets goalie Al Montoyas glove when Detroit was shorthanded. Its not like it hasnt happened before to the Jets. A good game goes bad and stays that way. But not this time. "I think a big thing is we didnt get down on ourselves," said Mark Scheifele. "We knew we made some mistakes but I think on the bench we were saying, Guys, were still in this, weve still got lots of game. " In the end, Noel had little to complain about as the Jets continued to dominate, outshooting the Red Wings 47-27 and forcing turnover after turnover. "The way that we played, it would have been a really tough game to lose," he said. "We got some games from a lot of players." Matt Halishuck scored the winner and his first goal as a Jet. Michael Frolik and Andrew Ladd also scored for the Jets, who snapped a three-game losing streak The assists tell a fuller story. Devin Setoguchi had two, Scheifele had two and Little and Ladd both had assists in addition to their goals. "There was a lot of things to like in that game," said Noel. With Evander Kane out of the lineup following their last game, the line of Frolik, Scheifele and Halischuk was a solid replacement. Jamie Vardy England Jersey. "They played better that we did," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock. "I think from start to finish they were the better team on the ice. We didnt look like we had much energy, didnt skate well, didnt execute well." He said four games in six days was no excuse. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak built in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The Jets had as many shots in the first period as Edmonton managed in the entire game the Oilers lost 5-0 Saturday. One stat that wasnt so flattering for Winnipeg was 0-6 on the power play, plus one short-handed goal, but Noel said they will build on the positives. Little got the jump on defenceman Kyle Quincy, who fell and left Winnipegs leading scorer to go in alone against Jimmy Howard. It was Littles team-leading eighth goal of the season. Babcock said Howard did a good job and Detroits penalty killing was one of the few bright spots Monday night. A third Detroit goal in the second was cancelled by a net that came off its moorings. With just under three minutes to go, Scheifele slid the puck through Quinceys skates in front of the Detroit net to Frolik and he popped it in to make it 2-2. A perfectly positioned Halischuk put the Jets ahead at 4:26 of the third when he one-timed a pass from Frolik, who fed it from behind the Detroit net. Ladd backhanded a loose puck past Howard at 10:57 of the third to give the Jets some breathing room. Notes: Defenceman Mark Stuart joined the Jets injury list on the weekend and the Jets called up Zach Redmond from the IceCaps. They also claimed defenceman Keaton Ellerby off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings and Noel said he played well Monday. ... The team has been without defenceman Jacob Trouba and centre Jim Slater since Oct. 20. Paul Postma has been off since Oct. 27. It isnt known how long Kane might be out. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2019 Jerseys From China Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '
