News » Kazmir an extra day

TORONTO -- Late in the third quarter Friday night, some angry jostling between John Salmons and Paul George quickly turned into a shoving match. The dust-up brought the cheering crowd at the Air Canada Centre to its feet and earned both players matching technical fouls. But even more, said Salmons, it said everything about this Toronto Raptors team. Theyre not afraid of anyone. Terrence Ross led the way with 24 points as the short-handed Raptors slayed another significant foe, defeating the Indiana Pacers 102-94. "Were not going to back down from anybody, were not going to quit, were going to be there, were going to fight," Salmons said. "Our leader (Kyle Lowry) hasnt been playing the last two games, but were still fighting. . . Were definitely not going to back down, were going to continue to fight." Jonas Valanciunas added 22 points and nine rebounds, while DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points and doled out nine assists for the Raptors (44-32), who claimed their fifth win in six starts despite missing starters Lowry and Amir Johnson. "We feel like we can beat anybody when we step out there on the court," said DeRozan. "Theyre a top team in the east, and thats a team that were fighting to be in their position. Tonight was a big game at this time of the season." Greivis Vasquez and Nando De Colo had 10 points apiece, while Patrick Patterson, who started in place of Johnson in only his third game since missing 11 with an elbow injury, had seven boards. Paul George had 26 points to top the Pacers (53-24), while David West added 21. "This is a playoff team," George said of Toronto. "Down the stretch they just got a lot of bounces that created second shots for them. If you give a playoff team another look or an opportunity they are going to knock you down." There was a definite post-season vibe to the Eastern Conference battle between two teams that could potentially meet in the second round of the playoffs. The Pacers had led the East all season until a recent slide saw them fall below the Miami Heat on percentage points. The playoff-bound Raptors are third in the conference. "Were a scrappy team, a scrappy grind-it-out team, so if one player goes down, we have other players that can come in, help us off the bench, give us that same spark," Ross said. "Thats how weve been winning games." It was see-saw battle for the first half before the Raptors cobbled together an 11-point lead in the third quarter, but it was short-lived as Indiana outscored Toronto 22-11 to send the game into the fourth tied 75-75. The Pacers went on a quick 7-0 run midway through the quarter to take a three-point lead, but the resilient Raptors responded with a run of their own, and when Valanciunas grabbed his own rebound and finished with a lovely hook shot, it put Toronto up 96-94 with three minutes to play. Valanciunas would score the next basket to make it a four-point lead, and the Raptors held fast on the defensive end the rest of the way, to the delight of the fans at Air Canada Centre, who were on their feet for the final few minutes. When DeRozan stepped to the line to calmly drain two free throws with 13 seconds left, the crowd chanted "M-V-P!" It was the second straight game without Lowry, who has a bruised kneecap, and Johnson -- although Johnson did play three minutes in Wednesdays 107-103 win over Houston before leaving the game. Dressed smartly in a charcoal suit, Lowry could have been mistaken for one of the coaches and he hollered at teammates and gave instructions from the bench. "Id rather see Kyle in uniform than in street clothes and coaching. I told Kyle this all the time, that when he becomes a coach, I cannot wait to come watch his teams play," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said, laughing. "Im going to be that heckler in the stands Boo coach!" DeRozan added dryly: "(The coaching) was a little bit worse than he does when hes in the game with you, because he doesnt stop talking." The Raptors have six games to go in their quest for the Atlantic Division title, and their battle for a favourable opponent in the post-season. Theyre also on pace for their best regular-season record ever. Their most wins in a season is 47, set in 2000-01 and 2006-07. The good news: Indiana was the Raptors last opponent with a plus-.500 record. And of their remaining opponents, they play Milwaukee -- the leagues worst team -- twice, and Philadelphia (second worst) once. "(The division title) is important, (but) its not worth jeopardizing someones health," Casey said. "Weve got players who are nicked up, banged up, weve got to make sure theyre healthy and we cant run them into the ground at the sake of trying to win now." The Pacers have been struggling, losing three straight and five of six before a win over Detroit on Wednesday. Still, Casey wasnt about to take anything away from the Raptors win. "Its a win. Its a W. Whatever the deal is (with the Pacers), theyve won 53 games, thats the way I look at it," Casey said. "Its a quality win." Ross shot 4-for-4 for 10 points in an opening quarter that saw 10 lead changes and neither team lead by more than four. The Pacers took a 28-27 advantage into the second. The back-and-forth battle continued into the second before the Raptors took control with a 15-5 run, capped by a Valanciunas layup, to send Toronto into the dressing room with a 54-46 halftime lead. A three-point play by Valanciunas gave the Raptors their biggest lead of the game -- 11 points -- midway through the third, but Indiana buckled down on defence and it was all tied up with 12 minutes to play. NOTES: The Raptors are at Milwaukee on Saturday then get a much-needed three-day break before hosting Philadelphia on Wednesday. . . Hip-hop artist and Raptors global ambassador Drake had a courtside seat. Korey Cunningham Jersey .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory. Andre Tippett Jersey . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/1981p...patriots.html.C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. Sheets recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season to tie the Riders club record. Nate Ebner Jersey . On Monday night, many fans in this city placed the blame squarely on the captain for his role in the James Neal overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins. James White Jersey . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Latvia won a four-man World Cup bobsled race Sunday, while the U. CLEVELAND -- Michael Bourn took a risk and it backfired. He got stopped dead in his tracks on Friday night and so did the Indians. Bourn got thrown out trying to steal third base in the pivotal sixth inning, defusing Clevelands last scoring threat and the Indians had their climb back into the playoff picture slowed with a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins. With one out, Bourn took off on his own and was pegged at third by Minnesota catcher Chris Hermann, who made a perfect throw to nab Clevelands speedster. "It kind of killed the inning a little bit," Bourn said of his gamble to run on a 2-0 pitch. "If I would have stayed we would have had bases loaded, but that happens. I take blame for it." There was other blame to go around as the Indians missed a chance to make up ground in the wide-open, wild-card race. Samuel Deduno pitched six solid innings and Josh Willingham busted out of a slump with a two-run double in the seventh as the Twins continued to play spoiler and befuddle the Indians. Deduno (8-7) allowed just one run and three hits for his first win since July 27 as the Twins improved to 14-7 against the Indians since last September. Willingham was in an 0-for-15 slide before his double off reliever Cody Allen put the Twins ahead 4-1. Ubaldo Jimenez (9-8) struck out 10 in six innings, but the Indians didnt support the right-hander and were leap-frogged by Baltimore in the wild-card standings. Also, the Indians dropped six games behind AL Central-leading Detroit, which won 6-1 over the New York Mets. Cleveland was home after a 6-3 road trip that put it back in the playoff conversation. One of six teams fighting for two wild-card berths, the Indians, as close to first as theyve been this late in the season since 2007, were hoping to keep their momentum going against a Twins team playing for just pride with just over a month left in the regular season. Minnesota, though, stopped Clevelands post-season push. The Indians may want to make the playoffs, but didnt show much urgency to get to October. Bourn, though, stayed positive. "We aint lost no momentum," he said. "Were all right. We just lost a game, thats all that was. Well be back tomorrow and be ready to play." Deduno walked four, including three in the sixth, but was able to work around trouble. The right-hander was clinging to a 2-1 lead when the Twins, who are missing All-Star catcher Joe Mauer because of a concussion, scored twice in the seventh. After walks by relievers Bryan Shaw and Rich Hill, Willingham came up with two outs and drove a pitch from Allen over right fielder Drew Stubbs head to give the Twins their three-run lead. "It was nice to help the team for once," Willingham said. "I havent done very much lately to help us win games. Weve been playying pretty good.ddddddddddddIts nice to be able to contribute. It was a big win for us." But it was the Indians inability to capitalize on those three walks the previous inning that cost them. Deduno walked Bourn and Nick Swisher to open the inning, and manager Terry Francona had All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis try to bunt. But after failing twice to get the ball down and advance the runners, Kipnis struck out looking, dropping him into an 0-for-18 hole. "I had him bunt because hes had a tough time with Deduno," said Francona, noting Kipnis was 1 of 11 with six strikeouts against the right-hander before the at-bat. "That one would be on me." Bourn was given the green light to steal on a 2-0 pitch to Carlos Santana, and thought he got a decent jump, but was thrown out by Herrmann, who is filling in for Mauer. Then, following Dedunos third walk, Michael Brantley tapped out weakly to end the threat. "I felt like I knew what was going on and he made a great throw," said Bourn, who has 19 steals but has been thrown out 10 times. "Every time I try to run this year they have a sixth sense or something. But thats part of base stealing. If I feel like I can get him, Ill try to get him." It was a typically uneven outing for Jimenez, who had some bright moments and a few where he appeared on the ropes. He gave up two runs and five hits. Jimenez struck out the side in the first two innings, but trailed 2-1 as the Twins got RBI doubles from Pedro Florimon and Herrmann in the second. "I dont know if he got mad, but he reared back and competed and let it go," Francona said. "I thought tonight was the best stuff he had all year. He was really good." Jimenez was in trouble right away. The Twins loaded the bases in the first on two walks and a double, but the right-hander, whose inconsistency has been maddening for the Indians, kept them off the scoreboard by striking out Willingham, Ryan Doumit and Trevor Plouffe, who has pounded Cleveland pitching this season. NOTES: Santana had Clevelands lone RBI with a first-inning single. ... Mauer visited a concussion specialist at the Mayo Clinic and was cleared to begin a light exercise program. ... The Twins have struck out 1,086 times and are on pace to break the club record of 1,384. ... The Indians will flip-flop starters Zach McAllister and Scott Kazmir, who will now pitch Sunday instead of Saturday. The club wants to give Kazmir an extra day to keep him fresh. He recently complained of having a tired arm. ... The Twins will recall RHP Liam Hendricks from Triple-A Rochester to start Saturday. The Australian got his first major league win in Cleveland, snapping a string of 17 starts without a victory, the third-longest streak to begin a career in history. ' ' '