zhanjiao1212
Geregistreerd op: 28 Jan 2019
Berichten: 330
|
 Geplaatst: 19-03-2019 04:52:50 Onderwerp: TORONTO - Rudy Gay could barely stand as he prepared to spea |
 |
|
|
| TORONTO - Rudy Gay could barely stand as he prepared to speak to the media minutes after a back-and-forth affair with the Wizards. Cheap Stan Smith Uk . The Raptors forward, who has been battling the flu since Thursday evening, skipped shoot around Friday morning but played 31 minutes in his teams resilient 96-88 victory at the Air Canada Centre. "I actually came here feeling worse than I did this morning, but there was no stopping me. I was going to play," Gay said, sitting down. "I was out of breath and theres other things that happen when youre sick, but I had to push through it for my team." Gays first-half performance reflected his pain and was just about the only thing that went wrong for Toronto in the opening 24 minutes. The Raptors shot 51 per cent, held Washington to 38 per cent - allowing 11 points on four-of-21 shooting in the second quarter - and took a commanding lead at home despite Gay going just two-of-10 from the field. As he missed a jumper, his team up 14 late in the second quarter, the home fans - unaware of his illness - began to boo. "He had the flu and [high] temperature and gutted it out," coach Dwane Casey said. "I was proud. He struggled a little bit, but down the stretch he came through for us." With Gay struggling, the Raptors good fortune finally ran out in the third quarter, an ongoing concern for the team. The Wizards outscored Toronto 32-15 in the period. John Wall had 18 alone. A 13-point halftime lead quickly became a four-point deficit. Gay had just six points on three-of-13 shooting. "You can see why he got paid all that money," DeMar DeRozan said of Wall, who scored 30 of his game-high 37 in the second half. Toronto had no answer for Wall. Thats when Casey and the Raptors threw the Wizards a curve ball. For the first time in four games, D.J. Augustin checked in to spell Kyle Lowry at the point. Terrence Ross, coming off a couple strong performances, and Steve Novak shared the floor as the Raptors regained control of the game with the help of Gay and their zone defence. "We had to mix it up," Casey admitted. "Our man [defence] wasnt working. We had to go to something else and it had to be our zone. It worked for us, it got them out of rhythm and it got us into rhythm. We work religiously on the zone and guys are still learning it. It worked out for us tonight." After losing his job as the back-up point guard four games into the season, Augustin got a rare opportunity. It was one that he received in an unfortunate circumstance with rookie Dwight Buycks - the acting back-up - away from the team following the passing of his father. Still, it was an opportunity he didnt waste. Augustins first shot was a three-pointer, the first hes made all season after missing nine straight attempts. His quickness and knack for the draw and kick helped turn the momentum back in Torontos favour. "Hes a pro," Casey said of Augustin. "He kind of fell out of the rotation. To his credit, the young man has worked at it. Hes stayed after practice, worked late, come back at night and worked on his shot. It paid off." "Im a firm believer, if youre heart and your mind is in the right place good things will happen for you," said the coach. "And if theyre not, youre sitting on the bench pouting and upset because somebody is getting an opportunity, nothing good is going to happen for you. His heart is in the right place, his mind is in the right place." Augustins resiliency sparked his team and its leading scorer. Gay was a perfect three-for-three in the fourth quarter and added three of his four blocks - one of them of the highlight variety - in the final frame. "It just slowed down," Gay said. "I feel like I was trying to fight through the fact that I was a little sluggish, a little slow. In the fourth quarter, I just let it come to me and it was a lot easier." Exceeding 20 assists in back-to-back games, both victories, the Raptors offence is coming along as they continue to sit atop the Atlantic Division with a 6-7 record. Up next The Raptors will have the day off Saturday, a day of rest Gay plans to take full advantage of, and return to practice on Sunday ahead of their next game at home to the struggling Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. Cheap Stan Smith Wholesale . The Big Man finished 3-1 in Week 19, and sits at 53-24 on the season. Now Schultz is ready for more action. Discount Stan Smith Uk . Watch the action live on TSN and listen on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Raptors maintained their spot atop the Atlantic Friday after defeating the Wizards, 96-88, for their second win in a row. http://www.discountstansmithuk.com/ .com) - The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with running back Jackie Battle on a one-year contract Friday.Louisville, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Coming off their first-ever ACC loss, the now sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals will attempt to right the ship, as they play host to the Virginia Tech Hokies in a conference clash at the KFC Yum! Center on Tuesday evening. Rick Pitinos Cardinals have just two losses all season. The first came against top-ranked Kentucky (58-50) and the second on Saturday at 18th-ranked North Carolina (72-71). The loss to the Tar Heels was the first in conference play for Louisville and ended a three-game win streak. Buzz Williams first season in Blacksburg hasnt exactly gone according to plan. The Hokies are hovering just over .500 at 8-7, but the team is still looking for its first ACC victory, entering this contest with a three-game losing streak in tow. The team was last in action on Jan. 6, an 86-75 road loss at Florida State, leaving the team 0-2 in conference play. Louisville has dominated this series overall with a 28-8 edge in games played since the series began in 1978. The Cardinals have won nine straight meetings. The Hokies shot a solid .519 from the floor in the first half against Florida State, but it was the Seminoles that were red-hot, going .731 from the floor, including a ridiculous 7-of-10 from behind the arc in the first stanza. Despite both teams cooling off considerably after the break, Tech was unable to overcome and earn a win. The loss spoiled terrific performances by guards Justin Bibbs and Adam Smith, who combined for 49 points. Bibbs topped all scorers with 25, followed closely by Smiths 24. Virginia Tech is by no means an offensive juggernaut, averaging 69.4 ppg this year, but the team haas been efficient at that end of the floor, converting almost 48 percent of the time (. Adidas Stan Smith Wholesale. 478). Bibbs leads the team in scoring at 13.5 ppg, but has really taken over in conference play, netting 23.5 ppg through two outings. Smith is the only other Hokie currently averaging double digits in the scoring column at 12.7 ppg. Joey van Zegeren is just under the mark however, with 9.8 ppg. Louisville let one slip away in Chapel Hill over the weekend, as the Cardinals allowed a 13-point lead with under nine minutes to play evaporate, culminating in a one-point loss to the Tar Heels. The team was led once again by guard Terry Rozier, who finished with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in the loss. Fellow guard Chris Jones poured in 19 points, while forward Wayne Blackshear finished with 10 points. All-America candidate Montrezl Harrell struggled however, as the big man tallied just nine points and five rebounds in 38 minutes of work. The Cardinals lack of defensive grit down the stretch against UNC has not been the norm this season. In fact, Louisville remains one of the top defensive units in the country, yielding just 56.5 ppg on a mere .364 shooting. Rozier has emerged as one of the ACCs top scorers this season, coming into this matchup averaging 17.5 ppg. Harrell has struggled a little of late, but is still shooting .584 from the field and averaging 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Jones and Blackshear provide offensive options with their 13.2 and 12.4 ppg, respectively. However, there is almost no scoring depth behind the four starters, as the fifth-best scoring option on the team nets a mere 4.1 ppg. ' ' ' |
|
