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TORONTO - On a night when DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry struggled from the field, Jonas Valanciunas and the rest of the Toronto Raptors stepped up to ensure a victorious season opener.Valanciunas had 17 points while Amir Johnson added 16 points as Toronto earned a 109-102 home win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.DeRozan had 15 points but finished 4 for 16 from the field and 0 for 1 from three-point range. Lowry, who signed a new four-year, US$48-million deal this summer, scored 11 points but made 3-of-11 shots and missed his three three-pointers. But the pair found other ways to contribute as DeRozan recorded career highs in rebounds (11) and steals (six) while Lowry added 10 assists.Im not just trying to be a scorer, DeRozan said. If were not making shots we all have to figure out ways we can affect the game in a good way.I think the first one is always the toughest . . . you want to get that win out of the way.Toronto shot 41 per cent from the field but made 27-of-33 free throws, outrebounded Atlanta 48-40 and had 26 assists with just nine turnovers .The Hawks shot 50 per cent and 59.1 per cent from three-point range (13 of 22) but committed 19 turnovers that led to 23 Raptors points.Theres other ways to win other than looking at the shooting stats, Toronto head coach Dwane Casey said. We had 26 assists and only nine turnovers and that was huge for us . . . we got to the free-throw line and out-rebounded them.Added Lowry: We are a team, we are a complete team. DeMar and I didnt play that well offensively but we did other things to help the team win.Greivis (Vasquez) played well, the big fella (Valanciunas), Amir played well and everyone filled up a role.Johnson eclipsed his previous opening-night high of 13 points for Toronto, which improved to 11-9 all-time on opening night and 8-6 when starting the season at home. That delighted the loud, enthusiastic Air Canada Centre sellout of 19,800, many donning the free white We The North t-shirts left on their seats as they arrived.The crowd was really good, it reminded me of the playoffs, said Valanciunas, who was 4 for 5 from the field and made 9 of 10 free throws. They were standing, cheering for us, that was great.Terrence Ross added 13 points for Toronto, now 12-8 all-time in home openers while Williams added eight points against his former team. The Raptors acquired Williams and Lucas Nogueira from Atlanta on June 30 for John Salmons.Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague and Mike Scott all had a game-high 20 points for Atlanta.The Raptors are coming off a club-record 48 wins last year that earned them their first playoff appearance since 2008. But Torontos promising season ended with a heart-breaking seven-game opening-round loss to the Brooklyn Nets.Toronto will face teams that qualified for last years playoffs in four of its first six games. The good news is the Raptors will play nine of their first 12 contests at the ACC, where they were 26-15 last season.Toronto was 2-2 last year with Atlanta, which claimed the eighth Eastern Conference playoff seed last year with a 38-44 record. The Hawks season also ended bitterly with a 4-3 opening-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers.But it was an anxious finish for Toronto, which led 90-71 early in the fourth on consecutive baskets from Valanciunas. However Scotts three-pointer pulled Atlanta to within 103-99 with 1:26 remaining before two Lowry free throws boosted the Raptors lead to 104-99 with 46.8 seconds left to play.A goaltending call on Patrick Patterson allowed Atlanta to make it a four-point game (105-101) before two DeRozan free throws increased Torontos lead to 107-101 with 32.4 seconds to play. Teague made one-of-two free throws to make it 107-102 but Pattersons dunk with about 13 seconds remaining cemented the victory.It wasnt like we were slacking, Casey said. A couple of times in transition we lost them but a lot of times they made shots.Sometimes you have to tip your hat to a team thats shooting that well.Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer credited his team for rallying from the 19-point deficit in the fourth.I felt good about our guys fighting back, he said. We have to take care of the ball.Our turnovers led to a few of their runs so if we can take care of the ball better I think that will help us. They were a little bit more physical, a little bit more active than us for more of the game. Williams buzzer-beater put Toronto ahead 86-71 at the end of the third after the Raptors outscored their visitors 26-19 in the quarter.Toronto led 60-52 at the half as three-pointers from Ross and Patterson anchored a 9-2 run to finish the half. The Raptors had extended their lead to 38-28 earlier in the quarter but following three three-pointers from Korver, Atlanta pulled to within 51-50 on five straight points from Teague, including a three-pointer with 2:23 remaining.Al Horfords basket in the dying seconds cut Torontos lead to 24-22 after the first. Atlanta led just once in the quarter, 3-2 on Korvers early three-pointer before the Raptors went on a 9-2 run to regain the advantage with Johnson and DeRozan scoring six points apiece.NOTES — Casey appeared in his fourth opening-night game for Toronto . . . This marks the first time Toronto and Atlanta have met on opening night . . . As part of the Raptors 20th anniversary, the team will sear a special patch on its home white jersey . . . Centre Greg Stiemsma (sprained ankle) was out for Toronto . . . While Toronto posted a 7-1 exhibition record, Atlanta was 4-3 . . . In Torontos four games versus Atlanta last year, DeRozan was the Raptors leading scorer three times. Lowry was the top point-getter in the other . . . Toronto visits the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Outlet .com) - A top-10 showdown is on tap in at the McKale Center on Saturday, as the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats play host to the eighth-ranked Utah Utes in a key Pac-12 matchup. Custom Nike New York Yankees Jerseys . Aaron Hill and Cliff Pennington hit home runs in the first inning for the Diamondbacks, who beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Friday night. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/. 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Custom Nike Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . Canada wasnt in the game from the outset. Head coach Dan Church left Calgary in the morning without addressing the players. He told The Canadian Press he felt the organization lacked confidence in his ability to defend the Olympic gold medal in February. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Online .com) - Top seed Klara Zakopalova reached the second round, while former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone came up a loser Tuesday at the inaugural Rio Open tennis event.Before the 2013-14 NCAA season began, CBSSports.com listed Syracuse point guard and Toronto native Tyler Ennis at 69 on its "Top 100 Players in college hoops." Michigan guard and fellow Canadian Nik Stauskas was one ahead at 68. With 42 days before the NBA Draft in New York City, two of three analysts of the same website have Ennis getting selected in the top 10, while all three have Stauskas going in the 10-14 range. "Ive played against some of the best players in the world and Ive played against some of the best players in my class," Ennis said at the NBA Combine, which began Thursday. "I just have the confidence and I know how hard I work and I know my abilities." Played is the operative word in that sentence. For as much as the 19-year-old Ennis and 20-year-old Stauskas did to get noticed on the court, they both understand to fulfill their NBA dreams theyll have to impress potential employers off the court just as much. "People know how I play and I think the main thing for teams is to get to know me and know if they are going to draft me, what theyre going to deal with," Ennis said. "They want to see, as a nineteen-year-old coming out of college, if youre able to lead grown men in the NBA and I think they are able to get a feel for that in the interviews." The process is something all players have to go through and Stauskas is doing his best to combat the expected nerves. "The main thing for me is to just try to be myself and let teams know what kind of person I am and how I grew up and how I got to this situation right here," the Mississauga native said. Stauskass upbringing could serve him well when talking to NBA clubs. His family originally hails from the basketball-mad Lithuania. "t;Im a good person, really hard-working, and I come from a great family.dddddddddddd I think thats important for people to know and I just want them to know that Im not doing this because I want money or anything like that," he said. "Obviously, the moneys great, but Im really doing this just because I love the game of basketball. This is whats made me happy since I was seven or eight-years-old. I feel like if teams really get that vibe from me, theyre going like that." Both Stauskas and Ennis sat out the first day of the combine. Each player was officially measured - height, weight and wingspan - but neither participated in any of the on-court drills. "Before the combine started, knowing what the drills were going to be, I felt a lot of it was just jump-shooting," Stauskas said. "Obviously, thats the strongest part of my game and I feel that teams already know I can shoot the ball, so coming in, I felt that even if I had a great day shooting the ball, it wasnt really going to do much for me because teams already know thats my strength." Both Canadians, however, will participate in physical testing and the aforementioned team meetings. And although the footage of their abilities is likely endless at this point, both players say there will be a few surprises awaiting any and all who will be watching. "Im not the one dunking all the time but Im able to jump pretty high and Im a lot faster than people think," Ennis said. "Going through the combine I think my numbers will show that its more surprising than people expect. "I dont think people realize I can jump the way I do or run the way I do," Stauskas echoed, "so Im really looking forward to tomorrow, getting in there and working." ' ' '