Member » Duncan was rejected by Favours on one play

TORONTO - The Raptors locker room was unnervingly quiet Friday evening, about how you would expect it after the implausible ending that sealed the teams fate in a double-overtime disaster. In the back corner sat an inconsolable John Salmons, the elephant in the room. Facing his locker, Salmons slouched forward in his chair, his head down in his hands and a long black towel draped over him. One by one his teammates came over to comfort him, patting him on the back and offering words of encouragement. He didnt move. He remained in that position, perfectly still for over 30 minutes. They win as a team and they lose as a team, but Salmons felt the brunt of it on this night. What seemed like a sure victory late in the second overtime period began to unravel when an exceptional player made an exceptional shot. With the Raptors up by eight, 49 seconds away from an improbable victory and season-sweep of the 50-win Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant banked in a 27-foot three-point jumper. Following another Thunder three - this one courtesy veteran assassin Derek Fisher - Salmons threw away an inbounds pass on the baseline, only to break up Durants runner and get sent to the line. With less than 10 seconds remaining, now up two, Salmons clanked both free throws, paving the way for the leagues leading scorer to do what he does best. Break hearts. "Great players make great plays," Dwane Casey said of Durant, moments after his 31-foot pull-up dagger gave the Thunder a 119-118 victory. Since coming over from Sacramento in December, Salmons has been praised for his poise and veteran savvy late in games, many of which hes helped them win. This was not his finest hour. "Hes a veteran (and) in those situations youve got to believe in him, that hes going to make those free throws," Casey said of Salmons, playing in place of Terrence Ross, who left the game with a hip contusion. "We had to go with John in that situation. Hes been one of our best defenders in that situation, but its not just one guy." The Raptors, now 1-6 in OT this season, need to close out these types of games. Salmons needs to be better down the stretch, they know it and so does he. It was three months ago, almost to this day that the Raptors pulled off their most impressive win of the season, a 104-98 victory in Oklahoma City. Coming off an OT win in Dallas a couple days prior and trailing by as many as 10 in the fourth, Toronto shocked the Thunder, who were undefeated at home at the time. "It helped kick start us going forward," Casey said of that night. "It helped our chemistry, it helped our togetherness it helped blend in the old and the new guys together." It would not have happened if not for Salmons. The 12-year vet spearheaded his new teams comeback, scoring nine points in the final quarter. After the game his teammates raved about his leadership and calming effect on the floor. Kyle Lowry gave him the game ball. Like Patrick Paterson - still out with an injured elbow - Greivis Vasquez, who was spectacular before fouling out Friday, and Chuck Hayes, Salmons fingerprints are all over the teams resurgence and that should not be forgotten, internally or externally. The Raptors proved something to themselves in OKC that night. They proved that they belonged. Three months later, clinging onto the Easts third seed and top spot in the Atlantic Division, they fell just short of proving something to everybody else. For whatever reason the franchise and its fan base has been battered by losses of the devastating variety to the point in which theyre almost immune to them. Toronto has lost 10 straight overtime games at home, an NBA record. "It does (hurt)," Casey admitted, "but we cant let it." "We cant let this game (give us a) hangover. (Its) a big learning experience for our guys. Youre playing with one of the top teams in the league, one of the top players... and you give yourself a chance to win in (double) overtime." KD the magnificent It seems impossible to fathom that Friday once started off as a slow night for Durant. The Thunder forward made just three of his 12 first-half shots but once Russell Westbrook went down in the third quarter - colliding with Lowry and spraining his surgically repaired right knee - Durant, with the help of some generous officiating, completely took over. Durant scored 51 and finished with 12 rebounds and seven assists, getting to the line 19 times and extending his streak of 25 or more points to 34 games, longest since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. Amirs memorable game Playing in his 500th career contest, Amir Johnson nearly willed his team to victory. The Raptors forward recorded a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds, connecting on 12 of his 19 shots in 50 minutes of action. He also spent the bulk of the second half guarding Durant, per his own request made after Ross exited with the hip injury. "It was tough, man," he said, asked about defending the leagues leading scorer. "Hes my height, out there shooting from half court. Theres not too much you can do but double team that." "He did a great job," Casey added. "I felt for him. Hes hurt. He was all over him, draped over him. (Durant) made a tough shot. Theres nothing Amir did wrong." The stat For the first time since Jan. 13, 2013, the Raptors had four players score 20 or more points. Along with Johnson, DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 33 points, hitting all but one of his 16 free throws, while Lowry added 25 and Vasquez scored 21 off the bench. The quote "We couldnt go another overtime," Durant said. "I had to live with whatever happened. You had to get out of there. I wasnt trying to go to another overtime. I pulled up for it, it looked good when it left my hands and God guided that thing to the basket, man. That was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of." Air Max 720 France .Corey Brewer had 19 points eight rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Timberwolves, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time since Ricky Rubio went out with an injured ankle on Nov. Air Max 720 Soldes . But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters. https://www.grossistechaussurepascher.fr...s-cher-52a.html. Brassard and Coyotes defenceman Derek Morris were battling for position in the crease when a nudge from Morris sent Brassard on top of Smith late in the third period. Nike Air Max Pas Cher Destockage . Sweeting scored two in the first and three in the second before Strong (4-4) got two back in the fourth. Sweeting then scored three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to grab a commanding 9-2 lead. Nike Air Max 97 Pas Cher . -- On any given day here at his companys Silicon Valley headquarters, Vivek Ranadive is ready to compete against any employee who wants to challenge him to any contest.SALT LAKE CITY -- Tony Parker scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to rally the San Antonio Spurs to a 91-82 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Boris Diaw scored a season-high 17 points and Tim Duncan added 14 to help the Spurs run their winning streak to seven in a game that matched the team with the best record in the Western Conference against the team with worst mark in the league. The Jazz took a 67-60 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Spurs started doing what they do best -- driving the lane for layups or hitting the spot-up shooters in the short corners. Derrick Favors had 20 points and 18 rebounds for Utah, which led by as many 15 points early in the game. Gordon Hayward added 15 points and Richard Jefferson had 14. Danny Green hit two 3-pointers, Diaw hit another and Parker converted a three-point play in the first two minutes of the final period to give the Spurs their first lead since the opening quarter. Although it was San Antonios fifth game in seven nights, the Spurs were stronger down the stretch. The Jazz were flying all over the court but couldnt hit their shots (7 for 25 on field goals in the fourth quarter) while the Spurs let Parker go to work penetrating, passing and scoring. Parker hit a free throw to give the Spurs an 83-75 lead with 4:38 remaining and the Jazz never got closer. Utah outrebounded San Antonio 50-43 and had 20 second-chance points to two for the Spurs, but their lack of accuracy led to yet another loss.dddddddddddd The Jazz shot 38.5 per cent in the game. After Utah jetted to a 29-14 lead after one quarter, Diaw scored 10 points to draw the Spurs within 40-37 in the second. Alec Burks, who has played almost exclusively at the 2-guard, started at the point and got into foul trouble guarding Parker and finished with 12 points. The Jazz were the last team in the league to get its first win when they defeated New Orleans 111-105 Wednesday, but the fourth-quarter touch they enjoyed in that one was not apparent Friday. Utah is the worst shooting team in the NBA. Duncan was averaging 7.0 points on 5-of-27 shooting in his last three games, but played a season-high 34 minutes against Utah and had nine rebounds and three blocked shots. San Antonio allows fewer than 90 points per game and became extra stingy, continually denying Jazz forays to the hoop at the end. NOTES: After Duncan was rejected by Favours on one play and then aggressively defended by the Utah forward on another in the first half, he vehemently complained to official Scott Wall and received a technical foul. . Marvin Williams had his nose broken when Duncan accidentally smacked him in the first half and then wore a goggle mask for much of the second half. . The Spurs had 22 fast-break points to 10 for Utah. ' ' '