TORONTO -- It goes down as a comfortable win. But it was far from an impressive performance. "We set basketball back 15 years in the first half," Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey quipped after his team defeated the Orlando Magic 105-90 at the Air Canada Centre Sunday night. "But like I told our guys, were going to have a lot of games where were going to have to grind it out," Casey said. "For whatever reason, we struggle in the first half and then come through, turn it on. "But I also think thats a little bit of growth on our part." After shooting a woeful 41.7 per cent from the field in the first half, the Raptors shot 12-for-14 in the third quarter to blow the game open on the way to win their second straight and fifth in six outings. "Just coming out with a different kind of intensity," point guard Kyle Lowry said when asked about the key to turning things around in the second half. "Weve got to figure out a way to start the game the way we start third quarters. "Thats how weve got to come out from now on." Lowry had 17 points in the third as the Raptors (31-25) widened a three-point halftime lead to 15. Lowry, who was just 1-for-7 from the field in the first half, hit all five of his attempts in the third quarter. He had four from beyond the three-point arc in the period, including a 25-footer at the buzzer which brought the crowd of 17,435 to their feet. Lowry scored the final 14 points for the Raptors in the third quarter and the first two of the fourth quarter as Toronto stretched the lead to as much as 18 points. Toronto is six games above .500 for the first time since Feb. 24, 2010, when they were also 31-25. Facing the struggling Magic (17-41), the Raptors were uncharacteristically sloppy, turning the ball over 24 times, which led to 25 Orlando points and allowed the visitors to keep the game close. "Were not that good of a team to just ease our way into the game," Lowry said. "Weve got to come out and play with our hard-nosed and hard-headed intensity from the start." Lowry scored 28 points, including four three-pointers to run his career-high mark to 134 this season. DeMar DeRozan added 24 points for the Raptors, who had five players score in double-figures. Amir Johnson left midway through the third quarter with what was described by Raptors personnel as a right ankle sprain. He had 12 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes before leaving. Casey said it didnt appear Johnson hurt it as badly as earlier in the season when he missed two games. Tobias Harris matched Lowrys 28 points to lead Orlando, which fell to 3-26 on the road. It was the Magics 15th straight loss away from home. The Raptors led 19-14 after the first quarter; 44-41 at the half and 80-65 going into the fourth. "You cant put your finger on the slow starts," DeRozan said. "Maybe we like a challenge sometimes by putting ourselves in a tough situation, so we can fight our way out. "We have to stop that and understand that we have to come out of the gate, so we dont make the game that hard on us." The Raptors visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday before returning home to host the Washington Wizards on Thursday and the Golden State Warriors next Sunday afternoon. . Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62. . Millsap will miss Wednesday nights game against the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks say Millsap also will be held out on Thursday at Boston.
http://www.cheapraysjerseysauthentic.co ... -hu-jersey. TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then. . He could have transferred when academic sanctions barred the Huskies from the NCAA tournament his junior season. .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston.PARIS -- France will look to teen centre Gael Fickou to provide the creative spark against an Ireland team desperate to give Brian ODriscoll a perfect send-off in their final Six Nations match on Saturday, with both teams still in contention to win the tournament. After several substitute appearances, the 19-year-old Fickou makes his first start of the campaign as one of four changes to face an Irish team full of attacking menace after scoring 13 tries so far. The midfield contest between Fickou and the 35-year-old ODriscoll promises to be an intriguing one between the worlds most capped player and one looking to become a future great. "The speed and youth of Gael Fickou gives us some interesting options. Hes in form and we need to see him express his talent," France coach Philippe Saint-Andre said. "It will be a real challenge for him and Mathieu Bastareaud against a good pair of centres. But we believe in him. Hes settled in our squad now and is feeling good both mentally and physically." Fickou, who scored a dramatic late winning try in the 26-24 win over England, replaces Maxime Mermoz, ineffective in last weekends 19-17 win at Scotland, while the other change in the backs sees flyhalf Remi Tales replacing Jules Plisson. France, Ireland and England -- which plays in Italy -- have six points each and can all still win the tournament. Ireland has by far the best points differential (+81) of the three title contenders, while France has the worst (+3) behind England (+32). France has to beat Ireland and hope England draws or loses in Rome to stand a realistic chance of winning the trophy. "We will try and put in a great performance, and if we manage to please our fans it will be a bonus," Saint-Andre said. "Were preparing ourselves for a match of the highest level after drawing the last two seasons against them." History counts against Ireland in Paris, where they havent won since 2000, but they have an extra incentive this time. ODriscoll makes his 141st test appearance in a brilliant 15-year career on the same ground where he scored a hat trick of tries in 2000 to give Ireland its first victory in Paris since 1972. "We dont want to make it ODriscolls party," Saint-Andre said. Fourteen years ago, a fresh-faced ODriscoll burst onto the international scene with three expertly-taken tries in Irelands 27-25 win, his blend of speed, flair, safe hands and attacking instinct marking him out as one of the players for the future.dddddddddddd Fickou now finds himself in a similar position and is earmarked as a future great. Last weekend, ODriscoll pushed back the years with one of his best performances in the green jersey of Ireland. Although he did not add to his 46 international tries, he played a part in three of his teams first four tries in a crushing 46-7 win over Italy at Lansdowne Road. "Hes a great player, and hes been a great servant to Irish rugby and to world rugby. When he arrived on the scene at Stade de France, he was an unknown and he scored three tries," Saint-Andre said. "He could have been French because he had incredible flair, a capacity to keep the ball alive, to make a pass after contact. He captained the British Lions, he captained Ireland and hes brought so much to world rugby." Tales will line up alongside scrumhalf Maxime Machenaud in the 12th halves pairing Saint-Andre has selected since taking over from Marc Lievremont after France lost the 2011 World Cup final to New Zealand. Saint-Andre was disappointed with Plissons defending against Scotland. "Plissons statistics in defence were not good enough," Saint-Andre said. The two changes in the forwards see Dimitri Szarzewski returning from injury to replace Brice Mach and Louis Picamoles reinstated at flanker in place of Sebastien Vahaamahina. France won its opening two matches of the tournament but then lost 27-6 at Wales before edging past Scotland in another error-strewn performance lacking in creativity. "If I have to take the blame for it then so be it, but leave my players out of it," Saint-Andre said. France was previously dominant in the scrum but has struggled to get to grips with rule changes and has also been ineffective in the lineouts. "The problem rests with us, we have to concentrate on our throws and our jumps," No. 8 Damien Chouly said. "We must be more demanding of ourselves and each other." Saint-Andre said that Picamoles and Chouly will switch positions during the match. ------ France: Brice Dulin, Yoann Huget, Mathieu Bastareaud, Gael Fickou, Maxime Medard, Remi Tales, Maxime Machenaud; Damien Chouly, Alexandre Lapandry, Louis Picamoles, Yoann Maestri, Pascal Pape (captain), Nicolas Mas, Dimitri Szarzewski, Thomas Domingo. Reserves: Guilhem Guirado, Vincent Debaty, Rabah Slimani, Alexandre Flanquart, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Wenceslas Lauret, Jean-Marc Doussain, Maxime Mermoz. ' ' '
