TORONTO - Kyle Lowry was the first player on the floor, shooting around before the game. Cheap Basketball Shoes For Sale . It was just after 4:00pm, three full hours ahead of tip-off at the Air Canada Centre. Lowry has been the subject of trade speculation for the better part of two days but the Raptors point guard, who shrugged off the rumours Friday morning, continued to lead his current team, a team that looked unrecognizable in a wire-to-wire win over the road-weary 76ers. "He was a leader out there on the floor and thats what we need from him, that leadership," Casey said of Lowry, who has now led Toronto in assists in 13 straight games. "He didnt get frustrated because he couldnt get some shots to go down. He still got the ball where it needed to go and that was huge." With his name linked to multiple trade reports, Lowry faced the rumours head-on when he met with the media Friday morning. Instead of sulking or worrying about where he might end up, Lowry smiled, cracked a few jokes and promised to go about his business here until hes told otherwise. In what may have been his last home game as a member of the Raptors, Lowry recorded a season-high 11 assists, committing just one turnover despite shooting just 2-of-9 from the floor. Once again Lowry set the tone and his teammates - three of them making their Raptors debut - followed his lead. Three nights after totalling 23 assists in a loss to the Spurs, the Raptors continued to play a team game in the aftermath of Mondays Rudy Gay trade. DeMar DeRozan - also scoring 27 points - added six assists, including five in a dominant first quarter. His first three set up Terrence Ross, who had a breakout performance scoring a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. "Thats the way weve got to play," Casey said of Torontos ball movement. "Because were not going to beat anyone with stellar one-on-one play each and every night. Weve got to help each other with the screen and trust the pass." Averaging just 18 assists per contest this season, the Raptors have totalled 66 dimes in three games since Gay was traded. They opened the evening with 12 assists on 14 made field goals, outscoring Philadelphia 36-21 in the first quarter and would later seal the game on a play that embodied this teams new offence. With just under two minutes remaining, the scrappy 76ers down two, DeRozan caught the ball off a screen on a pass from Lowry. Once the double came, DeRozan swung it back to Lowry who hit Ross in the corner for a momentum shifting three-pointer. Amir Johnson scored seven of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, sending the 76ers away with their 10th straight loss on the road. In their Raptor debuts, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez were the first three players off Torontos bench. With all three on the floor at the same time to begin the second quarter, Philadelphia ripped off a 20-7 run, cutting Torontos lead to two. The learning curve was apparent. "Theyre learning," Casey acknowledged. "Theyre learning the system, were kind of learning to play with each other." "I like what I saw," he said. "Going forward I think they are going to mix in quite well." Patterson shot just 1-of-5, scoring five points in 18 minutes while Salmons scored three in just under 20 minutes of action. Vasquez was the most impressive of the three but not in the way he would have hoped. "Tonight I did not have that many assists," said the pass-first Vasquez, who recorded just two but hit five of his seven shots for 12 points in 17 minutes. "The thing that stood out for me was that we were moving the ball without me in the game. We were passing and getting shots and that is fun to watch." "If we keep doing what we did tonight we are going to be really hard to guard and we will win a lot of games." For the first time all season, Casey could comfortably rest Lowry without fearing the significant drop-off that would inevitably ensue at the point guard position. With Lowry on the block, Vasquezs role figures to expand. Up next The Raptors travel to Chicago to face the Bulls (9-12) in the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday. Chicago had lost five of six games before defeating the Bucks 91-90 in Milwaukee Friday night. The fourth Raptors newcomer, Chuck Hayes, will not be available to play or practice until he completes routine baseline cardiac tests at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday. Cheap Basketball Shoes Online . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Cheap Basketball Shoes Wholesale . -- The Chiefs have signed seven players to reserve/future contracts, including running back Joe McKnight, a former fourth-round pick of the New York Jets. http://www.basketballshoescheap.net/ .com) - Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard notched a win, while second-seeded two-time champion Ana Ivanovic, third- seeded Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and fifth seed Sabine Lisicki all exited the draw at the Generali Ladies Linz tennis event.TAMPA, Fla. -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. Stamkos gave Tampa Bay a 5-2 lead from the low left circle during a power play at 10:47 of the third. The Lightning star, playing in his fourth game since missing 45 games after breaking his right shin Nov. 11, also had an assist after three pointless games. Callahan scored from in-close to put the Lightning up 3-2 at 12:04 of the second. The Lightning obtained the right wing from the New York Rangers for former captain Martin St. Louis at the trade deadline. Tampa Bay, which had lost five straight (0-3-2) also got goals from Sami Salo, Michael Kostka and Tyler Johnson. Goalie Ben Bishop won his 30th game this season. Tomas Fleischmann, Quinton Howden, Scottie Upshall and Brandon Pirri scored for the Panthers, who have lost 11 of 14. Upshall and Pirri scored in the final 1:05 to get Florida to 5-4. Johhnson made it 4-2 with 1:07 left in the second when he sent the puck into the slot and it deflected off Florida defenceman Ed Jovanovski and past goalie Dan Ellis. Best Cheap Basketball Shoes. Stamkos assisted on Johnsons goal. The teams both scored twice in the first 8:18 of the game. Florida, which entered last in road power play at 6.5 per cent (8 for 124) converted its first chance on Fleischmanns goal at 1:44. After Salo tied it at 5:38, Howden put the Panthers up 2-1 on his first NHL goal, coming from the low left circle just 12 second later. Kostka tied it at 2 at 8:18. NOTES: It was Stamkos first goal since Nov. 9 against Detroit. ... Lightning C Valtteri Filppula had three assists. ... Ellis, acquired from Dallas for Tim Thomas on March 5, made his Panthers debut. ... It was Howdens first NHL game this season and 19th overall. He was recalled from San Antonio of the AHL Wednesday. ... Florida LW Sean Bergenheim didnt play due to a lower body injury. ... Salo (lower body) and teammate Radko Gudas (left leg) both played. ' ' '
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