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While the loss stings, the Raptors are still in the drivers seat,

in Neues 29.09.2019 05:35
von sakura698 | 420 Beiträge

Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork. Sean Poppen Twins Jersey .com) - Gordon Hayward joked last month on Twitter that hed crush LeBron James in a game of one-on-one. Hayward was talking about video games, but he did get the best of James on Wednesday. Hayward stepped back and drained a right-wing jumper at the buzzer to lift the Utah Jazz to a 102-100 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. James, who had six points in the final 13.9 seconds, hit three free throws after drawing a foul from beyond the arc on Derrick Favors with 3.4 seconds left to tie the game, but Hayward had the answer at the other end to send the Cavs to a 1-3 start. Hayward took an inbounds pass at the top of the arc as James fell down, took a few dribbles to his right, stepped back and rose over the outstretched arm of Tristan Thompson as time expired. Hayward finished with 21 points and seven assists, Derrick Favors posted 21 points and 10 rebounds and Enes Kanter added 18 points for the Jazz, who have won two of three since starting 0-2. Kyrie Irving netted a game-high 34 points and James provided 31 for Cleveland, which trailed by as many as 16, but Irvings runner with 5:25 left staked the Cavs to their first lead of the second half at 87-85. James nailed a jumper to make it 89-86 before Utah responded with a 10-1 run. Favors put in a reverse layup and split a pair of free throws to cap the surge and give the Jazz a 96-90 advantage with 1:29 to go. After Alec Burks sunk two foul shots to give Utah a 98-94 spread, James swished a fadeaway triple from the left corner with 13.9 ticks on the clock. Burks knocked down two more freebies at the other end prior to James three makes from the charity stripe. Earlier, the Jazz made nine of their first 11 shots and raced out to a 22-14 start before settling for a 32-23 cushion following a quarter of play. Utah led 59-48 at halftime and built the margin as high as 15 early on in the third. Cleveland closed the third on an 18-6 surge to get within 76-75 heading into the final frame. Game Notes Utah outrebounded Cleveland 41-30 and held a 46-38 advantage in the paint ... The Cavs scored 24 points off 15 Utah turnovers ... The last team to win an NBA title following a 1-3 start are the 1990-91 Chicago Bulls. C. J. Cron Jersey . "There are a lot of things that are going very well in this organization. Im not coming in here to rip things apart," Nicholson told reporters Friday. "I know what Hockey Canada was when I started, and I know where this (Oilers) organization is today. Michael Pineda Twins Jersey . -- Pelicans coach Monty Williams does not expect guard Eric Gordon to play in any of New Orleans final five games this season. https://www.cheaptwins.com/512t-mitch-garver-jersey-twins.html . -- Arizona coach Bruce Arians says there "were obviously very, very many problems" with the officiating in the Cardinals 24-21 loss at Philadelphia.TORONTO - Although no one cared to admit it, on either side, at the outset of the evening, Mondays divisional grudge match in Brooklyn meant more to the Raptors than the game that preceded it or the one to follow. The stakes were higher, the competition more fierce and the atmosphere was that of a playoff game - something the young, upstart Raptors have five weeks to better prepare themselves for or the result will be eerily similar. If they looked out of place in that environment, its probably because they were. Torontos starting five features a fifth-year star that has yet to make a playoff appearance. Theyre the only team currently in a playoff position that starts two sophomores and its been five years since either their point guard or power forward has experienced postseason basketball. Combined that lineup accounts for 24 games of postseason experience. Staring them down in the final minute of a one-possession, high stakes game was a Nets unit that has collectively participated in 268 playoff contests. Paul Pierce alone is responsible for 136 of them while Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko - both out with injuries - would have added another 176. The Nets took a five-point advantage into the fourth quarter and, for all their hardships this season, they had only lost one of 30 games in which they held the lead after 36 minutes. Thats the difference experience makes. The Raptors, despite a valiant effort, showed up to a knife fight armed with plastic forks. "This team here in Brooklyn is a championship-caliber team," Dwane Casey said following his teams 101-97 loss. "They know the plays to make to win games. Weve still got to learn that. Were on our way but we still have some learning to do." Although the Raptors remain the NBAs best fourth-quarter team, outscoring opponents by 158 points in the final frame this season, their late-game execution continues to be a work in progress. When ahead or behind by five points or less in the final three minutes, Toronto shoots 37 per cent, the ninth-lowest mark in the league. Theyre 15-18 in games that come down to that scenario. On Monday, Pierce hit what may have been the biggest shot of the night - a cold-blooded three to break a tie with just over a minute left and the shot clock ticking down - while the Raptors wilted in the moment. Down one, 30 seconds later, Toronto got the stop it needed, leading to a five-on-four break the other way. In the midst of a brilliant second half, Kyle Lowry found DeMar DeRozan in transition, believing he would continue to go hard to the bucket. Randy Dobnak Twins Jersey. Met by Pierce in the lane, DeRozan lateraled back to Lowry, who wasnt expecting the pass and turned down the shot. John Salmons, receiving the ball from Lowry, also hesitated on an open look from the elbow, which ultimately led to Terrence Ross fumbling the ball as he looked to salvage the broken play. It was a possession mired in indecision and it sealed Torontos fate. The Nets - 10-for-14 from three-point range after the first quarter - hit big shots and made winning plays. They looked like the desperate team, and rightfully so. Had they won, the Raptors would be sitting pretty in the Atlantic Division, five games up on Brooklyn with the season-series tiebreaker in hand. Instead, Brooklyn has pulled within three games of the division lead. "[The atmosphere] was definitely a notch higher because of what was at stake," DeRozan admitted after the game. "Theyre chasing us and were leading in the division. It was just a big game overall. Theyve been playing well, trying to make a playoff push and were trying to sustain our position so it definitely was a big game." While the loss stings, the Raptors are still in the drivers seat, controlling their own destiny with 20 games to go. "It was a disappointing loss in the fact that theyre a team thats battling us for the division," Casey said. "Theres still a lot of basketball left to play. Weve got to stay positive. Its not the end of the world. We werent going to go undefeated the rest of the way. We knew that." Should Toronto and Brooklyn share the same record atop the Atlantic when its all said and done, with the season series now even, the tiebreaker would go to the team with the most wins within the division. The Raptors are currently 8-3 with five games left to be played against Atlantic opponents while the Nets are 7-5 with four remaining. Each of those games could be crucial - including two meetings with New York in the final week of the season - for the Raptors who are hoping to win their second division title in franchise history. Sink or swim, that will be determined by what theyre able to take out of Mondays squandered opportunity. "Its a learning experience," DeRozan said. "It was a heck of a game that we can learn from and possibly could be a team we could see in the playoffs." ' ' '

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