CARACAS, Venezuela -- Cory Joseph gave his teammates a spark when they needed it as Canada got off to a promising start at the FIBA Americas Championship basketball tournament. Cheap NMD Online . He also played 37 minutes, something Canadian coach Jay Triano said cant happen every game. Joseph scored 17 points and added 10 assists and eight rebounds as Canada defeated Jamaica 85-64 in Fridays tournament opener. The San Antonio Spurs guard had his best stretch at the end of the third quarter, when Canada was in need of a lift. Jamaica had a 15-0 run in the third to cut Canadas once sizable lead, but Joseph capped the quarter with a three-pointer to put Canada up 60-50. Joseph scored Canadas last eight points at the end of the third. "He had us going," Triano said. "I thought his coming off of ball screens and what he was doing was very good." But Triano is going to need other players to step up and take the pressure off Joseph. Canada plays four games in five days at the tournament, including three in a row, which will require the coach to utilize his entire roster to cover off minutes. "We cant play Cory this many minutes moving forward, but we knew the importance of this first game and getting us off to a good start," Triano said, adding he believes Canada has the depth to address the issue. "Just because a guy like Andrew Nicholson only plays 16 and a half minutes today, doesnt mean hes going to play that tomorrow. Hell probably have games where hes up into the 30s." Brady Heslip added 17 points off the bench for Canada. Levon Kendall had 13 points and eight rebounds while Tristan Thompson had 11 points and 12 boards. Triano said Heslip, who plays college basketball with Baylor, adds a needed offensive element to the Canadian roster. "Hes got a very good basketball IQ," Triano said. "He knows where to find spots and where to score points. He and Andy (Rautins) are both guys who can spread the floor for us. "Scoring points is going to be an issue for us, so if those guys can not only score points but contribute by making good plays and getting good assists, then thats going to make it better for us." Adrian Uter led Jamaica with 16 points and eight rebounds. Canadas next game is Saturday against Puerto Rico, which was a 78-71 winner when the teams met last week at the Tuto Marchand Continental Cup. "Their ability to come off screen and rolls, their ability to get into the paint, collapse the defence then kick out the threes ... those are going to be the keys for us," Triano said. "We have to do a good job of containing the ball." The four tournament semifinalists advance to the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. Cheap Adidas NMD 2019 . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. Cheap NMD For Sale . With the Nets winning streak in jeopardy, Williams scored 23 points, 11 in the final six minutes, to lead Brooklyn to a 104-99 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/wholesale-adidas-nmd-r1-china.html . The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player. Canadas Patrick Chan sits in second place in mens figure skating after a solid performance in his short program at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. One of his main rivals, Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, sits just ahead of him in first place. Chan skated a largely clean routine, although he stumbled slightly in landing one of his triple axels — a jump that CBC figure skating analyst Kurt Browning said is "not his favourite comfort jump." Chans score of 97.52 was only one point off his all-time personal best of 98.52 in the short. It was not enough to surpass Hanyu, however, who beat his own world record in the short program with a score of 101.45 today in the event. Chan is the world record holder in the long program, which starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET. Despite having been home to several prominent figure skaters over the years, no Canadian man has ever won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Spanish skater Javier Fernandez is in third place, atop a group of skaters bunched tightly together, with only four points separating third place from eighth. Plushenko retires Earlier in the day Evgeni Plushenko surprised the figure skating world by withdrawing during warm-ups to his short program because he injured himself while awkwardly landing a jump. He then went to the judges table before bowing to the crowd and leaving the ice, saying later it felt like "a knife in my back. Adidas NMD Womens Sale. " "After the first triple axel I stepped out and felt terrible pain in my leg and the second one was just a terrible landing," Plushenko said. "I couldnt feel my legs after it." He later announced his retirement from competitive skating. "I am sorry for my fans and for everybody, but I tried till the end. I almost cried," he said. "This is not how I wanted to end my career. I am very disappointed. But I tried to do my best." Plushenko, a three-time medallist in the mens event, was a darkhorse for the podium this time around and the host countrys only representative in the event. Another Canadian skater, Kevin Reynolds, failed to land two jumps and hit the ice twice during his short program, scoring a 68.76. Thats well off his personal best in the event of 85.16. "It was a disaster out there," Reynolds said after he finished skating. "I lost it on the first jump and it just snowballed from there. The result is where Im sitting now. Its incredibly disappointing for me." Reynolds performance was good enough to make the cutoff to perform in the free skate tomorrow. With files from Olympic News Service ' ' '