Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » cheered Miller when he

SACRAMENTO - The Raptors nearly got away with what should have been one of their most lopsided defeats of the season. Down by 22 early in the fourth quarter, the Raptors - on the heels of yet another fierce comeback - had cut their deficit to six as Kyle Lowry launched what could have been a game-changing three pointer. Kings rookie Ben McLemore closed out hard and the two collided just before Lowrys shot dropped and the whistle blew. Had the bucket counted and, assuming Lowry then connects on the subsequent free throw, the Raptors would have been down by two with 25 seconds remaining. Instead, official Eric Lewis called the foul on the shooter. Lowry had kicked out his leg on the jumper, he explained. The call was bold, to put it mildly, and in disbelief, Lowrys reaction earned him his second technical foul of the game. He was done for the night, heading straight to the locker room, and for all intents and purposes so, too, were the Raptors. On the night, the Raptors were assigned three techs. They finished the game with more personal fouls (35) than Kings field goals (32). Lowry, like the rest of his teammates, didnt say much following Wednesdays 109-101 loss in Sacramento. What he did say spoke volumes. "I cant say what I really want to say," Lowry commented, biting his tongue. "Its as simple as that." Theyve all lived through this narrative before, most recently in Portland this past weekend. Questionable officiating aside - theyve seen their fair share of that, too - slow starts followed by one last-ditch effort to save the day have become the norm. Its a bad habit that the likes of Indiana and Miami can get away with because theyre Indiana and Miami. When the Raptors play with fire, more often than not, theyll get burned. Dwane Casey, moments after lacing into his players in the locker room, could have gone after the officials but wisely chose to save his money and direct his angst at the team. Correct what you can control was the mindset, and the Raptors have displayed a few glaring faults worth correcting. "We havent done anything, Ive been repeating this, we havent done anything in this league yet to come out and play in second gear until we try to turn it on," said the Raptors coach, his team giving up 92 points and trailing by 20 after three quarters Wednesday. "Were not that good and, until we have that disposition from start to finish, were going to be disappointed a lot. Ive said that warning, Ive given that warning and like I just told them, they have to decide how they want to live." The emotions of the evening got the better of them. On a night in which seven players - including the Kings Rudy Gay - faced their former team for the first time since Decembers trade, Sacramento came out with the focus that escaped the Raptors. "Its a business" is a phrase that was uttered over and over on both sides leading up to the much-anticipated reunion between Gay and the Raptors, but only one team followed through on it. "Were out hugging, giving [high] fives and all that," said a disappointed Casey. "This is a business and I didnt think our disposition from start to finish was in the fight mode, the hungry-team mode." The Raptors had rallied around Gay as he made his first trip back to Memphis earlier in the season and the Kings did the same Wednesday. The former Raptors forward and leading scorer had a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, but he didnt do it alone because he didnt have to. DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 and Isaiah Thomas added 23. Combined, the three Kings accounted for 41 of the Kings 51 free throw attempts. Toronto made just 24 trips to the line. "Its about putting your body on someone," Casey said. "The fundamental box-out, going to get it, getting to rebounds, all the little things that you have to do. And then you put them on the line 51 times because either youre late or out of position." Just like it did in Portland on Saturday, Torontos defence took the first half off. The Kings - a 16-win team going into the evening - scored 30 points in the first quarter and 37 in the second. By halftime, four of their five starters were in double figures. The Raptors are a resilient bunch, sure. Comeback specialist Steve Novak checked in and promptly knocked down three triples. They made a game of it, as theyve been known to do, but when you rely on the miraculous, you leave yourself vulnerable to the unpredictable nature of crunch time in the NBA. Things happen. In Portland, it was a relatively unforced turnover on the games final possession. In Sacramento, it was a bad call. The visitors locker room in Sleep Train Arena - easily the coziest in the league - was filled with frustrated players, packed together like sardines. They had every reason to be frustrated, but as Casey stressed to them, they need to look inward. "We got guys who are going to fight to the end, but we cant let ourselves get down by 20 and think we are going to come back every time," said John Salmons, one of four Raptors who came over in the trade from Sacramento. "Its not going to happen every time." "Like I told the guys in the locker room, it was probably the worst game weve played since I got here," said Chuck Hayes, another former Kings player. "This ones probably going to [cause us to] lose a couple hours of sleep but weve got to get over it." Air Max 90 Uk Sale . "Ive got a lot of work to do on this team and the sooner that I can get back to my office and start that work, itll be better," he said straight-faced as the rest of the room erupted in laughter. Air Max 90 Sale Outlet .com) - The Golden State Warriors have started another winning streak and theyll try to pad it Tuesday night when they head to Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers. http://www.airmax90ukcheap.com/ . -- Kurt Buschs Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, in some ways, was like his career wrapped into one afternoon. Air Max 90 Uk Cheap . Weise will have his hearing with the NHL head office over the phone, while the league has requested an in-person hearing with Kassian. Oilers centre Sam Gagner suffered a broken jaw after getting hit with a high stick from Kassian in Edmontons 5-2 win. Wholesale Air Max 90 . - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday. MINNEAPOLIS -- There will be plenty of drama for the Oakland Athletics as they head down the home stretch in the pennant race. Probably not the kind of drama that unfolded Wednesday night against the Minnesota Twins, though. Jed Lowries foul ball that turned into a two-run double after umpires changed the call highlighted a 10-run fourth inning as Oakland pounded Minnesota 18-3. Every Oakland starter had at least one hit, one run and one RBI as the As recorded a season-high 22 hits and extended their lead over Texas in the AL West to three games. Lowrie, Coco Crisp and Stephen Vogt also homered. Yoenis Cespedes had three RBIs to help the As score their most runs in a game since beating Boston 20-2 on Aug. 31, 2012. "Once we got rolling there, we never stopped," Josh Donaldson said. Lowries foul ball turned two-run double helped keep the As rolling in the fourth. With runners on second and third and three runs already in, Lowrie lined a ball down the line that first-base umpire Bill Miller ruled foul as he danced out of the way. Lowrie pointed at the ground inside the white line where he thought the ball hit. Oakland manager Bob Melvin came out to argue, and Lowrie was eventually awarded a two-run double after the entire umpire crew huddled and changed the call. "Bottom line is thats an impossible call for Bill," Lowrie said. "His natural reaction is to get out of the way. They told me they just want to get the calls right, and they did." Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected by Miller after a long argument, the fifth time hes been tossed this season and the 67th ejection of his career. Fans at Target Field sarcastically cheered Miller when he gave the foul signal after Brandon Moss, the next batter, lined a foul ball down the first-base line. Gardenhire didnt want to talk about the call after the game. "Were not going to talk about anything else. Im not going to talk about all that crap," he said. "Cant do anything about it now." Sonny Gray (3-3), who had received fewer than four runs of support over his last six starts, struck out seven in five innings for the win. The right-hander had to sit in the dugout for 35 minutes during the marathon fourth inning, but welcomed the extra run support. "I wish we could score as many runs as possible every day," Gray said. "Its a confidence boostt for our whole team.dddddddddddd." Grey almost had a couple more runs. In the fifth, Josh Reddick of the As drove a ball off the top of the wall in the right-field corner that Miller ruled a home run. The call was overturned after a replay review -- the first at Target Field this season -- and Reddick had to trot back out of the dugout to second base. Mike Pelfrey (5-12) was removed with no outs in the fourth, before all the theatrics that followed Lowries hit. He allowed seven runs and eight hits and has won just once since July 11. "This is probably the worst outing Ive had in a long time," Pelfrey said. "I fell behind guys and threw balls over the middle, and thats whats going to happen." Relievers Josh Roenicke and Ryan Pressly combined to allow six runs and six hits before the fourth inning was finally finished. Eric Fryer, called up from Triple-A Rochester on Monday, hit his first career home run in the sixth to give the few fans remaining at Target Field something to cheer about. The Twins allowed season highs in runs and hits. "Ive been a part of some games that have been lopsided," As manager Bob Melvin said. "But never a game where all the starters had one hit, one RBI and one run scored." As it tries to hold off the Rangers down the stretch, Oakland will play the Twins five more times. The As will only see the Rangers for one more three-game series -- this weekend in Texas. NOTES: Twins GM Terry Ryan said C Joe Mauer "didnt have a good day" so the team sent him home early. Mauer, out since Aug. 20, had been making progress in returning from a concussion. ... Reddick was not in the starting lineup for the second straight day after being activated from the 15-day DL with a right wrist injury. He entered the game in the bottom of the fourth. ... Baseball America selected 19-year-old Twins CF Byron Buxton as its minor league player of the year on Wednesday. "Couldnt be more proud of the kid. Heck, thats quite the year hes had," Ryan said. ... Buxton hit .334 with 49 extra base hits and 55 stolen bases during stints at Single-A Fort Myers and Low-A Cedar Rapids this season. ... Scott Diamond (5-10, 5.52 ERA) will make his first start for the Twins since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester in Thursdays series finale. A.J. Griffin (13-9, 3.91) will start for Oakland. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '