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DENVER - The Toronto Raptors will have newly-minted All-Star DeMar DeRozan in the line-up tonight when they open a western road trip against the Denver Nuggets. cheap nfl jerseys . The Raptors have DeRozan listed as questionable after he missed the last two games with an ankle and foot injury. Toronto also said that Amir Johnson (ankle) and Patrick Patterson (broken nose) will also play. After Fridays bout with the Nuggets, the Raps will visit the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers. They return to Toronto for two before the All-Star break. DeRozan was selected as a reserve for the game in New Orleans, and will be the Raptors first representative in the All-Star game since Chris Bosh in 2010. "It means a lot," acknowledged DeRozan, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury. "I continue to work hard. I wouldnt be here without my teammates. They helped me get here." Against the Magic, Kyle Lowry, who missed out on a spot on the East All-Star squad, scored 30 of his 33 points in the first and third quarters and the Raptors led wire-to-wire in a 98-83 win. Amir Johnson added 22 points and 11 rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas scored 14 with 15 boards for the Raptors, who have won four of five. The Nuggets continue to be an enigma. After a three-game losing streak, Denver won two in a row, but laid an egg Wednesday night when it kicked off a four- game homestand with a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Al Jefferson pummeled the Nuggets with 35 points and 11 rebounds in the 101-98 loss. Randy Foye scored 33 points, Evan Fournier had 19 to go with six assists and Timofey Mozgov added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Nuggets. Denver guard Ty Lawson missed the game with a strained left rotator cuff that he suffered in Sundays win over Sacramento. Lawsons replacement, Nate Robinson, was injured in the first quarter after a fall under the basket. He limped off the court and did not return. Lawson will not play, while Robinson suffered a sprained anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Robinson has been ruled out of Fridays game, but theres no timetable as he awaits further evaluation. If Lawson cant go Friday, Foye will assume the point-guard duties. If Lawson is out long-term, that might signal the return of veteran Andre Miller, who has been away from the team since Jan. 2 for personal reasons. (Miller and head coach Brian Shaw got into a heated exchange on the court.) "Ive always said that I can coach any player that is willing to play and do whats best for the team overall," Shaw said. "If hes willing to do whats best for the team overall, Im willing to coach him. Ive said that before; Im saying it again." The Nuggets defeated the Raptors in Toronto on Dec. 1 and have won 16 of the last 19 meetings. Denver has taken nine straight over the Raps at the Pepsi Center. cheap jerseys from china . Olivieri, at city hall to help kick off ticket sales for the Aug. 5-24 event to be held in four Canadian cities, said Wednesday that Canada has a new generation of talent on the rise that can make its name just as Sinclair did at the same event in 2002 in Edmonton. jerseys from china . A Los Angeles judge on Thursday said the case wont finish by Tuesday but will continue on July 21 because some lawyers for team owner Donald Sterling have personal plans. Sterling is suing to block his wifes unilateral deal to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizonas offence was disjointed, the shots werent falling, the free throws clanging one after another. Playing without injured forward Brandon Ashley for the first time, the second-ranked Wildcats looked out of sorts on the offensive end, leaving them in jeopardy of their first losing streak of the season. Good thing they know how to play defence, particularly when the game is on the line. Digging in over the closing minutes, Arizona overcame a rough shooting night to win in their first game without Ashley, grinding out a 67-65 victory over Oregon on Thursday night. "Our defence down the stretch is what we rely on," said Nick Johnson, who led Arizona with 18 points. "We have all year." The Wildcats needed it against Oregon. Coming off its first loss of the season, Arizona (22-1, 9-1 Pac-12) laboured offensively without Ashley, who is out for the season with a foot injury suffered last Saturday in a loss at California. The Wildcats went 4 for 16 from three-point range, missed 16 free throws and had a tough time even getting into their set plays. They turned up the pressure with the game on the line and, as they have for much of the season, found a way to make the big plays when they needed to. Point guard T.J. McConnell missed seven of his first eight shots before dropping in a three-pointer with 90 seconds left to give Arizona the lead. Johnson went 5 of 16 from the field, but kept fighting his way through it and hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 47 seconds. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson provided the Wildcats with a big lift, too, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and all kinds of not-in-the-box score contributions with his hustle in his first start in place of Ashley. "Our offence was a little out synch play-wise, but we battled back," McConnell said. "Weve done that so many times this year, been in games like that before, so I think were a battle-tested team." Oregon (15-7, 3-7) held its composure in one of college basketballs toughest road arenas, keeping the Wildcats at bay well into the second half. When Arizona turned up the pressure and the fans in the McKale Center turned up the noise, the Ducks had no answer. Oregon had a couple of key turnovers late and missed 3 of 4 free throws while shooting toward the raucous Arizona student section in the final 23 seconds. Joseph Young and Jason Calliste had 14 points eaach and Damyean Dotson added 12 for the Ducks in another oh-so-close loss. cheap jerseys. "Theyre hurting," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "This is their third two-point loss. I just told them weve got to be resilient. It hurts having an opportunity and not being able to finish." Arizona had to shuffle its lineup with Ashley out, moving Hollis-Jefferson into the starting lineup and long-range shooter Gabe York into his sixth-man role. The new-look rotation was solid early, dropping in 3-pointers and flying in for dunks while Kaleb Tarczewski had his way inside for 10 points and five offensive rebounds. After that, it was a struggle. With the Ducks double-teaming Tarczewski in the post and McConnell out with his third foul late in the first half, Arizona could only find an offensive rhythm in stretches. The Wildcats didnt help themselves at the free throw line, either, making 11 of 19 in the first half. Arizona got off to a slow start in the second half and trailed most of the way as the shots continued to bounce away. The Wildcats have proven to be strong-minded most of the season -- their only loss was on a last-second shot by Cal -- and again found a way to pull out a not-so-pretty victory. "Tonights game is a real tribute to the team that we have in that it took a lot of resiliency on our part, a lot of belief and toughness because things werent going our way," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. Oregon, the defending Pac-12 tournament champion, has been in a downward spiral since conference play started, losing five straight after being ranked as high as 10th. The Ducks bounced back with two wins in their previous three games, but still needed to start winning to have a chance at returning to the NCAA tournament. After a slow start, Oregon started dropping in shots to lead 38-37 at halftime. The Ducks pushed the lead to seven points midway through the second half, but faltered down the stretch. Oregon fell behind by four after a shot-clock violation and a wild three-point attempt by Young, yet still had a chance in the closing seconds. The Ducks pulled within 64-62 on Dominic Artis shot in the lane, but he missed two free throws and Calliste hit 1 of 2 as Arizonas fans waved wildly in the background. "I thought we were in pretty good shape, but didnt finish it," Altman said. Arizona did, just as it has most of the season. wholesale jerseys ' ' ' |
