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Greece, Japan eye improvement - 6pm et/3pm pt (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TEAM 1410) Natal, Brazil - Two teams hoping to rebound from tough opening-game losses will meet when Greece clashes with Japan in Group C action Thursday at Estadio das Dunas. Steve Smith Sr Ravens Jersey . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. The Elephants picked up serious momentum in the second half, though, scoring in the 64th and 66th minutes to pull ahead and grab a 2-1 victory. Both teams will be looking to hang onto their hopes of pushing through to the knockout stage with a crucial three points. Greek midfielder Georgios Samaras insisted there was reason for his side to remain positive moving forward after being held without a goal. "We have more to give at this tournament, but I think we showed something today," he said. "It was a strange game. For the first five or six minutes, we didnt seem to be 100 percent in it and we conceded a bad goal. But after that, we had a lot of possession, a lot of pressure, and created some quite good chances." Japan boss Alberto Zaccheroni claimed his men gave their all but were not quite cohesive enough. "We werent aggressive enough and we need to improve on that because weve been playing better than that," he said. Honda had his own take on where things went wrong, believing that Japan didnt have enough possession. "Possession, that is our strength," said Honda. "When we have the ball we just need to keep the ball and not give it away easily. When we do lose the ball we should press immediately. That is our philosophy. The last game we lost the ball too easily so that is how we spent a lot of energy in the first half, that is the point. That is why we must concentrate on keeping the ball." Given the defensive lapses that contributed heavily to these teams opening- match defeats, Greece will be looking to build on those aforementioned positives, while Japan will be hoping to stay composed for a full 90 minutes and do better on the ball. Both teams will also be hoping for a draw in the match between Colombia and Ivory Coast, the two teams looming overhead at the top of the group. Joe Flacco . Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre. Terrell Suggs Jersey . 8 exhibition game marking the leaders birthday. Rodman said the game is on track despite the recent execution of Kims uncle in a dramatic political purge. Rodmans visit comes less than a week after North Korea announced the execution of Jang Song Thaek, an unprecedented fall from grace for one of the most powerful figures in the country.NEW YORK -- In the final dramatic couple of minutes Sunday night, offensively-gifted DeMar DeRozan turned into a defensive superstar, sent sprawling to the floor when he took two charges. Not to be outdone, hobbling six-foot point guard Kyle Lowry dropped a lovely sky hook over 6-11 giant and future Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett. The final minutes of the Toronto Raptors 87-79 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday could define this young team and their season -- fighting to the end, finding a way to win. "Thats just us, man," DeRozan said. "Were resilient. Were not going to give up until the games over, were going to fight it through. . . We did it on the defensive end to win this game." DeRozan scored 24 points and Lowry added 22 to lift the beaten-up Raptors to their first playoff victory on the road since Game 1 against Philadelphia way back in 2001. After the final whistle, a smiling coach Dwane Casey said it was the most proud hes ever been of his team. "(But) were on a mission, its a marathon," the coach added. "We cant get too excited about a win, cant get too down about a loss. Thats what the playoffs are about." Amir Johnson, playing on the wonky ankle that has plagued him all season, finished with 17 points. Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez finished with nine points apiece off the bench, and Patterson grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series heads to Toronto tied at two wins apiece. Game 5 is Wednesday at Air Canada Centre, while Game 6 will be back at Barclays Center on Friday. The Raptors led by as much as 17 points -- the biggest lead by either team in this series -- in the first half, but struggled through the second and third quarters, running into foul trouble and failing to hit shots. Still, the nailbiter went into the fourth tied at 67-67. From there, the Raptors dug in with one of their best defensive efforts of the season, holding the Nets to just three baskets in the final 12 minutes. And when the final whistle blew, the Raptors fans in attendance at Barclays Center stood and applauded the Toronto players off the floor. "I think were just encouraged," Lowry said. "Were going home 2-2. Were encouraged by that. We got a split, now its a three-game series, now weve got to take care of home. Our confidence is high, were excited." Lowry, who came away from Fridays game with a bad right knee and a busted lip, was noticeably limping at times. "Im OK," Lowry said. "Its something thats controllable, we can do what weve got to do to get through the playoffs, its nothing where I need surgery. Its definitely a pain, but Im not going to worry about it, Im not going to complain about it, Im going to go out there and do my job." Lowry kept his composure despite playing the entire second half with five fouls. "Hes dealing with a lot right now, and he came through with flying colours," Casey said. "Fought through foul trouble, a little bit of adversity throughout the game and still came through." Lowrys teammates heaped praise on their tough-as-nails point guard in the post-game dressing room. "I am not surprised at all that Kyle is limping around," Chuck Hayes said. "Man, he was limping all four quarters. Hes a warrior. Hes everything to this team. The guy gives it his all. We just feed off him." Lowry and DeRozan -- the teams leaders through this remarkable season -- sat side by side at the podium after the game, addressing the media. They talked about the chemistry in this young team. "Were a pretty close-knit team, we understand the situation that were in, its a stepping stone for us," Lowry said. "Were getting our feet wet. This man (DeRozan) is becoming a superstar in front of everybodys eyes. Hes doing it on the defensive end, the offensive end." They both chuckled when Lowry was asked about his late-game hook shot over Garnett that gave Toronto a sixx-point lead. Daryl Smith. "I think that was the first time (Ive done that) in a game," Lowry said. "Thats something I work on in the summertime. Kevin Garnett is 6-11, hes a guy who can block shots, and I thought that was a shot I can go to. I took the shot to be aggressive. It looked good. It felt good." There was more laughter when DeRozan was asked if the two charges he took down the stretch marked a career high. "Nah. I dont think so. I hope its not," DeRozan said. "With Kyle (being injured), I knew I had to pick up the offence early, so I did that, just come out aggressive and I knew they were going to change up and start trying to get the ball out of my hands. . . I knew I could do some things on the defensive end and thats what I did." Paul Pierce led the Nets with 22 points, while Mirza Teletovic had 12. Garnett and Deron Williams finished with 10 points apiece. "Theyre a competitive group," Pierce said on the Raptors play down the stretch. "Weve seen that all season long, how well they play, getting 48 wins, how well they play in the fourth quarter, so many comeback wins. We understand that this is a group thats not going to back down, thats not going to give up. They earn a lot of respect around the league." The Nets won Games 1 and 3, while the Raptors took Game 2 in whats been an incredibly even matchup all season between these two teams. Prior to Sunday, Toronto had outscored the Nets 678-677 in their seven meetings. The Raptors had struggled with turnovers all series, but cleaned up their act Sunday, giving up the ball just 12 times. The one negative on the night was Terrence Ross, who was M.I.A. for a fourth straight game. Couple with his struggles, Landry Fields being sidelined with a bad back, and the number of Raptors in early foul trouble, Casey went deep into his bench, utilizing John Salmons, Chuck Hayes and Steve Novak for stretches of the third and fourth quarters. Ross, who dropped 51 points in a game earlier this season, has struggled in his playoff debut, and had another rough night Sunday, finishing with zero points in 16 minutes. Fields, who got dumped on his back during Fridays game, didnt dress. While the Raptors braced a hostile crowd at Barclays Center -- especially after GM Masai Ujiris now famous F-bomb about Brooklyn -- it never really materialized. The crowds on either Friday or Sunday didnt pack the auditory punch of the Air Canada Centre. Fans waved white towels, and there was the odd chant of "Ref you suck!" A group of Nets fans chanted "Raptors suck!" before the singing of O Canada. There were large pockets of red-clad Raptors fans in attendance, and their cheers for Raptors baskets down the stretch almost negated Brooklyns homecourt advantage. Rihanna sat courtside, along with Michael K. Williams and Felicia (Snoop) Pearson -- Omar and Snoop from "The Wire." Williams did the Nets introductions. Russian boxer Ruslan Provodnikov, the current world light welterweight champion, was also in attendance. Meanwhile, back in Toronto on Sunday, thousands of fans jammed Maple Leaf Square to watch the game on the giant screen outside Air Canada Centre. They chanted "We the North!" Two fans participated in a tug-of-war with a Nets T-shirt on stage, eventually ripping it. Amir Johnson led the way with 11 points as the Raptors sprinted out to an 11-point lead just three minutes after tipoff. They continued to build their advantage, and seven straight points by Johnson put Toronto up by 15. They led 35-22 at the end of the first. The Raptors stretched their advantage to 17 points with 5:40 left in the first half. But the Nets went on a 14-2 run to pull within five points. The Raptors headed to the locker-room with a 51-44 lead at halftime. Toronto went a horrible 1-for-16 to open the third quarter, but managed to remain within five points of the Nets, and the game went into the fourth all tied up. ' ' ' |
