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BOSTON -- DeMar DeRozan understands that a playoff berth for the Raptors has meaning beyond Torontos locker room. Allan Houston Cyber Monday Jersey . Terrence Ross scored 24 points, Kyle Lowry 23 and the Raptors edged closer to their first playoff spot since 2008 with a 99-90 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. "Not just the franchise, the whole city of Toronto and Canada," said DeRozan, sitting at his locker with his left foot in a bucket of ice. "Ive been here five years and see how passionate the fans are. It definitely means a lot. We feed off them, the energy they bring every single night. That would be great for the city and we have to take advantage of the opportunity." DeRozan added 20 points for Toronto, which increased its Atlantic Division lead to 2 1/2 games over Brooklyn. The Raptors could have clinched a playoff spot if the Knicks lost at Sacramento later Wednesday, but New York beat the Kings 107-99. It was Lowrys eighth straight game of 20 or more points and helped the Raptors snap an 11-game losing streak in Boston. "Im not going to lie," Lowry said. "I think everybody tonight is rooting for that Western Conference team over there." The Raptors are also chasing a division title. They face Boston in the back end of a home and home on Friday. "We cant be satisfied just making the playoffs," DeRozan said. "We could go out there and play four games and be home. Weve worked too hard to get to this point just to slow down and pace ourselves. Weve got a long, long way to go." Jared Sullinger led Boston with 26 points, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and Avery Bradley scored 16. Boston lost for the seventh time in eight games. "Sully got hot and I thought even though we were really undersized we played pretty well in that time," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. Toronto captured its 19th road win, one off the club record set 2000-01. Boston guard Rajon Rondo was cut on the forehead midway into the third quarter and received nine stitches. He returned to the bench early in the fourth quarter with a bandage that ran from the bridge of his nose straight up to his forehead and he re-entered the game with 8:05 to play. He finished with 15 assists and nine points. "I think it obviously says a lot," Stevens said. "He wants to play and I think the most important part about it is he came back in and guarded DeRozan. He went after it and I think he did a pretty good job on him." The Raptors had opened a 79-64 lead early the fourth quarter, but Boston went on a 9-0 run. Toronto pushed it back to 85-75 before Sullinger nailed consecutive 3s 34 seconds apart, narrowing it to four points with just under 6 minutes to play. "I saw that Rondo went down so I saw that we needed production, so I took it upon myself and just tried to get the best shots possible," Sullinger said. Chris Johnsons basket -- on an officials reviewed goaltending call -- closed it to 93-90 with 1:49 left, but Lowry and Ross hit consecutive 3s on the next two possessions to send the Raptors to the victory. In the third quarter, Lowry nailed consecutive 3s on Torontos first two possessions, pushing the Raptors lead to 61-46. They held at least a nine-point lead for the rest of the quarter, opening it to 77-62 after Ross nailed a 3 at the buzzer. Toronto, which blew an 11-point second-quarter lead in less than 2 minutes, held a 55-46 advantage at halftime. NOTES: A few minutes before the opening tip-off and about 10 after the National Anthems were completed, the Celtics asked the crowd to rise for a moment of silence to honour two Boston firefighters that were killed battling a fire in the citys Back Bay section -- about three kilometres away. ... Stevens praised Raptors G Lowry before the game. "(He) is playing terrific," Stevens said. "He was arguably an All-Star earlier. He makes a lot of plays that dont go talked about." ... Sullinger had 25 points and 20 rebounds when the Celtics beat the Raptors at home on Jan. 15. He had eight boards on Wednesday. Gigi Datome Black Friday Jersey . The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday at 4:05 p.m. Tickets for Monday will be honoured Tuesday. The forecast Monday calls for heavy rain throughout the day. Danny Green Cyber Monday Jersey . Greg Chase and Kenton Helgesen also scored for the Hitmen (18-7-4), who extended their win streak to five games, while Brady Brassart chipped in with two assists.COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- Deshorn Brown scored twice, the first coming 13 seconds into the game, and the Colorado Rapids beat the undermanned Seattle Sounders 5-1 Saturday night. Browns initial goal set the record for the quickest in franchise history. Dwayne De Rosario holds the MLS mark with his score 11 seconds in for San Jose against Dallas on Sept. 27, 2003. "Of course we wanted to start quickly," Brown said. "Thats why we wanted to run that play, one we had worked hard often in practice." On the opening score, Gabriel Torres gained control of the ball along the west sideline and found Brown alone. Brown made several strides before releasing a low driving shot that got past goalkeeper Michael Gspurnings desperation dive. "I ran hard to a spot," Brown said. "The ball came my way and I just took it." Dillon Powers, Gabriel Torres and Drew Moor added goals for Colorado (13-9-9). The Rapids, 4-2-0 over their last six games, moved into third place ahead of idle Los Angeles in the Western Conference. "We had a start teams can only dream of," Colorado coach Oscar Pareja said. "You can work towards a great start, expect them, but you can only dream the way we started." Eddie Johnnson scored for Seattle (15-9-6). John Starks Black Friday Jersey. . The Sounders were 1-0-1 in the first two meetings and dropped to 9-2-2 all-time against Colorado. "Weve got to be ready to play from the beginning," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. "You cant give up a goal 13 seconds into a game. "We cant just walk on the field and assume you are going to win the game," Schmid added. The Sounders were without leading scorer Obaemi Martins (hip), midfielder Clint Dempsey (hamstring) and defenders Djimi Traore (hamstring) and Leo Gonzalez (hip/groin). The Rapids kept up the pressure. Vincente Sanchez quickly put a corner kick in play and Powers sent a header into the back of the net in the 10th minute. Brown scored again in the 31st after Sanchez and Hendry Thomas moved the ball ahead to Brown. Brown beat off pressure from Seattle defender DeAndre Yedlin and beat Gspurning just inside the left post. Moor made it 4-0 off Sanchezs corner kick in the 41st. Johnson had Seattles lone scoring chance when his shot grazed the crossbar in the ninth minute. The Sounders picked up the pressure after intermission. Colorado goalkeeper Irwin stopped Johnsons header early in the second half. He couldnt stop Johnson in the 63rd. ' ' ' |
