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OKLAHOMA CITY - The Toronto Raptors will be in search of another victory over a tough Western Conference opponent tonight when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder. Vladimir Tarasenko Blues Jersey . You can see the game on TSN beginning at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Raptors are in the midst of a four-game trek and got off to a great start with a 109-108 overtime victory on Friday in Dallas over the Mavericks. DeMar DeRozans jumper with 1:11 left in overtime proved to be the difference as the Raptors held the Mavs scoreless to close out the extra session. It was DeRozan who sent the game to overtime with two of his 15 points with just 16 seconds left. "We were sleepwalking early. I thought we were feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit. I had to get their attention and they did. Guys responded," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "They came out swinging, hit us with a haymaker, and Im proud of the way our guys fought back. Thats what the NBA is all about." Kyle Lowry scored a team-high 20 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 18 with 13 rebounds while Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson finished with 15 points apiece for the Raptors, who have won three of their last four. Greivis Vasquez managed 14 for the second unit. The Raps will also visit San Antonio and New York on this sojourn. The Thunder have won three straight against Toronto. The Raptors have dropped two straight and six of the last seven as the visitor in this series. Oklahoma City will try to run its winning streak to 10 games tonight against the visiting Raptors. The Thunder havent lost since a Dec. 4 setback in Portland to the Trail Blazers. Oklahoma City is the lone remaining undefeated team at home with a perfect 13-0 mark. OKC ran its winning streak to nine with a 113-100 road victory Saturday night over the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder took control of the game with a 40-29 second quarter and held the ultra-efficient Spurs under 43 percent shooting, while connecting at a 49 percent clip. Russell Westbrook was dynamic on Saturday with 31 points on 13-for-22 shooting. He handed out eight assists, grabbed four rebounds and only committed three turnovers. "Hes an All-Star and playing like one every night," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of Westbrook. "He makes us go with his effort, with his toughness, with his team mentality and the last couple of years, the game has slowed down. He sees so many things on the floor. He does a great job of running our sets and does a great job of leading our defense." Reggie Jackson had 21 off the bench and Kevin Durant, the NBAs leading scorer, finished with 17. Serge Ibaka enjoyed a great all-around game with 14 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. The Thunder head out for a two-game road trip, starting in Madison Square Garden on Christmas afternoon against the New York Knicks. Doug Gilmour Jersey . The thunderous cheers quickly changed to an appreciative chant: "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son! Headed to New York with new life, Mason sure earned this curtain call. Paul Stastny Blues Jersey .Y. -- Bills rookie quarterback EJ Manuel wont start in Buffalos season finale at New England because of a small tear in a left knee ligament that will not require surgery.SAN FRANCISCO -- Brandon Barnes isnt a classic power hitter. In fact, neither of the Colorado right fielders two home runs this season even left the park. They did help the Rockies to victories, however, and for that Barnes isnt making any apologies. Barnes hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning and Colorado rallied for the second straight day to stun the San Francisco Giants 5-4 on Saturday. "Id really like to hit one out so I can jog around the bases to make it easier," said Barnes, who hit his first inside-the-park home run against Arizona on June 5. "I always seem to make it hard on myself. I hit the ball and Im going to run hard until something stops me." Charlie Blackmon singled with two outs off Giants closer Sergio Romo (3-3) before Barnes lined a hit to centre field. San Franciscos Angel Pagan misplayed the ball and it skipped to the fence as Blackmon and Barnes raced around the bases. Barnes, who had a walkoff triple to beat the Dodgers on June 7, had flown out to centre in three consecutive at-bats before helping Colorado extend its winning streak to four games. "My father made the trip up from Anaheim for Fathers day tomorrow and my step-mom and sister were here," Barnes said. "Its special to play in front of them, especially like a day like today." Its the second consecutive blown save and fourth this season for Romo, who gave up five runs in the ninth inning of Fridays 7-4 loss to Colorado. "I dont feel like I could have done much more there," Romo said. "I had two outs, one pitch away again ... and they found a way to stay alive. They got me again. What can I do?" Buster Poseys sacrifice fly in the seventh inning had given the Giants a 4-3 lead. Posey also doubled and homered to finish with a season-high three RBIs -- the most by San Franciscos two-time All-Star in more than 11 months. Hunter Pence hit his ninth home run of the year while Gregor Blanco had three hits for San Francisco. It wasnt enough to prevent the Giants fifth loss in six games. Barnes is the fourth opposing player to hit an inside-the-park home run at AT&T Park. Rex Brothers (3-4) pitched one inning for the win and became the 76th pitcher in history to strike out the side on nine pitches. LaTroy Hawkins worked the ninth for his 13th save, although he had to wait to celebrate. Angel Pagan appeared to ground into a game-ending double play and seveeral Rockies players came out of the dugout to celebrate. Jay Bouwmeester Jersey. San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, who successfully overturned a call earlier in the game, again challenged the ruling. After a brief review, the umpires upheld the original call. "There was talk about the games here and how crazy they are," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "It usually comes down to millimeters and milliseconds. Barnes has a tendency to be in the middle of things. Hes been a real clutch player for us." The Giants went into the game with the best record in the majors but were staggering on the heels of four losses in five games. They trailed late in this one, too, before Posey tied it with a two-run homer in the fifth then drove in Pagan with the go-ahead run in the seventh. San Franciscos bullpen couldnt make it hold up. Jean Machi pitched out of a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth before Romo took over in the ninth. The Rockies scored twice off Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong in the second then took a 3-1 lead in the third following back-to-back doubles from Morneau and Josh Rutledge. It could have been worse for Vogelsong, who needed instant replay to get out of a two-out jam in first after Rutledge appeared to leg out an infield single and load the bases. Bochy successfully challenged the call and Rutledge was ruled out to end the inning. Poseys two-run homer off Christian Bergman in the fifth tied it. Bergman lasted six innings in his second major league start. The Rockies rookie allowed eight hits, struck out three and didnt walk a batter. Pence homered off Bergman in the first. NOTES: Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was not in the starting lineup after injuring a toe running to first base on an infield single during the ninth inning of Fridays 7-4 win. Tulowitzki pinch-hit in the ninth and flew out to centre. ... The Rockies also rested C Wilin Rosario after he fouled a ball that ricocheted off the ground and hit him in the face. ... Giants reliever Santiago Casilla (hamstring) could be activated from the disabled list, depending on the outcome of his latest rehab appearance on Saturday. ... LHP Madison Bumgarner (8-4), who pitches the series finale for San Francisco, has a 1.24 ERA over his previous four starts. RHP Juan Nicasio (5-5) takes the mound for Colorado. ... Joe Torre, the executive vice-president of baseball operations for MLB, and California governor Jerry Brown attended the game. ' ' ' |
