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SALT LAKE CITY -- Jonas Valanciunas was "juiced" from the moment he batted the opening tip into the backcourt. wholesale jerseys . The improving big man from Lithuania set the tone and then DeMar DeRozan sealed the deal. "I was really excited to play Enes (Kanter). Hes a good buddy of mine and weve played since I was 15 years old. We talked all the game," said Valanciunas, who had 18 points and nine rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors turn back the Utah Jazz 94-79 on Monday night for their fourth win in the last five games. "We juiced him up a little bit this morning, teasing him about how Kanter got after him in the Euroleague. So he came out and played, really muscled," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said after the second-year centre scored the Raptors first six points. DeRozan scored 23 points as Toronto continued to surprise away from home. "Honestly, I think there is no pressure on the road," DeRozan said. DeRozan looked to get his teammates involved in the first half but once Kyle Lowry left with a knee injury, the new All-Star took matters into his own hands with nine points in the fourth quarter to quell a Jazz comeback. The Raptors scored 13 of the games final 16 points. "I just pick and choose. I try and be aggressive. Try and rebound, try to pass to my teammates. I dont just try and go out there to score every time down," DeRozan said. Valanciunas and Amir Johnson, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds, exposed the Jazz interior defence without Derrick Favours (hip). "Everyone gets along together. We all just kind of click. You usually dont find that," Johnson said. Marvin Williams scored 23 points and Alec Burks had 20 off the bench but it wasnt enough to keep the Jazz from their third straight loss, their worst span since a four-game skid from Dec. 4-9. Greivis Vasquez, who had 12 points, opened the fourth quarter with a floater to give the Raptors a 73-62 lead. Burks made back-to-back driving layups to power an 8-0 run to get the Jazz within four points for the first time since early in the second quarter. But the Raptors used their own 11-2 surge to clinch the victory. DeRozan had seven straight for the Raptors in the stretch. But the Raptors used their own 11-2 surge to clinch the victory. DeRozan had seven straight for the Raptors in the stretch. "Were playing for each other. Each of us want the best for the others on the team. We care about each other and have great chemistry," Vasquez said. The Raptors had dropped seven of eight at Utah by an average of 14.9 points, but controlled this one almost all the way. Torontos last win here since 2006 was a 111-106 double-overtime victory on Jan. 25, 2012. DeRozan has been effective no matter where he plays, especially in games in the States, averaging 27 points over his last seven on the road. Valanciunas also continued his upward trend with another strong game on the interior, with four offensive rebounds and many more plays where he kept the ball alive for Johnson. "Thats the challenge that hes got to take to be a big-time player in this league," Casey said. The Jazz hoped to awaken Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke from their slumps but the pair, which has been shooting less than 30 per cent, combined to make just 7 of 25 shots and commit seven turnovers. "I thought we had great shots. We missed some really good looks we have been making," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said after his team had a season-low 10 assists. Lowry had two points on 1-of-8 shooting before leaving to the locker room for good in the third quarter with right knee pain. He will be evaluated on Tuesday to see if he can play either of the final two games of this five-game Western Conference road trip. The Raptors (14-12) have as many road wins as any team in the Eastern Conference, tied with Miami and Indiana. They have never finished a season above .500 away from home. Favours injured hip prevented him from playing and without their starting centre, the Jazz have lost all six contests this year. Kanter had 10 points for Utah but was pulled after missing a defensive assignment and played just 20 minutes. The Jazz are 1-21 with the big man from Turkey in the starting lineup. Notes: The Raptors are 18-10 after the seven-player trade with Sacramento on Dec. 7. ... Toronto used a 31-17 second quarter to take control of the game. ... DeRozan and Valanciunas were both poked in the eye during the course of the game. ... The Jazz were 3 of 17 from behind the 3-point line. . Jeremy Evans missed the game for Utah with a bruised tailbone and elbow. wholesale nfl jerseys . Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Friday night and tightened the top of the NL Central. The Reds moved within three games of the second-place Cardinals, who have won seven of their last nine games while staying right behind the division-leading Brewers. Cheap France Soccer Jerseys . -- Michael Phelps has competed in the second event of his comeback and failed to advance to the 50-meter freestyle final. ST. LOUIS -- The Chicago Blackhawks stars pushed aside the St. Louis Blues and streaking goalie Brian Elliott. Marian Hossa scored twice, and Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews added goals in Chicagos 5-2 victory Saturday night, the Blackhawks fourth win in five games. "We got contributions across the board," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "We had some timely goals from the right guys. A big win for us." Hossa scored on a power play and short-handed for his first multi-goal game of the season. Michael Frolik also scored for the Blackhawks, coming off a 5-4 shootout victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night in Chicago. "We knew we were going to have to weather the storm in the beginning," said Toews, Chicago leader with 16 goals. "I felt we did that really well." David Perron, returning after missing 97 games because of a concussion, and Chris Stewart scored for St. Louis. The Blues lost for the second time in two nights. Elliott fell to 10-2 and had a six-game winning streak snapped. He hadnt allowed more than two goals in his 11 starts, had stopped 239 of his previous 249 shots and came into the game leading the NHL in goals- against average (1.31) and save percentage (.951). Elliott said he was screened on three of the goals. "Sometimes they hit you and stay out, sometimes they go in," Elliott said. "I dont think we played the kind of hockey that we wanted to. We just have to learn from tonight. Its not the end of the world." Chicago goalie Ray Emery outplayed Elliott, making 23 saves. Emery impproved to 4-1-1 with his third career win over St. Cheap England Soccer Jerseys. Louis in three starts. The Blackhawks scored three straight goals to erase a 2-1 deficit. Sharp broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal late in the second period. He has 13 goals, including eight in the last nine games. Hossa, who has 11 goals, tied it at two with the Blackhawks fourth short-handed goal of the season. "I was thinking pass first, but the defenceman took the pass away," Hossa said. "I had an open window to shoot at. I was getting a lot of shots tonight and it felt good." He added a power-play goal 1:17 into the final period. Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith had two assists each, and Frolik scored an empty-net goal. Perron scored 6:51 into the game on his third shift. He was sidelined by concussion-like symptoms after a high hit by San Joses Joe Thornton on Nov. 4, 2010. "Its a good feeling to score a goal anytime in the NHL," Perron said. "And much more so when you miss that amount of time." St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock was impressed with Perron. "Hes really going to help us out," Hitchcock said. "About four more just like him and well be fine." Perron took 25 shifts and played 19:05. St. Louis fell to 8-2-3 under Hitchcock. NOTES: The game was the second of six meetings between the teams this season. ... St. Louis has at least one point in 11 of its last 13 games. ... The Blues beat Chicago 3-0 on Nov. 8 in Hitchcocks first game in St. Louis. The Blues have 19 of a possible 26 points under Hitchcock. ... Chicago improved to 8-6-1 on the road. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
