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(Sports Network) - The Toronto Raptors close out a two game road trip as the face the Indiana Pacers. Matt Cain Giants Jersey . The game can be seen live on TSN at 7pm et/4pm pt. The Raptors have dropped two in a row since winning three straight and suffered a 91-75 setback at the Thunder the last time out on Sunday. Jose Calderon paced the Raptors with 19 points and six assists, while DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points and Aaron Gray grabbed 10 boards. "Theyre a great team. We could play them 10 out of 10 times and the results probably wouldnt be different," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of OKC. Raptors top scorer Andrea Bargnani posted seven points before leaving the game with a calf injury. He is questionable for Monday and missed several games this season because of calf issues. Toronto has lost eight of its last 13 games and is only 9-19 away from Air Canada Centre this season. It will head home after tonights game to take on Philadelphia and Boston. The Raptors will try to avoid being swept in the season series to Indiana and have lost the first two meetings between the clubs -- both up north. Indiana has won six of the past eight encounters with Toronto, losers of six straight as the visitor in this series. Torontos last win at Indy was a 102-98 victory on Feb. 25, 2008. The Pacers had won four in a row until dropping an 86-72 decision versus the Boston Celtics on Saturday. Indiana shot just 35 percent and its point total matched the season-low, as Danny Granger led the way with 20 points and David West added 16 in a losing cause. "They played terrific defense, had good ball movement and shots that dropped. I couldnt look over my shoulder or do any of the things that I normally do," said the Pacers Paul George, who finished with just two points. Indiana, which was coming off a big win versus Western Conference power Oklahoma City, owns an 18-8 record at home and is seeded third in the Eastern Conference -- one-half game ahead of Atlanta and a game in front of Orlando. After hosting the Raptors, the Pacers will head to Cleveland for the opener of a home-and-home series at Quicken Loans Arena. Drew Smyly Tigers Jersey . Despite the advantage of four Fijians being sent to the sin-bin in eight minutes early in the first half, Italy almost spoiled the occasion for two of their rugby greats by blowing a 30-10 lead with 20 minutes to go. Matt Holliday Cardinals Jersey . Grabner scored on a breakaway 3:53 into overtime as the Islanders defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Tuesday.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With the famed No. 3 on his car and memories of the late Dale Earnhardt fresh in his mind, Austin Dillon took the fabled number out of hibernation and straight to the top at Daytona. Dillon reawakened the days of The Intimidator and proved he can handle the spotlight thrust on his ride in the 3, winning the pole Sunday for the season-opening Daytona 500. He took the top spot with a lap at 196.019 mph in NASCARs season opener in a car Richard Childress has refused to field at NASCARs top level since Earnhardts fatal accident on the last lap of the 2001 race. But with his 23-year-old grandson ready to move to the Sprint Cup Series, Childress allowed Dillon to use the number widely associated with the seven-time champion. Earnhardt won 67 races, six championships and the 1998 Daytona 500 driving the No. 3. Dillon was a kid when he posed for a picture with Earnhardt in Victory Lane following his breakthough 1998 win. Hell have many more memories from this milestone, like the congratulatory handshake he received from Richard Petty when qualifying ended. NASCARs family roots run deep, so Childress never had to leave the family tree to find the right driver for the number. Dillon has been using it in NASCAR national competition since 2009, when he made his Truck Series debut in the No. 3. He won the Truck championship in 2011 driving the No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, and the Nationwide title last season in the same number. So Childress knew -- he always knew and has insisted that Earnhardt gave his blessing long before his death -- that Dillon could use the number if he ever made it to Cup. Dillon doesnt take the responsibility lightly. "Everybody wants to see this number perform well, and thats what my goals are," Dillon said. "I love getting in that race car and driving it. I think once we get through some of these races here at the beginning of the year, everything will sink in and Ill get comfortable and be able to have some fun.&quoot; Its the fourth time the No. Ian Kinsler Tigers Jersey. 3 has won the pole for the Daytona 500. Buddy Baker did it in 1969, Ricky Rudd in 1983 and Earnhardt in 1996. Martin Truex Jr., driving a Chevrolet for Furniture Row Racing, qualified second with a lap at 195.852 mph. Truexs engine is built by Earnhardt-Childress Racing, giving the company a sweep of the Daytona 500 front row. "Obviously, without that thing under the hood, we wouldnt be where we are," said Truex, who won the Daytona 500 pole in 2009 with an ECR engine when he drove for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The rest of the field is set Thursday through a pair of qualifying races, but Childress and the ECR engines are strong: They had five cars in the top 12 on Sunday. Childress knew he had a shot at the pole, if not with Dillon then from another one of his four Richard Childress Racing entries. All were fast in January testing, and again in two Saturday practice sessions. But it was Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., the first driver to make his qualifying attempt, who set the pace early and held down the provisional pole for most of the session. RCR drivers Brian Scott and Paul Menard failed to bump Earnhardt, and it was surprisingly Ford driver Greg Biffle who finally did it as the 33rd driver to take his turn. Ryan Newman then took his shot for RCR and missed, and Dillon was the next driver out. He shot to the top of the board and his grandfather pumped his fist in celebration. He then nervously watched as the final 10 drivers made their runs, and gave another fist-pump in celebration. "We wanted to come down here and put on a good show with the 3, and to have another ECR engine with Furniture Row on the front row, we couldnt be more proud," Childress said. So could he finally relax? "The pressure is always on when youve got grandsons racing for you," said Childress, who thanked all the sponsors who "believed in this young kid, who took a chance on him."cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
