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MIAMI - With self-preservation topping the Raptors list of late-season priorities, the player they can least afford to lose left American Airlines Arena on a cart.Gabe Jackson Raiders Jersey . Walking with a noticeable limp, Kyle Lowry boarded the team bus following a 93-83 loss to the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. The result of the game was of little importance. Now it was secondary, as the status of Lowry - and with him, Torontos remarkable season - hung in the balance. "Well just have to wait and see how he is tomorrow," head coach Dwane Casey said after Lowry was pulled from Mondays loss with a sore left knee. Lowry sustained the injury with roughly three minutes remaining in the first half, colliding knee-on-knee with LeBron James, just about the last person on the planet youd want to plow into at high speed. Naturally, the Raptors point guard was slow to collect his bearings, but true to character, he got back up and remained in the game until, eventually, his body betrayed him. "We pulled him out," Casey said. "He couldnt go." Lowry finished the half and started and played most of the third quarter before leaving for the locker room and calling it a night, whether he liked it or not. The knee had swelled and he could barely walk. "We substituted him for Greivis (Vasquez) at that time," Casey continued, "and hes limping, limping, limping. [The medical staff] looked at him and decided he couldnt go back in." X-rays were negative, per Casey, but the status of Torontos most indispensable plater remains up in the air. Its not the first time Lowry has given his team a scare. Most recently, he was pulled in the first half of Fridays win over the Boston Celtics after turning his ankle, but he would re-enter and finish the game. Its inevitable given the way in which he plays. "He does this all the time, so hell be fine," said teammate Terrence Ross. "Kyle, hes a tough guy. He always comes through. No matter what, hes going to find a way to get back on the court." "With Kyle, no matter what his injury is, no matter what type of feeling hes having or what his body is telling him he cant do, his mind and his heart pushes through," echoed Patrick Patterson, who returned from a 13-game absence of his own. "So no matter what the circumstances are with him, unless its something real serious - knock on wood - then hell play. Thats the type of mentality he has. Thats the type of mentality he brings to the team and it rubs off on all of us." Could the Raptors shut Lowry down? Depending on how his knee reacts to a night of swelling and a flight back home, they may not have a choice, at least for a game or two. Again, theyll have to balance the importance of self-preservation and finishing out the season strong. Theres still work to be done with seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff hierarchy at stake. "His body will tell us, he will tell us [and] the medical people will tell us if he can go," said Casey, his team now sharing the third seed with Chicago. "Were not in the position to totally just shut him down. I think weve got to be smart with it. Well see where it is." LeBron carries undermanned Heat Without one-third of Miamis Big Three, as Dwyane Wade sat out resting a sore hamstring, James put the Heat on his shoulders. The reigning MVP began the second quarter sitting on Miamis bench, because even the leagues most physically intimidating specimen needs a breather every now and then. As James sat, Toronto quickly turned a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Overall, the Raptors outscored Miami by 12 points in the nine minutes that James spent on the bench Monday evening. However, the leagues best player dominated when he was on the floor, spearheading a 22-9 run to end the first half and putting the game away late in the fourth. Patterson returns Patterson played eight minutes in his return from an elbow sprain that kept him out of Torontos previous 13 contests. Sporting a protective brace on his right elbow, the Raptors forward was understandably rusty but made an impact with his energy and versatility off the bench, something Toronto had missed in his absence. Casey had planned to limit Pattersons minutes in his first game back and could continue to do so until he finds his rhythm. "Its just all about getting used to the brace," said Patterson, who scored his lone field goal on a put-back in the first quarter. "I thought I was a tad bit slow out there, just getting used to the brace as far as my jump shot goes." "Its going to take a little bit more time to get used to, but hopefully in these next three or four games Ill be back to top shape." The stat The Raptors set a new season-low, making just five free throws against the Heat. James, alone, got to the line (11 times) more than Toronto (10). The quote "First of all, we really didnt have the legs like that coming from a tough game last night," said DeMar DeRozan, who scored 16 points after tallying 28 in Sundays win over Orlando. "We got to stop letting teams get easy points in the paint. Thats what is hurting us." Matt McGloin Raiders Jersey . In a rare public comment, Pistorius said he was going through "a tough time" as the case advanced. "Weve got a lot ahead of us," he told reporters after the court adjourned. Defence lawyer Brian Webber said Pistorius is "likely" to take the stand to open the defence case. George Blanda Raiders Jersey . Oskars Melbardis of Latvia drove to the silver medal on Sunday, and 2010 champion Steven Holcomb of Park City, Utah, piloted USA-1 to bronze. The U.S. won seven sliding medals at the Sochi Games, more than any other nation.ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Nashville Predators finished strong, even if was for naught. The Minnesota Wild are hoping this is only the start. Craig Smith had two goals and two assists, and the Predators used a second-period barrage against goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to beat the playoff-bound Wild 7-3 on Sunday. "Like the last exhibition game before the start of a season, always happy to have that one over with," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. The Wild wrapped up the first wild card spot in the Western Conference earlier in the week and had their first-round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche set before the game, so there were few motivators other than the maintenance of health and momentum and maybe a statistical milestone or two. Well, all but the momentum was accomplished. No new injuries were reported, and Jason Pominville got his 30th goal. "Obviously it wasnt pretty. It wasnt the way we want to end it and I dont want to make an excuse for it, but I think those things will happen when youre in and the other team is out, playing loose," Pominville said. For the second straight night, Nashville scored seven times. The Predators won 7-5 at Chicago on Saturday. Good way for coach Barry Trotz, the only bench boss the franchise has ever had, to go out if hes not retained. Trotz said he realized this could be his last game with the team. "If I said differently Id be lying," he said. Bryzgalov, though, didnt do himself or the Wild any good with this shaky performance, as meaningless as the game was. Bryzgalov posted back-to-back shutouts in victories over Pittsburgh and Winnipeg on April 5 and 7, but in a win over Boston he gave up three goals on 24 shots in regulation, though he was unscored upon in the shootout. Bryzgalov, acquired from Edmonton for a fourth-round draft pick, has allowed eight goals over the last 45 shots hes faced. John Curry, the fifth goalie used by the Wild this season, replaced him for the third period. Ryan Ellis, Shea Weber, Roman Josi and Smith scored consecutively in the second period to steer Bryzgalov toward the bench at the second intermission. Rich Clune had a goal in the first period, and Calle Jarnkrok and Smith scored in the final frame. Erik Haula, Jason Pominville and Zach Parise scored for the Wild,, who gave up a season-high seven goals. Matt McGloin Jersey. One of the reasons the Wild were safely in, rather than scrambling to win their last game to qualify as they did last season, was the sturdiness shown by the 33-year-old Bryzgalov down the stretch with their top three goalies unavailable due to injury or illness. This was his first regulation loss in 11 starts — he went 7-1-3 — since arriving the day before the trade deadline. But this was ugly. Yeo didnt flinch, though. "Im not worried about him," the coach said, adding: "You look at tonight, and we were brutal in front of him." The Predators missed the playoffs for a second straight year, putting Trotzs future in question. "Thats not our decision to make. Theres nothing that we could do as players in this locker room. We played our hearts out for him. Hes a great coach and well see what happens," Weber said. Nashville went 9-1-2 in its final 12 games, including eight regulation wins, but finished in 10th place — three points below the cut. The Predators killed every penalty over their previous five games, a streak that ended when Parise scored his 29th goal — he missed 15 games earlier this season — early in the second period to give Bryzgalov and the Wild a 3-1 edge. Nashville also became the only team in the league this season to not allow a short-handed goal, stretching its streak to 99 games without one. "We stuck with it. You always want to go out on a good note," said Smith, who passed Weber for the team lead with 24 goals. Weber had 23 and Patric Hornqvist finished with 22. Weber tallied a career-high 56 points. "If he doesnt win the Norris this year its going to be an absolute crime," Trotz said. NOTES: With 98 points, the Wild matched their second-best record in franchise history. After going 5-14-5 on the road in last seasons lockout-abbreviated schedule, the Predators finished 19-15-7 away from home. ... Pominville became only the third different player in Wild history to hit the 30-goal mark. Marian Gaborik (five times) and Brian Rolston (three times) were the others. ... Clune was called for roughing and cross checking and slapped with a 10-minute misconduct. He finished with 166 penalty minutes this season, fourth-most in the NHL. ' ' ' |
