for the game-winning score. He became the only player in NF

[yyys123]

TORONTO -- Dwane Casey saw it as a sign of maturity on the part of his young team. After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. "Thats another step in our growth," Casey said after Friday nights win at Air Canada Centre. "Last year at this time, if wed have missed shots like that wed have caved in. "But we kept grinding it, grinding it, grinding it and thats what you have to do when the shots arent falling." The Raptors (30-25) shot a woeful 32.7 per cent from the field in the first half and trailed 44-39. But, with second-year centre Jonas Valanciunas leading the way, Toronto shot an impressive 16-for 23, or 69.5 per cent, in the third quarter on the way to winning their fourth game in five starts. "We said we need to pick it up, we need to come out with energy," Valanciunas, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, said of the talk in the locker room at halftime. "Thats what it was all about. "We shot really bad the first half but we did a better job the second half and thats what matters." Valanciunas scored 10 of his 14 second-half points in the third quarter, including five in a row during a 4:07 stretch that saw the Raptors turn a one-point deficit into a 10-point lead. Second-year guard Terrence Ross had a team-high 20 points as the Raptors snapped the Cavaliers (22-34) six-game winning streak and widened their lead to 3-1/2 games over the idle Brooklyn Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division. With the win, the Raptors equalled the third-fastest time theyve reached the 30-win mark in team history, just one game off the best mark of 54 games in both the 2009-10 and 2007-08 seasons. The Raptors, who have missed the playoffs in each of the past five seasons, didnt win their 30th game until their 78th outing last year. Although Ross led the Raptors in scoring, it was his defensive play against Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving, who was named MVP of last weekends NBA All-Star Game, that drew rave reviews from his teammates. "Defensively, hes always been impressive, and hes getting better," Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said after Irving was held to 3-for-16 shooting on his way to 17 points. "I told him that on the bench tonight." Lowry had 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds. DeMar DeRozan added 14 points and five assists. Clevelands Luol Deng led all scorers with 21 points and added 11 rebounds while Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ont., added 13 points and nine assists and Anthony Bennett, also from Brampton, who last spring became the first Canadian to ever go first overall in the NBA draft, had nine points in his first game here. "We just had to pick up our defensive intensity," Ross said of the message delivered at halftime. "The biggest thing, we were coming out, playing too lackadaisical and we had to pick that up." Toronto outscored Cleveland 37-21 in the third quarter to take control. Valanciunas made a layup with 7:22 to go in the quarter to put the Raptors up for good at 53-52. After Valanciunas and Amir Johnson combined for just four points in the first half, Casey said he gave the big men "a wake-up call" going into the second half and they responded at both ends of the court. "We reminded them theres more to the game than the offensive end," Casey said. "You can get rebounds. You can get back in transition. You can challenge shots and you can go vertical. "You can do a lot of different things other than make shots and I thought the second half (they) worked at it and got it done." Sandro Wagner Bayern Munich Jersey . The top-ranked Spaniard won his fourth Madrid Open on Sunday after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with a hip injury when trailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final. And Nadal, who is coming off to uncharacteristic quarterfinal losses on clay, said his mental strength is still lacking just two weeks ahead of the French Open. Ron-Thorben Hoffmann Jersey . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Dany Heatley to a one-year deal, returning the 33-year-old unrestricted free agent to the Pacific Division. http://www.soccerfcbayernshop.com/kids-felix-gotze-munich-jersey/ . Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier. Franck Ribery Bayern Munich Jersey Joshua Kimmich Jersey . -- Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, shot a 2-under 69 on Tuesday to finish first in stroke-play qualifying at the Womens U.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr and Washington Redskins kicker Kai Forbath have been named the NFC Players of the Week for their Week 8 efforts. Fitzgerald, the offensive player of the week, caught seven passes for 160 yards and one touchdown in the Cardinals 24-20 win over Philadelphia. His 80- yard touchdown was the longest reception of his career and his fifth catch of 70-plus yards. The performance marked the ninth 150-yard game of his career, including the playoffs, and was his best output since Jan. 10, 2009, when he had 166 yards in a divisional playoff victory at Carolina. Barr, the defensive player of the week, had eight tackles, a sack and scored the game-winniing touchdown in the Vikings 19-13 overtime win at Tampa Bay.dddddddddddd On the first play from scrimmage in overtime, Barr forced a fumble which he recovered and returned 27 yards for the game-winning score. He became the only player in NFL history to force a fumble, recover the ball and return it for a touchdown in overtime. Forbath, the special teams player of the week, converted both field-goal attempts, including a 40-yard game-winner in overtime, and added two PATs in the Redskins 20-17 win at Dallas. It marked the second consecutive week that Forbath kicked a game-winning field goal at the end of regulation or in overtime. In Week 7, he converted a 22- yard field goal as time expired to give Washington a 19-17 win against Tennessee. ' ' '