TORONTO -- Jonas Valanciunas cherished the chance to think about nothing but basketball Wednesday night.
Karl Mecklenburg Womens Jersey . The Raptors sophomore centre cast aside his off-court troubles to score a career-high 26 points and grab 12 rebounds in Torontos 125-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers -- less than three days after he was charged with drunk driving. "It has been a rough couple of days, but I had to find energy to come out and fight. I felt really good fan support -- thank you to them. I felt great, because everybody supported me," said Valanciunas, addressing the media for the first time since his arrest early Monday morning. "I say sorry, and (am) learning to be better. "Its been a really good two-and-a half hours (playing)," he added. Kyle Lowry topped Toronto (46-32) with 29 points in his first game back after missing three with a bruised kneecap. Patrick Patterson finished with 17 in the Raptors fourth straight victory and seventh in eight outings. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points before leaving the game with a minute to play with a nasty gash over his left eye that required three stitches. The swirling trouble surrounding Valanciunas didnt show in his game. He scored the Raptors first points of the night, then grabbed a rebound on the Sixers first shot, and scored on a thunderous dunk on a pass from DeRozan on Torontos next trip down the floor. "I expected it," Lowry said. "He was going to play like trash or he was going to play amazing. And he played amazing like we expected. "Its a tough situation for him to handle, but this is our sanctuary, basketball. We get a chance to be away from everything and basketball is our space, our secret spot. Thats where guys can release a lot of energy and intensity." Henry Sims scored 22 points, Michael Carter-Williams added 19, and Thaddeus Young finished with 16 for the Sixers (17-61). The Raptors are headed for the post-season for the first time in six years, and a victory on Friday versus the visiting New York Knicks will clinch the Atlantic Division. It will also tie their franchise record for wins of 47 -- set in 2000-01 and 2006-07. But the Raptors were coming off a tougher-than-expected 102-98 win over the last-place Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, and the lowly Sixers -- who recently tied the league record for most consecutive defeats with 26 -- gave Toronto a decent game for much of the night. "These are the dog days, teams that dont have anything to play for, our guys see the computer, they see the standings and all the records. But we cant play that way," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I told them weve got to pick our defence up and not have the mental letdown." The Raptors led by only a point midway through the third quarter before taking a 98-89 advantage into the fourth in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,789. "I think for the most part we went out there and played a solid game, (the Raptors) are a good team," Young said. "They are a playoff contending team, third in the East, they have proven it day in and day out. They have a lot of key guys that can make shots and score the basketball." The Sixers trailed by just six points with 2:44 to play after Young drained a 17-foot fadeaway jumper. But Lowry proved once again how valuable he is down the stretch, sinking consecutive baskets to give the Raptors a 10-point lead with 1:52 to play, and the Sixers never threatened again. "Im just happy to be back out there with my teammates, honestly," Lowry said. "When you miss games you feel that you are letting the team down and its great to be back out there with the fellas." There were questions about Valanciunas playing Wednesday in the wake of his arrest, and Casey was asked pre-game about what message that sends. "We sent a message," Casey replied. "We sent a message that we dont condone it, were disappointed in him. By playing him, were not saying were condoning it." Valanciunas was arrested early Monday morning in Wasaga Beach, Ont., and charged with having more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Police say they began investigating after a report that a vehicle went through a drive-thru with open beer bottles visible. DeRozan was pleased Valanciunas "came up big" against the Sixers. "I hope everybody leaves him alone," DeRozan said. "(His game) just shows you hes not letting everything else affect him, everything thats going on, or the situation that happened. Hes just going out there playing, he did what he did, its over with, he apologized to us, and understands whats at stake." Valanciunass first court appearance is scheduled for Collingwood on April 22. The 21-year-old is not required to attend so a lawyer will stand in for him. He could receive a suspension from the NBA, but that would be pending the results of a trial which would likely be during the off-season. Raptors starting forward Amir Johnson missed his fourth game with an ankle injury. Casey said the hardworking forward, who has long battled bad ankles, isnt 100 per cent, but "hes pretty close." "Probably if he had to go tonight he probably could go, but again, were trying to make sure, trying to get him ready for the next couple of weeks," Casey added. The Raptors led for all but a few seconds of the first quarter, and went up by nine points when Lowry converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left. A three-pointer by Elliot Williams cut Torontos advantage to 34-28 heading into the second. The Raptors continued to build on their lead, and Pattersons three-pointer with just under three minutes to go in the second put Toronto up 62-49. The Raptors went into the dressing room at halftime up 68-60. The Sixers opened the third with a 17-10 run, capped by Andersons three-pointer with 6:23 to go that cut the Raptors lead to just a point. The Raptors finished the quarter with a run of their own to give themselves a nine-point lead with a quarter to go. NOTES: The Raptors host the New York Knicks on Friday, then play the Pistons in Detroit on Sunday. They host Milwaukee on Monday then play their regular-season finale next Wednesday at Detroit. 23:08ET 09-04-14
Tom Jackson Jersey . Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed Tuesdays massive anti-government protest in Manama as "a lot of kids having a go at the police." "I dont think its anything serious at all," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday.
Von Miller Womens Jersey . The Mets made the announcement Sunday night. Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament.MELBOURNE, Australia -- Montreals Eugenie Bouchard is out of the Australian Open. Chinas Li Na defeated Bouchard 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday in the semifinal of the womens singles tournament. The 19-year-old Bouchard is the first Canadian woman to reach the final four of a Grand Slam tournament in 30 years. "Im proud of how Ive improved as a player throughout the tournament. But Im never satisfied with losing. Im always disappointed," said Bouchard, who received a fifth stuffed Aussie animal -- an Emu named Sheila -- from her Australian fans dubbed the Genie Army. "I always want to go further and do better. I wouldnt say I exceeded my expectations, but Im happy with how I did." Li, the No. 4-seed and the 2011 French Open champion, is the only major winner and the highest-ranked player still in contention after the fourth-round upsets of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Defending champion Victoria Azarenkas lost in the quarter-final to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. No. 5 seed Radwanska was playing Dominika Cibulkova in the second semifinal later Thursday. Bouchard was determined to build off the success she experienced at the Australian Open. "Ive been working hard my whole life to do this, play at Grand Slams and do well," said Bouchard. "Its not an overnight thing. So Im just going to go back to the practtice courts and keep working hard.
Dre Mont Jones Broncos Jersey. " Li, who lost last years final to Azarenka, was aggressive from the start against Bouchard, who started nervously and didnt win a point in her first three service games. Fittingly, Li finished off the match with a backhand crosscourt, one of 16 backhand winners in the match and her biggest weapon against Bouchard. "I think maybe she will be best player in the world. But today (Im) so lucky," said Li during a court-side interview after the match. Li jokingly apologized to the Genie Army after the match, undoubtedly increasing her own huge support base at Melbourne Park. "Sorry about that," she said. "If you guys be happy, I will go home." Bouchard said she changed her strategy to get out of her early slump. "I just wanted to get into the match a little bit more. I felt like she was really hitting her shots. I was just letting her do all these winners side to side, it wasnt really my game," said Bouchard. "I tried to get into the rallies more, try to step in a little bit more, and try to put more pressure on her because she was just putting a lot of pressure on me. "She didnt give me much breathing space, much room to do what I want to do on the court. I tried to put pressure, but she just played too good at moments."
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