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Here are five thoughts on the Eastern Conference first-round series between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets following Game 5, including the play of Kyle Lowry, Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnet and Paul Pierce, as well as head coaches Jason Kidd and Dwane Casey. 1. KYLE LOWRY: Brilliant in Game 5. Watching him Wednesday night brought me back to watching Allen Iverson torch the Raptors in the 2001 playoffs. Considering Lowry is a Philly guy and one of the guys he looked up to as a young player was Iverson, I couldnt help myself but to draw comparisons. A totally different players but one quality that truly makes them alike is that they are both incredible competitors. Not the size of the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog. In the last five quarters of play (Game 4, 4th quarter and Game 5), other than the magic of Vince Carter, I cant recall a better stretch of play ever from a Raptor on so many fronts. Enjoy it - Im mesmerized by it. 2. JOE JOHNSON: Give him credit. Major bounce-back in the second half of Game 5. He was close to unstoppable. Raptors did everything they could to contain/control him and he was that much better. Im sure a significant focus of game planning for Game 6 will centre on tightening the screws on both the individual coverages associated with him and the collective scheme based upon the help you have to give his defender. He is an absolute load. Im so impressed by his talent. 3. RAPTORS FIRST THREE QUARTERS VS. 4TH QUARTER: It looked like five guys stole Raptors shirts early in the 4th and tried to imitate the real guys. In the first three quarters we saw the Raptors at their truly best - ball movement, defensive energy, effort, discipline and most importantly, a collective will and confidence that the crowd fed off of. In the fourth, we saw a team that cruised and thought it would be easy and let up with its focus. Very fortunate that they hung on, yet when I reflect on it for the majority of the game they were far better, which is good. Now its about learning from that lesson and growing. Remember back in early December at Golden State? It was the Raptors biggest collapse in franchise history and lost to the Warriors. This time, a huge collapse as well - the difference - they won and won on a much more meaningful stage than the stage back in Oakland. Speaking of Oakland, the late Al Davis (Oakland Raiders) would say just win, baby! They did. One to go but it wont be easy. Their competition has lots to play for; it should be a major challenge and lots of fun to watch. 4. KG AND PAUL PIERCE: They were spectators Wednesday night in the 4th quarter and Im sure both men will be ready to go Friday night in response to that. I dont think there have been many times in either guys career that they sat and watched at crunch time. Im sure well see two angry/ornery guys in Brooklyn talking smack and challenging their teammates and the crowd to be at optimal level. Lots of folks piling on KG these days. I respect what hes done in his career. Is he the player he once was? No, but his effort and will to win are still there all the time. Pierce - Hes still got a lot left and his matchup at the four spot is still a tough cover for the Raptors, yet I do like that the Raps are now making him guard his guy and attacking him. Fully expect both guys to come out firing guns blazing. Be prepared. 5. JASON KIDD AND DWANE CASEY: Both coaches, Im sure, are working on their teams collective psyche as we enter Game 6. Kidd challenged his team before Game 5 to be much better in the 4th quarter after being outplayed by the Raps in Games 3 and 4 in the defining stanza. They were awesome in the 4th Wednesday night… the other three quarters, not so impressive. Im sure hes pushing momentum and carryover. Coach Casey will hammer the fact that you must sustain and play every possession at the max and learn/build on the fact that you won, yet have to respect the little details of the game. You also sell that momentum in a series that lasts only as long as you allow it to or make it happen. As much as the Nets want to sell that theyre now going to pick up where they left off, youve got to sell that the score always takes care of itself if you do the right things. You concentrate on doing the right things" each possession and youll find a way in Game 6, or if necessary, Game 7. Wont be easy to put Brooklyn away Friday but it can be done. Dictate the tone and personality of Game 6 right at the start. Winning/losing - thats too much sometimes to focus on. Dive into the details of what it takes to succeed and youll handle the pressure of a road game better. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... .C. -- Axel Blomqvist scored the winner at 16:40 of the third period as the Victoria Royals edged the Kelowna Rockets 3-2 on Tuesday in Western Hockey League action. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... . The UFC announced Tuesday that light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado will move up a weight class to replace the injured dos Santos to take on Stipe Miocic on May 31 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... .com) - Andy Murray is back in the Australian Open final. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... . -- Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice tweeted an apparent goodbye after a report about his pending release. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... . The Impact recruited three new members to its management team: Marc Bourassa, Chief Revenue Officer; Hugues Léger, Chief Marketing Officer, and André Côté, Chief Strategic Officer. "We decided to add experience and depth to our administration," said Impact President Joey Saputo. CALGARY -- With Shawn Evans doing much of the damage in an explosive fourth quarter, the Calgary Roughnecks continued their domination of the Edmonton Rush. Evans scored three of his five goals in the final quarter Saturday as Calgary blew open a tie game with seven unanswered goals to beat Edmonton 16-9 in National Lacrosse League action. "Its one of those good nights Ive had in my career," said Evans, who has 19 goals on the season. "We have a good squad here and we just kept pushing." Edmontons fate was sealed when Calgary scored three times in the span of 71 seconds. The go-ahead goal came 2:47 into the fourth when Evans whipped a shot past Aaron Bold as the Calgary forward was knocked to the ground. Jeff Shattler followed with his second of the night at 3:54. After winning the ensuing face-off, Geoff Snider rambled down the floor and buried his second goal of the game, firing up the raucous Scotiabank Saddledome crowd of 8,316 That prompted Edmonton coach Derek Keenan to change his goalies for the third time on the night as Bold was replaced by Brodie MacDonald. MacDonald couldnt stem the tide and ended up sitting in the penalty box, serving a major penalty. Bold returned to the net for the third time during MacDonalds penalty, just in time to surrender a penalty shot goal to Evans that wrapped up the fourth quarter onslaught. "Outstanding entertainment for the fans," said Calgary coach Dave Pym. "We showed a lot of courage, a lot of poise and patience when it really counted and our big players again stepped up and scored when we needed them to." Calgary, who won 13-10 in Edmonton on Friday, swept the home-and-home series. The Roughnecks have dominated their provincial rival since they entered the league in 2001. Calgarys won nine straight over Edmonton and owns a 19-4 record all-time. "Hard to say why we battle so hard for 45 minutes and then dont for 15," said Edmonton coach Derek Keenan. "They just made plays and we didnt. Our defence, we stopped pressuring the ball, we just sat back. Its tough to explain why." Peter McFetridge also had a big night for Calgary (7-3) with three goals and two assists. Other goals came from Cory Conway, Scott Ranger, Daryl Veltman and Dane Dobbie. The Roughnecks, who have won five of their last six, remain second in the West Division behind Colorado. Zack Greer had three goals to lead the attack for Edmonton (2-6), which has lost five of its last six games.dddddddddddd Shawn Evans older brother Scott had two goals with Derek Suddons, Corey Small, Ryan Ward and Kyle Rubisch also scoring. The loss put a damper on what was a big night for Edmontons Shawn Williams, who became the sixth player in NLL history to reach 1,000 points. "Its bittersweet," Williams said. "Its nice to get that other one over with but obviously the stat Im looking at is the 2-6." Williams says his team has to keep its head up and keep on battling. "We dont have the answers. They kept coming and whether we let up or what it was, we have to learn to finish and learn to win and this is all part of the process," said the veteran in his 15th season. The 37-year-old also tied the NLLs ironman record by appearing in his 188th consecutive game, matching Colin Doyle and Steve Toll. Williams could set the record next Saturday when Edmonton travels to Philadelphia to play the Wings. Calgarys penalty killing played a significant factor. While the Roughnecks did surrender a pair of power-play goals, they dug in and killed off two 5-on-3s against them while scoring three short-handed goals. McFetridge, who set career highs for goals and points, set up one of the two short-handed goals that came with Shawn Evans in the penalty box in the second quarter. "It feels great. I was just in the right places at the right times," said the second-year player. "Being able to capitalize, just contributing from the back end really takes pressure off our offence." Calgary led 5-4 after a high-scoring first quarter. Edmonton rallied back in the second and briefly held the lead 7-6 before the Roughnecks came back to send the game to halftime tied 8-8. Notes: Curtis Dicksons amazing streak of six consecutive games of three-or-more goals against Edmonton to begin his NLL career was snapped. After scoring four times in Edmonton, Dickson was blanked on Saturday. ... The other five players to have reached 1,000 points are John Tavares, Gary Gait, Colin Doyle, Josh Sanderson and John Grant Jr., who reached the milestone against Calgary in January... McFetridges three goals and five points were both career highs... Roughnecks 2011 draft pick Greg Harnett had an assist for his first point in the NLL. Ulogujte se da bi ste vidjeli ovaj Link... 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