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Topic Started: Mar 19 2014, 03:30 AM (14 Views)
zake201
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SALT LAKE CITY -- The pregame talk was about 6-foot-11 centre Enes Kanter making his first career start for the Jazz. But it was Utahs "small" lineup that delivered the knockout blow in the second quarter, with the Jazz hitting five 3-pointers in a 3 1/2-minute span to set the tone in a 131-99 rout of the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. "Its just like anything, when you see someone else on your team make the extra pass to the open guy, then youre going to come down and make the extra pass to the open guy," guard Randy Foye said. "Its contagious." In the end the Jazz hit 13 of 23 shots from beyond the arc -- the sixth-highest total in team history. Marvin Williams, Foye and DeMarre Carroll finished with three 3s apiece. "It felt good to see those guys firing them up and them going in," said Paul Millsap, who led the Jazz with 20 points but didnt attempt any 3s. "But we had open shots, the ball movement was good, all they had to do is shoot it." Marvin Williams, Carroll and Gordon Hayward -- part of Utahs "small" lineup along with Millsap and Mo Williams -- hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions as Utah built a 56-42 lead after trailing by 10 in the first quarter. Kanter finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in place of Al Jefferson, who did not play because of back spasms. "I was nervous," Kanter said of being told he was getting the start. "But after talking to Big Al, I felt so much better." He was almost giddy watching all the 3s drop. "After a while Im like, Im not even going to go in and rebound," Kanter said. "Im just going to go back to defence. They played unbelievable today. They played Utah Jazz basketball." Hayward added 17 points off the bench as Utah (11-10) improved to 8-1 at home. In all, eight Jazz players scored in double figures for the first time since 2008, with Mo Williams adding 11 points and 10 assists. "Everybodys ready," Foye said of the Jazz playing without not only Jefferson but leading shot-blocker Derrick Favours (plantar fasciitis). "Everybody at one point in time was the man somewhere." Kanter certainly was in his native Turkey. Despite being in the starting lineup for the first time in his NBA career, it was a familiar foe he faced in Jonas Valanciunas, a rookie from Lithuania. "Growing up we always went against each other and everybody was always asking who is better, who is better?" Kanter said. "He is a great kid with great skills, but tonight I ... was fortunate to come out on top." Valanciunas finished with six points, four rebounds and two turnovers. "I think big Turkey did a great job tonight, to be thrown in that situation," Foye said. Toronto coach Dwane Casey had nothing positive to say about his team, considering the Raptors lost a heartbreaker at home to the Jazz in triple overtime on Nov. 12. "We gave in to the altitude or whatever it was," Casey said. "I thought we split apart and didnt stay together. Tonight is the first time I have seen us give in." It was a subject of discussion in the postgame locker room after Toronto fell to 4-16 overall and 1-12 on the road. "This kind of performance is not acceptable," Andrea Bargnani said of Caseys message. "Thats the bottom line." Bargnani led Toronto with 20 points and eight rebounds. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points while Amir Johnson scored 10 off the bench. The Jazz entered the game averaging 6.6 3-pointers per game but after hitting five during that short span in the second quarter they hit seven more in the second half. The Jazz shot nearly 54 per cent in the second quarter. And with 3 minutes left in the third, they already had surpassed the total they put up in an 87-81 victory over Orlando on Wednesday. In that game the Jazz had a big lead and nearly blew it. They made sure this one wouldnt get away, not with the last two meetings against Toronto going into overtime. It helped that the Jazz could shuffle players around, including 6-9 Marvin Williams getting action at power forward. Now, Utah turns its attention to Sundays game against a Lakers team the Jazz beat by nine points on Nov. 7 -- the last game for coach Mike Brown before he was fired by Los Angeles. "Obviously, they are a great team and have arguably the best player of all time, a shot-blocker, a new coach and are playing different now, so its really a new team," Foye said. "Weve just got to play Utah Jazz basketball and not worry about what the Lakers are doing and I think well have a great chance." NOTES: Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin took time to visit Utah States Danny Berger, who collapsed Tuesday during basketball practice and had to be revived by a trainer. Berger, 22, is recovering at a Salt Lake City area hospital and was upgraded to fair condition. "Hes part of Utah. Were Utah," said Corbin, who also has a son who plays college basketball. "Hes a kid thats had a tough time in Utah. We feel his pain. If I could say anything encouraging to him and fight his way through it, thats what its about. I was just trying to support the kid." ... Nine-year-old Samantha Gordon, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 35 touchdowns in a Utah Gremlin League to earn her own spot on a Wheaties box recently, was in attendance with the rest of her Herriman team. ... Toronto G Jose Calderon appeared in his 500th game in a Raptors uniform. ... Jazz F Jeremy Evans had a highlight-reel dunk in the second half. wholesale jerseys china . Thatcher is 0-4 with a 3.42 earned run average in 40 appearances. The sore knee prevented him from pitching in Miami over the weekend. The Padres replaced him by calling up right-handed reliever Brad Boxberger from Triple-A Tucson before the opener of their series against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. wholesale nfl jerseys paypal . The stocky running back vows to do even better this season as the Alouettes look to rebound from a disappointing 2011 campaign. Whitaker, who was in town Friday to do promotional work, said he spent the winter at home in Edmond, Okla. http://www.cheapjerseyscd.com/ .Y. -- NL MVPs Marty Marion and Bucky Walters, and former New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert are among 10 candidates on the ballot for the baseball Hall of Fames pre-integration era committee. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Frank Francisco walked a pair of batters with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, then gave up a two-run double to Martin Prado that put the potential tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second. cheap nfl jerseys usa . The Easts top seed was dominating overmatched Philadelphia but with 70 seconds remaining, the storyline suddenly changed.NEWTON, Iowa -- Ricky Stenhouse says he doesnt approach races at Iowa Speedway different than others. "We come here to win just like we do every other racetrack," he said. "Its just worked out the last three times." Worked out, indeed. Stenhouse has won three straight at the track entering Saturday nights U.S. Cellular 250. The defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion will try to become the first driver since Kyle Busch to win four in a row at the same track. Busch did it at Texas Motor Speedway between 2008-2010. The seven-eighths-mile track in the middle of Iowa corn country appears to fit Stenhouses aggressive style. "Our car seems to drive better the harder you run it in the corner and the harder I get into the throttle," he said. "Thats the way I drive every racetrack, and it pays off here." Stenhouse probably will be making his last appearance at Iowa Speedway. Hell run a full Sprint Cup schedule next year. He enters the race 13 points behind Nationwide leader Elliott Sadler and 12 behind second-place Austin Dillon. Sadler has three straight top-five finishes at Iowa Speedway, including a runner-up finish to Stenhouse in May. Hes coming off a controversial finish to last weeks race at Indianapolis in which he was penalized for jumping the restart near the end of the race, causing him to finish 15th behind Brad Keselowski. "Ricky has definitely been the guy to beat here the last few races, and we know hes going to be stiff competition," Sadler said. "We feel very good about what weve brought back and what we learned here in the spring race, and we feel well be just as good as anybody here." Sadler said a change in tires for this race and the removal of a bump between turns one and two could help him on Saturday. "Hopefully these few changes will give us leeway and adjustments so we can close the gap on the 6 car and give him a run for the money," Sadler said. Sadler was gaining on Stenhouse late in the Mayy race, but he lost momentum because of a caution flag.dddddddddddd "We feel like we were better than him at the end of the race," Sadler said. "We closed ground a little bit, and hopefully we can close some more in this race." Stenhouses run at Iowa Speedway started in May 2011 when he led 41 laps and beat Carl Edwards by 0.435 seconds. He beat Edwards again three months later after leading 25 laps. The 24-year-old from Olive Branch, Miss., dominated here three months ago, leading 209 of 250 laps to beat Sadler by 1.47 seconds. Michael Annett, sixth in the standings, said no one doubts Stenhouse can win again Saturday. "Ricky knows that when he unloads at Iowa Speedway that hes the one to beat right now, and confidence can mean more than anything -- more than making the right spring change or making the right sway-bar change," Annett said. "If you know everyone there is trying to beat you, and thats who theyre focused on, that gives you the little extra bit and sometimes that means more than anything." Stenhouse comes in off five straight top-10 finishes, but he hasnt won since the May race here. He was ninth in Indianapolis last week. Saturdays race also marks the end of the Nationwide Series "Dash4Cash" bonus program, and this time a lucky fan will get a piece of the action. Stenhouse, Dillon, Annett and Sam Hornish Jr. are the drivers eligible for the additional $100,000. As in years past, the four drivers each will be paired with a fan for the last leg of the "Dash4Cash." In addition to the highest-placing eligible driver receiving a $100,000 bonus, the fan paired with that driver also gets $100,000. Drivers became eligible for the "Dash4Cash" if they were among the top four point earners last week. A drawing will determine the fans wholl be paired with the drivers. "Putting that fan in there puts pressure on us," Stenhouse said, "because you want to do it for them as well." ' ' '
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