e batters he faced and struck out four with three walks

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Jul 10 '16 | By miao1234 | 147

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TORONTO - After an NBA playoff debut that didnt go as well as hed planned, DeMar DeRozan went home and put his feet up. NFL Jerseys China . "I sat in my room the rest of the day, I didnt leave the room," DeRozan said. "I didnt turn the TV on. I didnt watch any games. I just cleared my mind. Just understand it was my first playoff game." He fought the urge to go back to the Air Canada Centre for a late-night shooting session. "I thought about it. I really thought about it," DeRozan said. "About 1 a.m. I was going to come back, but I was like: dont put too much pressure on myself. Just get my rest, regroup. Weve got two days until we play, so just get ready. I try not to think so much or stress myself out — just relax." The 24-year-old all-star scored 14 points — well below his season average of 22.7 — in the Raptors 94-87 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Saturdays Game 1 of the best-of-seven playoff series. The player whose hot hand led the Raptors in their record run to the post-season went cold Saturday. DeRozan, who was the picture of post-season confidence earlier in the week, scoffing that the playoffs werent "rocket science," shot just 3-for-13 from the field. He missed all four of his three-point attempts. He insisted he wasnt nervous. "I think with as much energy was going on, it felt like things were going faster than they were," DeRozan said. While it wasnt the coming-out party any of Torontos playoff rookies had hoped for, they were all breathing a little easier Sunday morning, glad that Game 1 of their series was over and done with. "I think Game 2 is a whole different animal," coach Dwane Casey said. "I think the newness and the shiny part of the playoffs is worn off by Game 2. I think thatll help (DeRozan) tremendously. I think thatll help our whole team." Kyle Lowry, one of the few Raptors who looked unfazed by the playoff pressure in his 22-point performance, agreed. "I think the bright lights will dim a little bit for everyone, everything will calm down a little bit," Lowry said. "I think that first game is always tough at home, because of the excitement, and we have a bunch of young guys. But now its over. Now guys are ready to move on, now were ready to go." Game 2 is Tuesday in Toronto, then the series shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Friday. The series was heated before it even began after the Nets seemingly tanked to fall to sixth-place, preferring to play the inexperienced Raptors. Toronto GM Masai Ujiri then threw gasoline onto the fire Saturday when he dropped an F-bomb when addressing the crowd in Maple Leaf Square, pairing the F-word with Brooklyn. New Yorks tabloid newspapers fought back. The headline on Sundays New York Daily News read: "Dont F*** With Brooklyn! Nets give foul-mouthed Raptors a spanking to take Game 1." The New York Posts front page was a picture of a grinning Paul Pierce with the headline: "After Toronto GM insults Bklyn, Nets shut up Raptors. F#@K YEAH!" The Raptors had put Saturdays drama behind them by Sundays practice at the Air Canada Centre. "This is about basketball," Casey said. "All that stuff has happened. Were very supportive of whatever Masai said. This is about basketball. I will say this, I thought our fans were fantastic (Saturday). They were great. Ive been in championship arenas, championship games, and this is as big-time as can be. "All the other stuff, what was said, its about basketball. Its about screening. Its about finishing plays. Its about executing defensively. I dont want to get off on another tangent." As for DeRozans less-than-impressive debut, Casey said he thought both DeRozan and Terrence Ross — also making his playoff debut — looked frustrated after they got in early foul trouble Saturday. Ross had just three points on the afternoon. "Young guys have to be somewhere learning to play in the NBA playoffs and this is a great start for (Ross), its a great start for DeMar," Casey said. "Theres no way Im disappointed in their performance. Their point-productivity, yes. But this is a great positive for our organization." DeRozan was asked if one game is enough to adjust to the pressure-packed playoffs. "I dont need a whole nother playoff round to get ready for it," DeRozan said. "I watched a lot of film. I understand. Im definitely not going to make the same mistakes twice. Its adjustments." His teammates are confident theyll see the best of DeRozan in Game 2. "Hes had rough games before. . . hes fine. Im positive hell bounce back," Lowry said. "Hes really focused. Yeah, a rough shooting night. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes the ball dont go in the hole." Why so positive? "Because hes an all-star," Lowry replied. "Theres a reason hes an all-star. He averages what he averages, hes a helluva player, and hes only going to get better." The Raptors are hoping the ACC fans — dressed all in white Saturday and waving white towels, thanks to a T-shirt and towel giveaway — remain as vocal as they were in Game 1. "It was live," Amir Johnson said. "I didnt get to see outside (where hundreds of fans gathered in Maple Leaf Square) but Ive seen pictures on the Internet. It was a pretty dope crowd. "Its big. We need them. We need everybody. The whole country." Saturdays shot-clock debacle should also be behind them. American sports broadcaster ESPN caused the shot-clock malfunction in Game 1, according to a Raptors official. Toronto had to rely on announcer Herbie Kuhn to count down the 24 seconds on each possession after the clocks above the baskets died with 5:57 remaining in the third quarter. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment took blame for using the same power source for the primary and backup shot clocks. The damaged cables in the baskets were replaced and tested Sunday, and the primary and backup clocks are no longer using the same power source. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . Kane, who was leading Chicago in scoring when he was hurt in a game against St. Louis on March 19, resumed skating on his own five days ago. On Wednesday, he skated with his teammates for the first time in the hours before a game against Montreal. Cheap NHL Jerseys .ca. Kerry, With just over a second left in the game, the L.A. Kings puck got behind Henrik Lundqvist. Derek Stepan got in, swatting the puck back under Lundqvist with his glove.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics manager Bob Melvin is already starting to run out of superlatives to describe Scott Kazmir. The right-hander has been so effective in his first season with Oakland that Melvin might need to break out a thesaurus when talking about the veteran pitcher. Kazmir pitched seven innings to win his fourth straight start, Yoenis Cespedes hit his 14th home run and the As beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Thursday night. "Its a broken record talking about him because were seeing basically the same game out of him," Melvin said. "I had heard last year maybe this is a 100-pitch guy top, six innings maybe. Hes been anything but. Hes been absolutely terrific." Kazmir (9-2) went into the game with the second-lowest ERA among qualifiers in the AL and extended his streak to 18 1-3 innings without allowing an earned run before Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run home run in the sixth. He struck out eight and didnt walk a batter. Over his past five starts, Oaklands right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA. "Probably one of the best (games) I felt this year, for sure," said Kazmir, who has allowed two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts. "I was able to get ahead most of the time with my fastball and expand the strike zone with my breaking balls and my changeup. Didnt really use too many breaking balls. Just relied mainly on fastball location." Stephen Vogt had two hits and two RBIs, Jed Lowrie scored twice and John Jaso singled in an insurance run in the seventh to move the As a season-high 17 games over .500. Its the best record in the majors and continued Oaklands best start since 1990. Cespedes had not homered against the Red Sox until his two-out, solo shot off Jake Peavy in the third. Boston had played five straight one-run games heading into the series opener with Oakland. This one was tight as well. Thhe As led 3-0 after Vogts single scored Lowrie in the fourth. Cheap NFL Jerseys. Kazmir, who hasnt lost since May 23, took a shutout into the sixth that Pedroia ended with a two-out home run. It was the only mistake Kazmir made. "We faced a tough pitcher," Pedroia said. "To be honest, our at bats werent that bad. We have to find a way to have a big inning and get some momentum." Luke Gregerson pitched the eighth and Dan Otero worked the ninth for his first career save. Peavy (1-5) had a second straight strong outing but remained winless over his past 10 starts. Peavy allowed five hits over 6 1-3 innings, retired eight of the final nine batters he faced and struck out four with three walks. It wasnt enough to prevent the Red Sox from ending their three-game winning streak. Vogt hit an RBI groundout off Peavy in the second and singled in another run in the fourth. Lowrie, who walked and doubled, scored both times. Cespedes homered with two outs in the third. The Cuban slugger is batting .343 with four home runs and 12 RBIs through 17 games in June. Cespedes has driven in 49 runs already this season and could soon join teammates Brandon Moss (55) and Josh Donaldson (52) in the 50-RBI club. "When you look at the runs that weve put up this year, a lot of it has to do with those guys in the middle of the order," Melvin said. "Its pretty amazing." NOTES: Otero was in the closers role because Sean Doolittle had pitched in the previous two games. ... Cespedes has now homered against every team in the AL except Tampa Bay. ... RHP Clay Buchholz (hyperextended knee) pitched six scoreless innings during his second rehab start for Triple-A Pawtucket. ... LHP Brad Mills starts Friday in his Oakland debut. Mills was acquired in a trade from Milwaukee earlier this week. LHP Felix Doubront (2-4) pitches for Boston. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '

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