Drought In Denver. He Was Too Upset About His Teams Optiuni

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DENVER -- Toronto coach Dwane Casey wasnt ready to celebrate after the Raptors ended a decade-long drought in Denver. He was too upset about his teams lacklustre finish. DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points, Terrence Ross had 18 and Toronto, after opening a 25-point lead, settled for a 100-90 victory over the Nuggets on Friday night. "We will take the W, but it was not a quality finish," Casey said. "I let the players know I was disappointed in the close. You cant come in and feel like you have the game won with a 20-point lead. You have to continue to execute, be strong with the ball and continue to execute defensively if you want to be serious about winning in this league." Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry added 13 points apiece for the Raptors, who snapped a nine-game losing streak in the Mile High City dating to 2003. Still, Caseys postgame critique on his teams fourth-quarter play -- the Raptors were outscored 20-14 in the period -- outweighed any sense of relief over the end of the streak. "We have to finish a lot better," Lowry said. "This is the NBA. Teams are going to make a run. Were not going to be negative. We won the game. But we have to finish better than that." The Nuggets were dealing with their own problems. They announced during the game that guard Nate Robinson had season-ending surgery earlier Friday to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. The Nuggets also were without leading scorer Ty Lawson, who missed his second consecutive game Friday with a left rotator cuff strain. "We dont want anybody to feel sorry for us and we wont feel sorry for ourselves," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. "We just have to continue to fight, stay positive, keep working and just be more fundamentally sound." J.J. Hickson and Evan Fournier led the Nuggets with 18 points apiece. Hickson also had 13 rebounds. Randy Foye, normally a shooting guard switched to the point in the absence of Lawson and Robinson, had 10 points and a career-high 16 assists. But he also committed eight of the Nuggets 26 turnovers, which led to 29 points for Toronto. "Randy played 43 minutes, Evan 38 minutes, and theyre not accustomed to playing that many minutes as well," Shaw said. "They started getting tired, then we started losing our fundamentals and throwing the ball all over the place. That was our biggest thing tonight." Hickson said it is also going to take some time for players to adjust to new, sometimes unfamiliar roles thrust on them by the backcourt injuries. "Its going to be a process," Hickson said. "I cant say its going to be a long process, because we dont have much time. It has to be a quick process. But I think once guys get adjusted and settled in, well be good." Toronto moved to a season high four games above .500 (25-21) and tied a franchise record with its 11th win in January. The Raptors also won 11 games in January 2002. Leading by seven at halftime, the Raptors put together an 11-2 run late in the third quarter to go up 84-68 with 2:46 left in the period. DeRozan ignited the surge by driving through traffic and putting in a reverse layup off the glass and helped keep it going by knocking down a pair of jumpers. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Raptors led by 16 points and 50 seconds later, Valanciunas dunked to stretch Torontos advantage to 90-70. After Timofey Mozgov scored on a turnaround jumper for Denver, Toronto reeled off seven straight points, including a 3-pointer by John Salmons for a 97-72 lead with 8:47 left. The Nuggets made a late push with a 14-2 run cutting it to 99-86 on a dunk by Kenneth Faried with 3:32 remaining. But Ross then blocked Fourniers driving layup attempt and after Valanciunas made one of two free throws, the Nuggets lost another possession on a turnover by Foye, failing to get the deficit under double digits. The Raptors turned a steal into a breakaway dunk by Ross for a 60-53 lead at halftime. The rim-rattling jam brought the Raptors bench to its feet. NOTES: Foye had 11 assists in the first half, most by a Nuggets player in a half since Steve Blake had 11 on Feb. 14, 2007. ... Toronto won for the first time in Denver since an 81-74 victory on Dec. 30, 2003. ... Hickson has had a double-double in 12 of his last 23 games. New England Patriots Jerseys . The young man, never lacking confidence, thought he could be really good. John Hannah Jersey . - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is set to ask a judge to throw out allegations that she lied to a grand jury. http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Eli...atriots-Jersey/ . At least 90 players who had college eligibility remaining are expected to enter the draft, shattering last years record number of 73. "Its a humongous number, so the first reaction is it makes you step back a little bit," said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout with the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. Drew Bledsoe Jersey .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown. Andre Tippett Jersey . Howard hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. CLEVELAND -- Over the course of a long season, every team will experience some difficult losses. The Los Angeles Angels endured a really difficult one Thursday. Ernesto Frieri gave up a two-out grand slam to Nick Swisher in the 10th inning and the Cleveland Indians sent the Angels to a 5-3 loss on the final stop of a six-game road trip. The Angels were on the verge of a satisfying win after Albert Pujols two-run single gave them a 3-1 lead in the top of the 10th. Angels manager Mike Scioscia used rookie reliever Cam Bedrosian (0-1) to begin the bottom half and Frieri finished off the loss. "Ernie has been struggling a bit and we wanted to give them a fresh look," Scioscia said. "(Bedrosian) is a guy they hadnt seen and we hoped that he could make some pitches. Got close, he couldnt get it done." Frieri has given up six runs in his last three outings, including four Saturday in Atlanta and another on Tuesday against the Indians. "Today I missed a pitch again and I got hurt. It cost us the win," Frieri said. "Im fighting, man. I dont know. Been working, been watching videos, asking questions. It feels like nothing wants to go my way." Even though the calendar says its June, the loss wasnt easy to take. Starting pitcher C.J. Wilson, who allowed one run in seven innings, knows how important it is to not let games like this get away. "Were running out of games. Were almost halfway through the season and we need to win," Wilson said. "We cant afford to lose games like this." Swisher had gone 0 for 4 with three strikeouts before he hit a 1-2 pitch into the right-field seats to cap an improbable comeback. Pujols put the Angels ahead when he slapped a 3-2 pitch from Scott Atchison through the open right side of the infield to break a 1-all tie. The Indians were playing the slugger to pull. "Youve got to take something away, fortunately we were able to come back and win the game," Indians manager Terry Francona said. &qquot;Wed do it again, but it was hard to see that ball go through the infield.dddddddddddd" Atchison struck out the first two hitters in the 10th before Kole Calhoun singled. Mike Trouts double, extending his hitting streak to 13 games, moved Calhoun to third. Trout also walked twice and has reached base safely in 36 of his last 37 games. Hes batting .407 (35 for 86) in his last 23 games. The Indians responded off Bedrosian (0-1). Michael Bourn drew a leadoff walk and took third on Jason Kipnis one-out double. Carlos Santana walked to load the bases and Frieri replaced Bedrosian. David Murphy flied out before Swisher delivered. Kyle Crockett (1-0) retired the final hitter in the 10th for his first major league win. Wilson and Justin Masterson both allowed one run in seven innings. Both pitchers had their starts pushed back by Wednesday nights rainout. Mastersons wild pitch put Los Angeles ahead in the second, but Bourn tied it with an RBI groundout in the third. Masterson held the Angels to four hits, walked three and hit a batter. Wilson allowed three hits, walked four and struck out six. Howie Kendrick doubled with one out in the second and took third on a groundout. With David Freese batting, Mastersons low and outside pitch skipped past catcher Yan Gomes, allowing Kendrick to score. Gomes led off the third with a single for Clevelands first hit. He moved to third on a walk and a fielders choice, and scored on Bourns grounder. NOTES: The teams will make up Wednesdays rainout on a mutual day off at Progressive Field, with July 28 being the most likely possibility. The Angels begin a series in Baltimore the following day while the Indians start a homestand the next day. ... Angels LHP Tyler Skaggs (strained right hamstring) is expected to throw a simulated game Friday. ... The Angels, who finished 2-4 on their trip, return home for six games, beginning Friday against Texas. RHP Garrett Richards (6-2) will pitch the opener. 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