get down on us,\' said DeRo

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Toronto Raptors have had every excuse to give in this season. Cody Latimer Womens Jersey . Theyve had injuries to key players, turned the roster over significantly with an early season trade and had low expectations after a regime change portended a possible tear down and rebuild. Kyle Lowry doesnt make excuses. Dwane Casey doesnt make excuses. And the Raptors havent given an inch while climbing the Eastern Conference ladder. Lowry had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth career triple-double, lifting the Raptors to a 111-104 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. DeMar DeRozan added 25 points and seven rebounds and Steve Novak hit five 3-pointers for the surprising Raptors (35-26), who have won nine of their last 11 games to surge to third place in the East. They are nine games over .500 for the first time since 2006-07. "We try to keep everybodys spirits high even if its not going well on the basketball court and we dont let nothing get down on us," said DeRozan, whose team shot 58.3 per cent (14 for 24) on 3-pointers. "Thats the cool thing about our team. We continue to keep it going." Kevin Love had 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Nikola Pekovic added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Minnesota has started a crucial four-game homestand with two losses in three games, and the teams hopes of climbing from 10th in the West into the playoff picture are looking bleak. "Weve got to go out and win games were not supposed to win," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "Thats the approach you have to take. If youre going to get down and you start moping about it, youre going to lose again." The Raptors got some bad news early in the day when they learned Patrick Patterson, a key member of the bench during their post-Rudy Gay trade surge, would miss the next seven to 10 days with a sprained right elbow. But just as they have done over the last two months, the Raptors found someone else to step up. Novak had played less than 13 minutes over the last month, but he scored a season-high in 18 minutes and Terrence Ross (15), Amir Johnson (15) and Greivis Vasquez (12) all reached double figures in scoring as well to earn a tough road win. "I cant say enough good things about those guys cause its going to take all of us, especially with Patrick being out," Casey said. The Wolves entered the night five games behind Dallas and Phoenix for the eighth and final spot in the West. Theyve now lost two of the first three games of a crucial four-game homestand. They put up a fight in this one, trimming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to 93-91 with five minutes to play. But Lowry drilled a 3-pointer, the Raptors locked down with the kind of defence that has gotten them this far and DeRozan finished the Wolves off with a 3-pointer from the left wing to improve Toronto to 26-2 when leading after three quarters. "Twenty games left, anything can happen," Love said. "We obviously have to go on some sort of a run. But if those other teams keep winning and pulling games out of their you-know-what, were in trouble." When Love sat down for a rest in the second quarter, the Raptors blasted Minnesota with a 15-0 run to take a 46-33 lead. Love ended the run with a jumper, fed Pekovic three straight times with pinpoint entry passes and also drew a charge during a 17-2 run that gave Minnesota a 50-48 lead. DeRozan and Ross both went to the bench early in the third quarter when they each picked up their fourth fouls and thats when Lowry took over. He was tenacious in his attack, hitting two jumpers and feeding Vasquez for a 3 to put Toronto up 75-68. He also played a big role in getting Wolves point guards Ricky Rubio and J.J. Barea in foul trouble with his aggressive penetration. "We needed all of his assists. He did a good job getting in there, penetrating, finding people," Casey said. We needed all his rebounds, especially with the way they crash the boards. He just had an all-around game." NOTES: Love made four 3-pointers, including one in the third quarter that broke Rashad McCants franchise record for 3s in a season. McCants made 142 3-pointers in 2007-08 to set the previous franchise record. ... The Raptors reserves outscored Minnesotas 32-16 for the game. ... Barea had another tough night, going 2 for 8 for five points. ... The Raptors recalled Dwight Buycks from the NBDLs Bakersfield Jam on Sunday. http://www.shopjerseysbroncos.com/Womens-Lamin-Barrow-Authentic-Jersey/ . -- The postgame cheer from inside the New York Jets locker room could be heard in the stadium hallways. Bradley Roby Jersey . Forward Evgeni Malkin led the Russian attack with a goal and two assists. Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring and added an assist. Ilya Kovalchuk, Valeri Nichushkin and Aton Belov also scored for Russia.SHENZHEN, China -- Alvaro Quiros and Simon Dyson each shot a 5-under 67 to share the lead after the first round of the China Open on Thursday. The pair were a stroke ahead of a group of six golfers that included defending champion Brett Rumford of Australia and Alexander Levy of France, who briefly moved into a tie with Quiros and Dyson in the growing darkness on his back nine but bogeyed the par-3 8th hole before play was suspended. He has one hole remaining to play. Englands Ian Poulter was in a group of 12 golfers just behind at 3-under on a crowded leaderboard. Henrik Stenson, who has a chance to take over the top ranking from Tiger Woods with a win here, had a 71. The Swede, currently ranked third, has been battling the flu this week and didnt get in any practice time on the course at Genzon Golf Club before the opening round. "Im not throwing up but Im not too keen on eating and my energy levels arent the best," he said. "Its not easy to play a golf course blind, and it definitely costs a couple of shots when you havent seen it, or havent played it." Chinese 15-year-old Guan Tianlang, who became the youngest player to make the cut at the Masters last year, was level with Stenson at 71. "I think today I played pretty consistently. My putting feels good, but needs a couple changes so if tomorrow I got more birdies, will keep me going," he said. Quiros has six wins on the European Tour, but hasnt had a top-3 finish in the past three seasons. The Spaniard said hes worked on improving his putting this year and the results are starting to come -- he finished tied for fifth at the Joburg Open in February and then joint 13th last week at the Malaysian Open. "You cant see it yet on the rankings, but I have been playing better," said the Spaniard, ranked a lowly 240th in the world. Michael Schofield Broncos Jersey. Dyson, who also has six wins on tour but none since 2011, said he played some of his best golf in a long time during his round, sinking six birdies to go with one bogey. "I really didnt miss a shot. I missed two fairways just, and didnt miss a green so gave myself a lot chances, which is always nice," he said. Stenson is coming off a banner year that saw him become the first golfer to win the European Tours Race to Dubai and the U.S. PGA Tours FedEx Cup in the same season. Hes gotten off to a slow start this season, however, with his best finish a tie for 14th at the Masters. According to the European Tour, Stenson can nudge Woods out of the top spot in the rankings this week only if wins the tournament and there are no withdrawals in the field to affect the maximum number of points hed receive. The Swede had back-to-back birdies on his first two holes, but then struggled to find the fairway and greens down the stretch, making four bogeys. He blamed the state of the rough for some "horrific lies." "I took a six on 13 by just being off the green -- you cant even get the ball hardly on the green to save par. I think its a course that when the rough gets that silly in certain areas, it kind of takes away a lot of skill," he said. Poulter is also looking for a boost, which he typically gets in Asia. Hes won three titles here, including the 2012 HSBC Champions at Mission Hills in Shenzhen. He had four birdies and narrowly missed a couple others, including a 6-footer on the 9th that would have moved him into a share of the lead. "Coming from Augusta National, where (the greens) are quite quick, you come here and the greens are very slow," he said. "Even the putts that look downhill, down grain, are just not very quick and it takes some adjusting to." ' ' '