TORONTO - As a sizeable media contingent jockeyed for position around his locker, Terrence Ross searched for the words to describe his historic night.
Nike Free 3.0 v3 Dam . "It feels good," he settled on. Its been nearly a year since the Raptors sophomore had his coming-out party at All-Star Weekend, since the spotlight was this big, this bright. Whether he likes it or not, the attention is something he may have to get used to. Often one of the first to escape Torontos locker room, the soft-spoken 22-year-old has perfected the post-game dash like a grizzled vet. There was no avoiding it on Saturday. Ross nearly doubled his career high, previously 26, en route to a magical 51-point performance that matched Vince Carters franchise scoring record, set in February of 2000. Not only is Ross, according to Elias Sports Bureau, the first player averaging fewer than 10 points per game to ever score 50, but he also became the second-youngest to accomplish that feat. Moments after it came to an end - Toronto dropping a 126-118 shootout to the Clippers - his teammates threw a basketball into his locker. "Whats this?" he asked, as if he didnt know. It, of course, was the game ball. With the souvenir comes the heightened expectations that accompany a 50 point-game. Theres no sneaking up on anybody now. Hes raised the bar for himself. "Now hes told on himself," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said after the game. "Not that he has to get 51 every night, but hes got to have that offensive focus." A much improved defender in his second NBA season, Ross has also excelled from long range, shooting the three-ball at a 41 per cent clip. His next step, as Casey has alluded to, is to capitalize on his proficiency from downtown by putting the ball on the floor, creating his own looks around the rim and getting to the free throw line. With his full offensive arsenal on display against the Clippers, its not hard to see why Casey is enamoured by his potential. Twenty-one of his 23 first-half points came from beyond the arc, as Ross eclipsed the franchise mark for most threes in a half with seven. Coming out of the break, Doc Rivers and his team made the inevitable adjustment, closing out hard on the red-hot Ross. "They were running at him," Casey said, "[but he] did a good job reading the defence." DeMar DeRozan, who rolled his ankle on the foot of Toronto supervillain Hedo Turkoglu in the first half, left the game early in the third. Ross immediately stepped in for his mentor. Midway through the quarter, he made his presence felt with a put-back dunk in the lane. Ten seconds later, he picked off Darren Collisons pass, ran the length of the floor and finished an alley-oop. Eight of his 13 third-quarter points came in the paint and he also made nine of 10 free throw attempts on the night. His 31-foot, buzzer-beating bomb tied the game going into the fourth. From there he was on cruise control. "You dont think about it," Ross said. "You dont really realize what youre doing until its all over." Whats the mindset when one of your teammates is playing like…? "Give him the ball," Kyle Lowry said, before the question could even be completed. "Give him the ball, I dont care what hes… just give him the ball." When it was all said and done the Raptors had lost, defence being the primary culprit, but Ross had accomplished something remarkable. He was speechless, essentially, and so too were his teammates. "Unbelievable," said Lowry, succinct once again. "He did an unbelievable job. Thats it, unbelievable." A primary beneficiary of the Rudy Gay trade, Ross is averaging just under 30 minutes a night since the deal, 12 minutes more than he was getting as sub. He has earned the trust of his coach with his commitment to defence and his teammates are comfortable with him firing at will, provided theyre good shots. With DeRozan out of the lineup indefinitely Rosss role figures to expand once again. "Im probably the happiest person on the team for him to be honest," DeRozan said. "Ive been going up against T since his rookie year, pushing him, going at him day in and day out. Just seeing how high his confidence level is is definitely good to see." Now, all eyes are on Ross. What will he do for an encore?
Nike Free 3.0 v4 Herr . -- Floridas seniors, those four guys who fell just short of the Final Four the last three years, talked about cutting down the nets after clinching the Southeastern Conferences regular-season championship.
Nike Air Max Thea Dam . Gregor Blanco doubled, singled and drove in three runs, and the surging San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets 6-4 on Sunday for their fifth straight win. "Theres nothing I can complain about," manager Bruce Bochy said. The Giants completed their fourth sweep of the season. RALEIGH, N.C. -- For more than 60 minutes, the Columbus Blue Jackets just couldnt manage to give their power-play unit a chance. Once they finally went up a man in overtime, Ryan Johansen made it count. Johansen scored a power-play goal at 2:40 of the extra session to lead Columbus past the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Saturday night. "I was talking to the ref, I was like, Come on, we need a power play," Johansen said with a laugh. "We have confidence in our power play, so if we get opportunities, we feel were at least going to get a lot of momentum out of it and get some chances." Artem Anisimov had a goal and an assist and Matt Calvert also scored to help the Blue Jackets earn an important two points in their push for the second playoff berth in club history and first since 2009. "We can pat ourselves on the back for this one, but starting (Sunday) and the day after, weve got to move on," defenceman Dalton Prout said. "Theres still lots of work to be done, and for the most part, we control our own fate. Its a good feeling." Jeff Skinner and Andrei Loktionov scored and Riley Nash had two assists for the Hurricanes, who fell to 6-11 since the Olympic break. "We seem to be finding ways ... to lose," Carolina captain Eric Staal said. "Its not like were completely out of it every night. Were in the battle. "For whatever reason, we cant seem to get that one that falls for us and it goes the other direction," Staal added. "Our compete, our work ethic, for the most part has been there. Weve got guys that care. Weve got guys that try. Thats not our problem." Curtis McElhinney made 25 saves for Columbus in his second straight start in place of flu-stricken starter Sergei Bobrovsky. The decisive sequence started midway through OT when Brandon Dubinsky rang the left post. Goalie Anton Khudobin couldnt cover the puck, but forward Jiri Tlusty did -- drawing a delay of game penalty and giving the Blue Jackets their first power play of the night at 1:54. Johansenn then ended it with a snap shot from between the circles that trickled past Khudobin, who stopped 29 shots in his second consecutive start for Carolina.
Nike Air Max Thea Herr. . Loktionov put the Hurricanes up 2-1 when he took a feed from Nash in the circle and snapped the puck past McElhinney with 13:22 left. But for the second time in the game, the Blue Jackets struck back quickly to tie it. This time it was Anisimov, who pushed the rebound of Nathan Hortons shot past Khudobin 50 seconds later. "We found a way to claw back," Johansen said. These teams entered on opposite ends of the playoff spectrum, with the Blue Jackets taking the ice in a four-way tie for two Eastern Conference wild cards. Carolina is mathematically alive for just its second post-season berth since winning the 2006 Stanley Cup, but the Hurricanes -- who entered seven points behind that cluster of four teams -- have a long way to go to catch up. "We dont think were out yet," coach Kirk Muller said. "Were going to push." For much of this game, offensive chances were few for both teams. Khudobin made the save of the night midway through the first period when he slid across the net to thwart Blake Comeau on a 2-on-1. "They knew we were on a back-to-back with travel," Prout said. "They came out hard and I think they carried the play. But we weathered the storm and I think we fought back." The scoring pace picked up near the end of the second: Skinner finally broke through for Carolina when he scored with 3:31 left in the second. He snatched the rebound of rookie Elias Lindholms shot and chipped the puck over defenceman David Savard for his team-leading third goal this season against Columbus. Calvert tied it with 1:14 left in the period when he snapped the puck past Khudobin after a takeaway -- the first goal allowed by the Hurricanes goalie in a span of 121 minutes, 49 seconds. NOTES: Calvert has goals in two straight games. ... Skinner has a four-game points streak and has four points in five games against the Blue Jackets this season.
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