Kanya-Living Jewels » verage of 106.0 points in its last eight gam

Even without their most reliable offensive weapon, the Toronto Raptors continue to score at their best pace in franchise history. That pace is likely to continue Sunday night against the Denver Nuggets, who rank among the worst defensive teams in the NBA. DeMar DeRozan, who led Toronto (23-7) in scoring each of the past three seasons, has been sidelined since late November with a groin injury, yet his absence has done little to slow the best team in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have reached the 110-point mark in each of their past four games, including Saturdays 110-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in the second stop on a season-long six-game road trip. Kyle Lowry has emerged as an elite guard with DeRozan out. Hes averaged 22.0 points and 9.0 assists in the 14 games DeRozan has missed after tallying 18.6 and 6.4 in the first 16 contests. Lowry had a game-high 25 points and seven assists Saturday. Were a full team, Lowry said. I mean, we need DeMar back, we want him back and we cant wait for him to get back. But for now, we cant make excuses because DeMars not playing. Its all about the next man up. Were a very deep team. Toronto has also produced quality defensive play during its 7-1 run, holding opponents under 100 points five times in that span. The Raptors are 13-0 this season when accomplishing that feat. Toronto snapped a nine-game skid in Denver (13-17) with a 100-90 victory on Jan. 31, and also took the first meeting this season, 112-107 in overtime on Dec. 8. Lou Williams scored 26 points in that game and has become a key component for one of the best second-units in the NBA. Williams, along with Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, headline a bench that scores 39.6 points per game - among the highest marks in the league. Weve got a great bench and we feed off of each other, Vasquez said. It may not show in the stats, but a lot of different guys do a lot of different things. The second (unit) doesnt get as much credit as the starters, but we dont care. Denver won its third straight at home, 106-102 over Minnesota on Friday, as Kenneth Faried collected a season-high 26 points and a career-best 25 rebounds. Facing the defensively-challenged Timberwolves obviously helped as the Nuggets scored 106 points after averaging 84.7 over the previous three games. The other end of the court remains an issue for Denver, which has allowed an average of 106.0 points in its last eight games, excluding a 76-73 win over Indiana on Dec. 20. Everything starts with defense, coach Brian Shaw said. We have to do a better job defensively and have more consistency on that end of the court. Were slipping in terms of were fouling too much. Arron Afflalo chipped in 13 points Friday but shot 4 of 16. Hes connected on only 29.7 percent (19 of 64) from the field over his last five games and is 2 for 21 from 3-point range during that span. He scored 25 on 9-of-14 shooting in the loss to Toronto earlier this month. The Nuggets were without Faried in that contest due to a lower back strain, yet still managed to outrebound the Raptors 49-44. David Moore Jersey . Patty Mills scored 15 points, Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds in limited minutes, and San Antonio trailed for only 11 seconds late in the first quarter of a 103-90 victory over Portland on Wednesday night. Tom Johnson Jersey . RAPTORS STRUGGLING: The bottom line is the true test in sports isnt just how you handle failure, but how you handle success. http://www.officialseattleseahawksfootba...rsey-womens.The Toronto Raptors guard, who will represent the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Sunday, says he doesnt complain in the face of adversity "because I know this little girl is just happy for anything. Ethan Pocic Jersey . The football club recently announced an increase in season ticket prices in five of the seven categories at Investors Group Field for 2014. While most increases are in the two to three per cent range, the clubs most affordable season tickets will jump from $199 to $250 — a 26 per cent leap. Dion Jordan Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes hope they now have the leadership tandem in place to turn the franchise around.The Arizona Coyotes continued success over Edmonton is one reason why they remain just in front of the last-place Oilers in the Western Conference. The visiting Coyotes will try to push further ahead of their Pacific Division rivals, losers of nine in a row, while avoiding a season-high fourth consecutive defeat Monday night. Its two wins over Edmonton this season has helped Arizona (9-12-3) hold a five-point cushion over the lowly Oilers (6-14-4). A 2-1 victory in Edmonton on Nov. 16 pushed the Coyotes to 17-1-3 in the last 21 meetings, and they won 7-4 in a matchup in Arizona on Oct. 15. The Oilers look far from primed to end that dominance as theyre mired in one of the longest losing streaks in franchise history, an 0-6-3 skid that began Nov. 11. Another defeat Monday would mark Edmontons longest skid since a 12-game slide from Feb. 25-March 21, 2007. The Oilers two latest defeats both came in overtime, 1-0 on Thursday against Nashville and 4-3 on Friday to St. Louis. They blew a pair of one-goal leads against the Blues. This is an extremely hard and tough situation for everybody in our organization, from the players to the coaches to the managers, coach Dallas Eakins said. It is hard and it is painful, and somewhere you have to believe that this is going to make you extremely resilient and tough down the road. Eakins club has been outscored 31-16 in its last nine games and 27-12 while going 0-6-1 in its last seven in Edmonton. The Oilers last lost eight in a row at home Jan 5-28, 2010. The Coyotes, however, have produced just four goals during a three-game skid and have scored nine while going 1-3-2 in their last six. AA 3-0 loss to Calgary on Saturday was their fifth straight at home.dddddddddddd Its not fun when youre losing games, and weve got to start finding some ways to squeak out some wins here, forward Brandon McMillan said. We have to try to score some ugly goals and hopefully get some confidence going that way. Arizona has totaled 30 goals in seven games against Edmonton since the start of 2013-14, with Mikkel Boedker tallying seven scores along with four assists. He had his first career hat trick and an assist in the October matchup, but has two assists in his last six overall contests. Edmontons Taylor Hall has three goals and seven assists during a six-game point streak in the series, and six goals and 11 assists in 14 career matchups. Hall will face the struggling Mike Smith in the Arizona net. Smith, 4-11-2 with a 3.26 GAA and winless in seven games since Nov. 7, is 9-0-1 with a 2.46 GAA in his last 11 matchups with the Oilers. Edmonton Oilers Projected Lines Forwards Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle Perron Draisaitl Pitlick Yakupov Arcobello Purcell Gazdic Gordon Pinnizotto Defence Ference Fayne Klefbom Petry Nikitin Schultz Goalie Fasth Games Notes Coyotes (21PTS) at Oilers (16PTS) - 930PM ARZ is 2-0-0 vs EDM this season, 1-0-0 in EDM ARZ has won 4 straight in EDM EDM (6-14-4): 0-6-3 past 9 games, 3/27 on PP, 16GF 0-6-1 past 7 at home, 9GF at even strength did not win a home game in Nov. Hall (3G, 1A) vs ARZ this season ARZ (9-12-3): 1-3-2 past 6 games, 9GF, 2/13 on PP 1-2-0 past 3 on road, 2/7 on PP Boedker (4G, 1A) vs EDM this season Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '