Dein erstes Forum » best-of-five Davis Cup tie. Canada

TORONTO - Kyle Lowry laid flat in the centre of the key, hands on his head as he stared straight up at the top of the Air Canada Centre, likely seeing nothing at all, having just missed the biggest shot of his eight-year career. Although, technically it was not a shot. With their season on the line, the ball was in Lowrys hands, deservedly so. The clock showed 6.2 seconds as the Raptors inbounded, trailing by only one in the dying moments of a deciding Game 7. Jason Kidd and his Nets team had little doubt the ball would find Lowry. The star point guard caught the pass, with Deron Williams draped all over him, and went straight toward the rim as Kevin Garnett came over to trap. Lowry split the two defenders and floated a shot up at the basket just as Paul Pierce entered the fray in time to block it. As the buzzer sounded, putting an end to Torontos magical season, Lowry - the teams heart and soul - fell to the court. What was going through his head? "Whats not?" he shot back. DeMar DeRozan was the first one to come over. Crouching over the sprawled out Lowry, DeRozan offered up some words of encouragement. "He said, If anyone is taking that shot, Im living and dying with you taking it and trying to get that shot off," Lowry recounted after the Raptors heartbreaking 104-103 Game 7 loss. "It was one of those things, a brotherly moment." DeRozan helped the point guard up and the Raptors two best players walked off the court - Lowry with his jersey over his face - to a rousing ovation from their appreciative fans. "It was big time," Amir Johnson said of the scene. "Just them showing their appreciation, how well we did this season and how hard we worked. So it was a sad moment but bittersweet, I guess." The Raptors couldnt hide their disappointment after falling just short of advancing to the Conference Semifinals Sunday afternoon, it was written all over their faces, but they have no reason to hang their heads. The sellout ACC crowd stood and chanted in salute of their team, the game - however frustrating - served as a good reminder of why. With five minutes left, the Raptors appeared dead in the water. Frustrated and coming undone in the moment, down 10, their season was on life support but, like hes done so many times before, Dr. Lowry refused to let them die. Lowry scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the final quarter and the Raptors came storming back. That resiliency has been their most admirable quality all year. They had led the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring differential, earning 11 comeback wins, eight more than the season prior. "Were going to fight until our last breath," said DeRozan after scoring 18 points, playing with the flu, as Casey revealed following the game. "Were going to leave it out there, every single thing we have there on the court." "We battled," added Johnson, who recorded his first playoff double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. "I would go to war with these guys any day and they showed a lot of pride and a lot of heart tonight. We just ran out of time." Lowry and his unwavering resolve have a lot to do with the teams late-game tenacity and so, with their season in the balance, they had no qualms with letting him decide their fate. "That young man did everything he could to get to the basket," Casey said of Lowry on the final possession. It was what they had drew up, Lowry going to the rim, though it was a slight variation of what was intended, with poor spacing that ultimately led to the blocked shot. "He tried to will his way to get that extra point." One point separated the teams Sunday and after 11 meetings - in the regular season and playoffs - Toronto and Brooklyn each scored 1,070 points. The series was as close as they come. "We were right there," Casey pointed out, and if a few calls from another highly critiqued officiating crew went their way they may have pulled it out. But in the end, the Nets were the better team Sunday and that was the case, more often than not, throughout the series. Joe Johnson - the best player on either side over the seven-game span - proved un-guardable again, scoring half of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, while the Raptors youth and inexperience continued to rear its head. Although Terrence Ross turned in his best game of the series, securing the steal that made Torontos final possession possible, the bar had been set low. Fellow sophomore Jonas Valanciunas scored just three points to go along with five rebounds in one of the quietest outings of his brief career. As a team, the Raptors wanted to go further, they believed they were ready and came just one play short of proving it. Even after the loss, with their season now over, the progress theyve made does not go to waste. Three of their starters had never appeared in a playoff game. Only four players on their roster had ever experienced a Game 7, no one has emerged victorious from one. This experience is invaluable and can only serve them well, both individually and as a collective, going forward. "Im proud of our guys," Casey said. "Nobody gave them a snowballs chance in you know where to be here. They competed all year. This group has a lot of stuff in front of them, a lot of basketball in front of them. The organization is in a great spot." "This playoff run is nothing but positive for these young men and anyone that thinks any different doesnt know basketball." 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Brett Hull Jersey . -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.HALIFAX -- Milos Raonic will have the opportunity to lead Canada back into the elite Davis Cup World Group. The hard-serving native of Thornhill, Ont., will face Colombian Santiago Giraldo in the first of two singles matches Sunday to conclude the best-of-five Davis Cup tie. Canada needs just one victory to secure the victory and assure it remains in the World Group next season. If Colombia wins both matches, Canada will be knocked out of the World Group. Canada had a chance to cement the World Group berth Saturday but Colombias Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah beat Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and Torontos Daniel Nestor 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7), 6-4 in doubles at the Halifax Metro Centre. That cut the Canadians lead to 2-1 in the tie. "We knew this was going to be a difficult but we have a lot going for us," Canadian team coach Martin Laurendeau said. "We are up 2-1 . . . and playing in front of a home crowd. "Those are the conditions we like. We need to regroup now and get the job done (Sunday)." If Giraldo beats Raonic, the tie will come down to the final singles match between Pospisil and Alejandro Gonzales. Pospisil and Raonic began play Friday by winning their singles matches. Pospisil beat Giraldo 6-3, 7-6 (2) 6-3 while Raonic dispatched Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3 6-2. Pospisil said Cabal and Farah were full warranted for their victory. "It was a very tough match," he said. "They played exceptionally well. "It was a close match and there were few points here and there that made the difference." Nestor, participating in his 47th career Davis Cup match, said he knew coming into the match that the Colombians would be tough. "I played them several times this year (at Brisbane, Barcelona and Madrid on ATP Tour) and all those matches were very close ones," he said.dddddddddddd "I was hoping for a different outcome but they were a better team." Cabal and Farah won first two sets in close tiebreakers. They broke Nestor at 4-4 in the third, then held to complete the sweep. "We improved a lot this year," said Cabal. "The fact that we can beat Nestor at home shows that we are on the right track to be a very good doubles team." The contest was a close one. The Colombians won a total of 109 points, just seven more than the Canadians. "I think we returned the serve better today," said Farah. "That made the difference." Nestor and Pospisil hadnt played together for over a year and Pospisil felt that was a factor. "I think this was a big difference," he said. "Its not easy to get ready for both singles and doubles. "Its tough to get a god rhythm." Colombian coach Mauricio Hadad admits his team faces a difficult task Sunday needing to win both matches to secure the victory. "We gave ourselves hope (Saturday) and were still alive," he said. "But Giraldo has a very difficult match ahead of him. "Raonic plays very well. He is one of the best players in the world now, and on this fast surface here he is a favourite." A series win over Colombia would secure Canadas place in the 16-team World Group for a fourth straight year but a loss would drop the squad to the Americas Zone Group I, where it hasnt been since 2011. Colombia is participating in just its third World Group playoff ever and looking to reach Davis Cups upper echelon for the first time in its history. 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