Category: Uncategorized

Clippers’ Paul George, Kawhi Leonard enjoying time together — Daily News

LOS ANGELES — As advertised, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been productive when they’ve punched in for work this season, especially when their shifts have aligned. They’ll tell you they’re enjoying working together, but that there’s a lot of room to grow, even with Leonard contributing 25.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.2 assist per…

Clippers’ Paul George, Kawhi Leonard enjoying time together — Daily News

Raptors go historically stone cold in balmy Miami — Toronto Sun

MIAMI — Pretty it was not. There are nights in a season when the ball just refuses to go in the hoop. The Raptors, collectively, had one of those nights. How bad was it? They shot 6-for-42 from three-point range. That’s a 14.3% success rate and the third worst success rate by a team shooting […]

Raptors go historically stone cold in balmy Miami — Toronto Sun

How Enes Kanter’s Political Activism Has Taken Toll On His Family — NESN.com

Enes Kanter’s political activism has taken quite a toll on him and his family. The Boston Celtics big man is outspoken about the human rights abuses he believes are taking place in Turkey, his home country, under president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime. Kanter is well aware of how powerful his platform as an NBA player…

How Enes Kanter’s Political Activism Has Taken Toll On His Family — NESN.com..

Winnipegger Adam Brooks set for first hometown NHL game against Jets — Winnipeg Sun

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect scenario for Adam Brooks as he prepares to play just his third NHL game. Read More

Winnipegger Adam Brooks set for first hometown NHL game against Jets — Winnipeg Sun

Canadian forward Veleno suspended one game for headbutt against Russia — Toronto Sun

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic — Canada’s humiliating loss to Russia just keeps getting worse. Veteran forward Joe Veleno will miss Monday’s critical World Junior Championship showdown with Germany after being suspended one game for what the International Ice Hockey Federation’s disciplinary panel deemed to be a headbutt during a second period altercation with Russian defenceman Daniil […]

Canadian forward Veleno suspended one game for headbutt against Russia — Toronto Sun

Canadian captain apologizes after leaving helmet on during Russian anthem — Toronto Sun

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic — A contrite Barrett Hayton said he was “lost in the moment” when he failed to follow international hockey protocol and left his helmet on during the Russian national anthem at the World Junior Championship. Read More

Canadian captain apologizes after leaving helmet on during Russian anthem — Toronto Sun

CELTICS 118, RAPTORS 102 QUOTES: “We weren’t quite physical enough I thought, for most stretches of the game. I thought they got a lot of stuff right at the rim, they had five second-chance layups early, a couple of post ups where they just turned right to the rim and laid it in. So we weren’t doing a good job, we did a little better job on some of that stuff later, then they started making a bunch of 3s.” –NICK NURSE

(21-7) BOSTON CELTICS, 118 VS. (21-10) TORONTO RAPTORS, 102 SCOTIABANK ARENA WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2019

TORONTO RAPTORS QUOTES

NICK NURSE (HEAD COACH)

On being the first time the team was off at both ends of the floor … Yeah, we weren’t quite physical enough I thought, for most stretches of the game. I thought they got a lot of stuff right at the rim, they had five second chance layups early, a couple of post ups where they just turned right to the rim and laid it in. So we weren’t doing a good job, we did a little better job on some of that stuff later, then they started making a bunch of threes. We were little out of it, it was an out of rhythm game for us, that’s for sure.

On the afternoon game and cumulative effect of the last few games being a factor … There’s has been really tough stretches in all these last games, as you know. Big swings in play and the scoring is not very easy for us right now, it’s tough. We just had some rotten luck too. We dribbled it off our foot a couple of times, we dropped a couple that we were going in for lay ups. You can’t kind of self-inflict some of that stuff either. You have got to value the ball a little bit better. 17 turnovers for 20 points, I don’t know how many second chance points they ended up with – 24 – that’s going to spell trouble those two numbers above 20 in the same game. It’s unfortunate we just didn’t play very well today.

On Kemba Walker shaking loose for those threes … We were kind of in our coverage there, we were just hoping we could get back and at least rearview challenge him on those. After he made the two we switched matchups, switched coverages and cleaned that up a little bit. He is going to score some, he is going take some shots and we thought we did a pretty good job for the most part and then he shook free for those back to back ones in the second half.

On needing Patrick McCaw to be more aggressive on offence … Yeah, I’d like him to bring the ball more when he gets the rebounds. I think his speed up the floor could get us in transition, then he can get into the paint when we are running Kyle (Lowry) and Fred (VanVleet) down the wings or something, so get our shooting on the outside a little bit. Just, I think those guys all need to be aggressive, Pat, Terence (Davis), Chris (Boucher) is aggressive by nature, Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson) is pretty aggressive as well, but those guys you now, they have to come in and take the opportunities that are there sometimes.

CHRIS BOUCHER (24 points, six rebounds)

On getting down big in games lately… Obviously it’s not good. It’s never good when you are too down and you have to find a way to get back. We have to find a way to get started, be able to get a lead or something like that because it’s gets hard to come back from 15 or 20. We did it once, but that’s not something we want to do every day.

On playing against teams with size… They hit a lot of tough shots, too. I feel like we had a run and they called a foul and that kind of got us messed up. They’ve got vets and they got a lot of offensive rebounds at the beginning and that kind of got us in a hole. Coach made a point about that, we have to find a way to box out and sandwich guys. If I have to think about something we have to get better at, that’s what it is.

KYLE LOWRY (14 points, eight assists)

On getting down big in recent games… We’ve done it the last couple of games and that’s a well-coached team, a hard-playing team. Jaylen Brown and Kemba (Walker), those guys played extremely well and made a lot of shots, so trying to get back was a little bit tougher tonight than before.

What needs to be done differently early in games to avoid getting down big? Just continue to play harder, get better shots. When teams go on a run we have to make sure we get a bucket, get a stop, get a score, get back out on transition. We are at our best when we get out on transition, get stops, but tonight they were scoring so much and second chance points. At one point they had 13 more shots than us and that’s what they’ve done to us the two games we’ve played, they’ve had more shots at the rim and second chance points.

BOSTON CELTICS QUOTES

BRAD STEVENS (HEAD COACH)

Was the defence tonight as important as the offence? Until the end, gave up a bunch of layups that were uncontested at the end. They are a hard team to guard. Those guards put a lot of pressure on you and then (Chris) Boucher was great today, with both rolls and pops. But I thought our guys competed on that end of the court for the most part. Obviously everybody is acutely aware of the comeback the other day in here, so when we up whatever and they started to cut it back, a couple of those threes were huge to kind of stem the tide.

Was there anything to say when you were down 10-0? That’s part of it sometimes, they hit us early but I thought we recovered well and made enough plays there, we got it back to I think 10-9 before they scored again. Then it was back to a back-and-forth for a while, so that’s not an ideal start but they go on runs. They are a team that can go on runs in a heartbeat.

On having Gordon Hayward out there… I think what it allows you to do is it allows you to keep two of those guys on the court at one time. When we subbed out Gordon and Kemba (Walker), you are able to keep Jaylen (Brown) and Jason (Tatum) on the court or vice versa, whatever, some combination of that. That will only get better when (Marcus) Smart gets back. I thought a lot of our other guys played good roles next to them. I thought Romeo (Langford) was really solid again, I thought (Enes) Kanter obviously came in and gave us a great deal on the low post, especially in the first half.

JAYSON TATUM (11 points, nine rebounds, six assists)

What does it mean to you to play on Christmas and get another win? It’s a big deal to play on Christmas and coming up here and getting a win on the road. That’s a really good team – a tough place to play.

Was it an off shooting night for you? You’ve got to find other ways to impact the game, but we came out with a win. That’s the most important.

On advice to Kemba Walker before the Christmas day game… No. I mean, he’s been in this league longer than me. It was a big deal for him, and he was great.

JAYLEN BROWN (30 points, six rebounds and four assists)

What got you going in the third quarter? Just being aggressive. I think just trying to get involved. I didn’t take a lot of shots so I was just trying to be as efficient as possible.

On his game… Just trying to be efficient. I think that was the goal, just trying to be aggressive. I’m trying to make every shot and not wasting any motion. I think it was good to get a win here on Christmas. I’ve never won here period. It was great to get one.

On the Raptors… It’s a well-coached team with some hungry, good players that play well together. We knew at any given moment they could turn it on so we had to weather the storm and continue to play good basketball.

Did you sense your hot streak in the third quarter coming? Yeah, I was feeling good. Was just trying to play within the game, not a lot of play calls, just scoring within the game. It kind of led to making baskets and being efficient. However it goes out there, just trying to take advantage of every opportunity that you get.

How many tricks do you have left in your bag after today? A whole lot, a whole lot. For me it’s just continuing to understand and see the game, make the right reads, make the right play. As I gain more trust within the organization, the coaching staff I can take it to another level.

Why are the Celtics so difficult to guard? The key is to let the game dictate. I think we are all capable of doing multiple things, we’re all interchangeable, so I think that’s what makes us hard to guard. It’s not necessarily dictated to one position or one spot, we can all interchange in terms of coming off of the ball, screens or someone cutting or someone in the corner, I think that’s what makes us dangerous. As we get better, I think that the rhythm and the flow as we continue to be in multiple spots makes it harder to guard different guys in different spots.

RAPTORS 110, MAVERICKS 107 POSTGAME NOTES: A record 47-point fourth quarter leads to the biggest comeback win in team history.

FINAL SCORE: TORONTO RAPTORS 110, DALLAS MAVERICKS 107

DATE: DECEMBER 22, 2019 ATTENDANCE: 19,800 (Sellout).

FINAL SCORE RECORD HIGH POINTS HIGH REBOUNDS HIGH ASSISTS

Dallas 107 19-10 Brunson – 21 Porzingis – 12 Brunson – 9

Toronto 110 21-8 Lowry – 32 Hollis-Jefferson – 9 Lowry – 10

KEY RUN Trailing 86-63 after three quarter, Toronto outscored Dallas 47-21 in the fourth quarter … The Raptors shot 56 per cent (14-for-25) from the floor in the frame, including 6-for-11 (.545) from three-point range … Kyle Lowry scored 20 of his game-high 32 points in the final quarter.

KEY STAT Tonight marked the largest comeback victory in Raptors franchise history … Toronto trailed by as many as 30 point late in the third quarter, before outscoring Dallas 47-21 in the fourth quarter … The Raptors’ 47 points were also a franchise record for the fourth quarter.

RAPTORS NOTES: • With the win, Toronto improves to 21-8 this season and 13-3 at home … The Raptors have won five in a row (Dec. 14-22), including four straight games at Scotiabank Arena … Toronto is now 7-4 in the month of December. • Toronto and Dallas split the season-series for the second time in the last three seasons … The Raptors have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams. • The Raptors’ bench outscored Dallas’ reserves 48-20. • Toronto is the first team since Sacramento (Dec. 21, 2009 vs. Chicago) to have a 30-point comeback. • Kyle Lowry led the Raptors in scoring for the second straight game with 32 points – his second 30- point outing this season … Lowry added eight rebounds and 10 assists in 42 minutes for his fourth double-double on the year and third in the last four games (Dec. 16-20). • Chris Boucher recorded a career-high 21 points (6-12 FG, 9-12 FT) and seven rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench … Boucher scored in double digits for the seventh time this season. • Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored a season-high 18 points in 29 minutes as a reserve … Hollis-Jefferson scored in double figures for the second straight game and ninth time this season … Hollis-Jefferson is averaging 16.0 points off the bench over the last two games (Dec. 20-22). • The Raptors had four players score double figures – Lowry (32), Boucher (21), Hollis-Jefferson (18) and Fred VanVleet (10). • Rookie Terence Davis ll is the only Raptor not to miss a game this season.

MAVERICKS NOTES: • With the loss, Dallas falls to 19-10 on the season and 11-3 on the road … The defeat ends the Mavericks’ seven game winning streak on the road (Nov. 24 – Dec. 20). • All five starters scored in double figures for Dallas, combining for 87 points. • The Mavericks had five players score in double digits – Brunson (21), Kristaps Porzingis (19), Dwight Powell (17), Tim Hardaway Jr. (16), Dorian Finney-Smith (14). = 2019-20 SEASON-SERIES ALL-TIME RECO

RAPTORS 122, WIZARDS 118 POSTGAME NOTES: Fred VanVleet returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous five games with a right knee contusion and had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists.

FINAL SCORE: TORONTO RAPTORS 122, WASHINGTON WIZARDS 118

DATE: DECEMBER 20, 2019 ATTENDANCE: 19,800 (Sellout)

FINAL SCORE RECORD HIGH POINTS HIGH REBOUNDS HIGH ASSISTS Washington 118 8-19 Beal – 37 Bertans – 8 Beal – 6

Toronto 122 20-8 Lowry – 26 Ibaka – 10 Lowry – 9

KEY RUN With the game tied 109-109, the Raptors went on a 7-1 run to lead by six with two minutes remaining … Washington pulled with two with 1.1 seconds left, but Fred VanVleet clinched the win at the free throw line. KEY STAT The Raptors set season highs in both free throws made and attempted (34-for-44) … Washington shot 75 per cent (24-for-32) at the foul line … Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka attempted 11 and 10 free throws, respectively.

RAPTORS NOTES: • With the win, Toronto improves to 20-8 this season and 12-3 at home … The Raptors have won four in a row (Dec. 14-20), including three straight games at Scotiabank Arena … Toronto is now 6-4 in the month of December. • Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Raptors are 16-3 vs. Washington during the regular season and have won the last four meetings at home. • All five Toronto starters scored in double digits, combining for 96 points. • The Raptors scored a season-high 40 points in the first quarter. • Kyle Lowry led the Raptors in scoring for the fifth time this season with 26 points (7-14 FG, 3-7 3PT, 9-11 FT) … Lowry added a game-high nine assists and four rebounds in 41 minutes. • Serge Ibaka recorded his third double-double in the last four games (Dec 14-20) with 23 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 36 minutes in his first start of the season. • The Raptors had six players score double figures – Lowry (26), Ibaka (23), OG Anunoby (18), Fred VanVleet (18), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (14) and Patrick McCaw (11) … VanVleet returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous five games with a right knee contusion … McCaw’s 11 points were a season high in his first start of the season. • Rookie Terence Davis ll is the only Raptor not to miss a game this season.

WIZARDS NOTES: • With the loss, Washington falls to 8-19 on the season and 4-12 on the road … The Wizards have dropped their last two games (Dec. 18-20) and are now 2-8 in the month of December. • The Wizards outscored Toronto 25-16 on the fast-break. • Bradley Beal led all scorers with 37 points (12-24 FG, 3-10 3PT, 10-12 FT) – his 12th 30-point game of the season … Beal added seven rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes. • Ish Smith scored a season-high 26 points (9-9 FG, 4-4 3PT, 4-4 FT) in 30 minutes off the bench. • The Wizards had five players score in double digits – Beal (37), Smith (26), Isaiah Thomas (13), Troy Brown Jr. (11) and Davis Bertans (10). = 2019-20

MAPLE LEAFS 6, RANGERS 3 POST GAME NOTES: Pierre Engvall opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs at 9:38 of the first period. Engvall has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) over his past three games.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 6 (18-14-4 – 40 Points) vs.
NEW YORK RANGERS 3 (16-14-4 – 36 Points)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2019

ON THE SCORESHEET
Pierre Engvall opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs at 9:38 of the first period. Engvall has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) over his past three games. Tonight’s goal is his first point against an Eastern Conference opponent in six games. He has registered all six of his points (2-4-6) on the road in 2019-20.
William Nylander scored Toronto’s second goal of the night at 11:52 of the first period and later had the secondary assist on Mitch Marner’s second period goal before scoring the fourth Toronto goal of the night at 2:10 of the third period. Nylander has assists (2) and points (2-2-4) in two consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his third multi-goal and fifth multi-point performance of 2019-20. In five career games at Madison Square Garden, Nylander has registered four goals and three assists.
Mitch Marner scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the night on the power play at 2:50 of the second period before adding the fifth Maple Leafs goal of the night at 2:57 of the third period. Marner has points (4-6-10) in six consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his second multi-goal and eighth multi-point performance of 2019-20. He has 14 points (7-7-14) in 11 games on the road this season.
Ilya Mikheyev collected the secondary assist on Engvall’s first period goal and later scored the sixth Toronto goal of the game at 16:23 of the third period. Mikheyev has goals (3) and points (3-1-4) in three consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his sixth multi-point performance of the season. He has 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 20 road games.
Justin Holl registered the primary assist on Engvall’s first period goal. Holl has three assists over his last five games. He has recorded eight (1-7-8) of his 11 points on the road this season. He has two points (1 goal, 1 assist) in two career games at Madison Square Garden.
Kasperi Kapanen recorded the lone assist on Nylander’s first period goal. Kapanen has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 10 games against Metropolitan Division opponents this season. He has 15 points (6-9-15) in 20 games on the road.
Auston Matthews registered the primary assist on Marner’s second period goal and later had the primary assist on Nylander’s third period goal. Matthews has points (2-2-4) in two consecutive games. Tonight’s game is his third multi-assist game of the season and his 12th multi-point game of 2019-20. Eleven of Matthews’ 17 assists have been primary assists, which is the second highest primary assist total among Toronto skaters.
Travis Dermott picked up the secondary assist on Nylander’s third period goal. Dermott has four points (2-2-4) in seven games against Metropolitan Division teams this season. Five (2-3-5) of his six points have come on the road this season.
Alex Kerfoot had the lone assist on Mikheyev’s third period goal. Kerfoot has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) over his last three games. He has three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in five career games against the Rangers. Toronto is 5-2-1 when Kerfoot records a point this season.
Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots to earn his League-leading 18th win of the season.

Record on the Road
10-10-0 (20 Games)
All-Time Record vs. New York
288-222-95-10 (615 Games)
All-Time Record vs. New York on the Road:
169-94-39-5 (307 Games)
Record vs. Eastern Conference
9-9-4 (21 Games)
Record vs. Metropolitan Division
3-4-3 (10 Games)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
Shots
6 (Marner)
Shot Attempts
8 (Rielly)
Faceoff Wins
9 (Tavares)
Faceoff Win Percentage
83% (Gauthier – 5 won, 1 lost)
Hits
4 (Ceci)
Blocked Shots
5 (Muzzin)
Takeaways
2 (Marner, Mikheyev)
TOI
21:59 (Rielly)
Power Play TOI
2:44 (Marner, Matthews, Tavares)
Shorthanded TOI
3:49 (Muzzin)
Shifts
29 (Holl)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage
80% (Barrie – 28 for, 7 against)

RECORD WHEN…
Scoring first
11-3-1
Tied after 1
7-5-2
Tied after 2
5-5-1
Score one power play goal
7-3-2
Do not allow a power play goal
11-5-0
Outshooting opponent
9-4-1
Friday
3-2-0

OF NOTE…
The Maple Leafs went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and went 1-for-3 on the power play tonight.
Toronto won 60 percent (9 won, 6 lost) of their offensive zone faceoffs at 5-on-5.
Tyson Barrie and Morgan Rielly were on the ice for a team-high 28 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5 tonight. Barrie finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 80 percent (28 for, 7 against), while Rielly had a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 77.8 percent (28 for, 8 against).
Zach Hyman and John Tavares started 16.7 percent of their 5-on-5 shifts in the offensive zone, which was the lowest mark among Toronto skaters.
Auston Matthews won 59 percent (5 won, 4 lost) of his offensive zone faceoffs.
UPCOMING GAMES:
Saturday, December 21, 7:00 p.m. vs. Detroit Red Wings (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
Monday, December 23, 2:00 p.m. vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
Friday, December 27, 7:00 p.m. at New Jersey Devils (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)
Saturday, December 28, 7:00 p.m. vs. New York Rangers (Sportsnet, Sportsnet 590 The FAN)
Tuesday, December 31, 6:00 p.m. at Minnesota Wild (Sportsnet Ontario, TSN 1050)