¤ milky moon ¤

TORONTO -- Even after his team had walked off the court with a comfortable victory, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey made no apologies for his pre-game concerns his team would take this one for granted. "We dont have any right, yet, to overlook anyone," Casey said after the Raptors defeated the lowly Milwaukee Bucks 116-94 at Air Canada Centre on Monday night. "This is a tough league and were still building, were still getting there, so I cant allow our guys to have that in their thought process." Other than a brief stretch of the second quarter when Casey thought his team "got passive offensively and defensively" and let the Bucks cut the Toronto lead to single-digits, it was a convincing performance. Toronto, which took the lead for good on a pair of John Salmons free throws with 3:45 to go in the opening quarter, led by as many as 31 points in chalking up a third straight victory. With the win, the Raptors (19-17) are two games above .500 for the first time in four seasons. The last time was March 9, 2010 when Toronto was 32-30. The Raptors, who now have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Brooklyn Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division, featured a balanced attack with five players in double figures, led by Kyle Lowrys 23 points. It was the sixth straight loss for the Bucks (7-30), who are the NBAs worst team. Even though the Raptors have now won 10 of their last 11 games against teams with sub .500 records and play their next four against team who have lost more than theyve won this season, Lowry rejected suggestions Toronto might get complacent. "I dont think the schedule softens up," Lowry said. "Youre playing an NBA team every single night. "I dont care what theyre records saying, that team we played tonight is a good team. Were self motivated and were not worrying about what other teams are doing, were worried about what were doing." Lowry, Torontos point guard, hit 6-of-8 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 three-point attempts, as the Raptors finished their homestand at 3-0 before 15,819 fans. "It was just another night at the office," for Lowry, said Casey, adding hes playing like an NBA all-star. In addition to Lowrys team-high performance, DeMar DeRozan had 19 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ersan Ilyasova had a game-high 29 points for the Bucks, who sit last in the Central Division. Toronto led by 14 after one quarter, eight at the half and 15 points after three quarters. About the only thing that didnt go well for the home side was a trip to the foul line for Jermain Defoe, introduced earlier in the day as a new member of Toronto FC. Sitting alongside American international Michael Bradley, who was also unveiled earlier Monday and given a large ovation while sitting courtside, the Englishman missed all three shots from the charity stripe during a break in second-half action. The Raptors visit the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday night before returning to the Air Canada Centre to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon. DeRozan said theres no concern the Raptors will look past any of their opponents. "It doesnt matter who we play, its an NBA team," DeRozan said. "Besides us, theres 29 other teams in this league and we prepare for each one of them the same. We dont want to look back at the end of the season and say we left this game or that game on the floor." . Ronaldo failed to connect on an ample number of opportunities at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. But Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez scored in each half for Madrid to come out of the first leg with the firm advantage. . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. http://www.authenticbillsfanatic.com/c- ... ersey.aspx. Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks were proof of that on Wednesday night. .C. -- Marcus Paige and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach for wondering whats next. .com) - Sergio Agueros 63rd-minute goal was enough to lift Manchester City to a 1-0 win over 10-man Manchester United on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium.It will take the last game of the regular season to determine what seed the Toronto Raptors will be for the playoffs. The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte. Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 8pm et/5pm pt. Toronto will fall to the No. 4 spot if it loses and the Bulls top the Bobcats. In the postseason for the first time since 2007-08, the Atlantic Division- champion Raptors set a franchise record for wins with Mondays 110-100 victory versus the Milwaukee Bucks at Air Canada Centre. Greivis Vasquez started in place of DeMar DeRozan and made five 3-pointers en route to 25 points, while Kyle Lowry added 24 points for Toronto, which posted its team-best 48th win. DeMar DeRozan, who was held out of Mondays win over Milwaukee for rest, will return to the lineup. The previous record of 47 wins was achieved twice in 2000-01 and 2006-07. "I always have been ready for any opportunity since I got here," Vasquez said. "Im all about winning and they gave me a chance to start, and I want to help the team win and have a presence in games." Jonas Valanciunas recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Raptors reached the 100-point mark for a seventh straight game. DeMar DeRozan, who was held out of Mondays win over Milwaukee for rest, will return to the lineup. His 22.8 scoring average is the highest since former Raptor and current Miami center Chris Bosh averaged 22.7 ppg in 2008-09. DeRozan is posting 24.2 points in the last six games. The Raptors have won nine of their last 11 games and will try to work on their 22-18 road record at MSG. They have won four of the lastt five road contests.dddddddddddd New York spoiled Brooklyns chances of locking up the No. 5 seed in the East with Tuesdays 109-98 victory over the Nets at Barclays Center. With All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony shut down for the rest of the season with a shoulder issue, rookie Tim Hardaway, Jr. posted a team-best 16 points. Amare Stoudemire, J.R. Smith and Shannon Brown scored 14 points apiece, while Cole Aldrich ended with 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who missed out on the eighth seed in the East. The Knicks have won three in a row and six of the last eight games. "You enjoy it more when youre in (the playoff hunt), when youre fighting for something." Smith said of the win. Meanwhile, an MRI on Anthonys shoulder revealed a small tear in the labrum of his right shoulder. The injury will not require surgery and he will be evaluated in a month. This could be Anthonys last season with the Knicks and he is a pending free agent. He will miss the playoffs for the first time in his career and averaged 27.4 ppg this season. Anthony could opt out of his contract this summer and test free agency. The Knicks, of course, hope to make some changes with Phil Jackson as the new team president and that could mean the departure of head coach Mike Woodson. Stoudemire is expected to sit Wednesdays game for the Knicks, who have an 18-22 record at home and will not participate in the postseason for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. Toronto is 2-1 against New York this season and won the first meeting at Madison Square Garden 95-83 on Dec. 27. These two Atlantic Division inhabitants have split the last 10 games. Lowry is averaging 24.0 points, 8.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games against the Knicks this season. ' ' '