CLEVELAND - With just over a minute remaining in a three-point contest, Kyrie Irving, Clevelands lethal late-game weapon, barrelled into the lane as Kyle Lowry stood in his way, positioned above the restricted area. Corey Liuget Jersey . Mired in an offensive slump, Lowry - the NBAs leader in taking charges this season - did what he has learned to do best, standing his ground and drawing a crucial offensive foul on the Cavaliers all-star point guard. Fast forward 30 seconds to the Cavs next possession, with the home team still trailing by three, Spencer Hawes - one of the leagues best passing big men - threw an interception, intended for Tyler Zeller and picked off by DeMar DeRozan. The Raptors two best players, their two leading scorers, made the two most important plays of Tuesdays 99-93 win over Cleveland. That much is not unusual. Of note though is both of those plays came on the defensive end. "Those defensive plays are deflation plays for the opposition," said Lowry, who struggled with his shot, hitting just three of 15 attempts from the field and misfiring on all nine of his jumpers from three-point range. "Its definitely fun to step up for the team in those situations." Lowry didnt think twice when faced with a split-second decision, one hes made time and time again in high-pressure situations during his breakout campaign. "Those are winning plays," he said, asked about the art of drawing a charge, crediting the tutelage of former teammate Shane Battier, whom he called "one of the best charge takers" in the league. DeRozans steal was just as vital, if not more so, to the teams sixth win in the last seven games and second over Cleveland in a span of five days. "He was like a free safety out there," Lowry said, shortly before DeRozan - in conversation with the media - made yet another reference to Seahawks cornerback and fellow Compton-native Richard Sherman. "I kind of anticipated it, I read the play a little bit," said DeRozan, who also made his share of big offensive plays, scoring 16 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, adding six assists without turning the ball over. "They ran it earlier in the game. I knew they were going to look for it and I just went for it." Toronto, and DeRozan in particular, has come up short when faced with one final possession, one final shot in the past. Both guards heeded their coachs direction this time around. It didnt come down to a last-second heave. The Raptors won with timely defence. After enjoying a much-improved first quarter following a series of slow starts, the Raptors struggled on both ends of the floor during the meat of the game. Nothing was falling for Lowry - a 39 per cent three-point shooter on the season - and the team was accumulating sloppy turnovers at an uncharacteristically alarming rate for the second straight contest. Almost foreshadowing the nights eventual result, Casey was asked how to prevent his team from allowing its offence to dictate defensive effort prior to the game. "I havent discovered it yet in my 30 years of coaching," he responded. "Its the same in college, [in the] pros and its been that way for a long time. A lot of guys have to see the ball go through the basket to get themselves going on the other end, which you dont want, you preach against but I think its human nature." For at least one night, his team and his point guard bucked that trend. "That was one example of a guy not letting his offence dictate his defence," Casey said of Lowry, who also added nine assists, made all seven of his free-throw attempts and could have drawn a couple more charges if not for a pair of close calls that didnt go his way. "Thats how you have to play," Lowry added. "Youre not going to have great games all the time. Youre not going to shoot 10-for-12 every night or 20-for-30. Youre always going to have some sort of off game but you cant let that stop you from helping your team win a game." Terrence Ross bailed him out offensively, scoring what DeRozan called a "quiet 19 points", knocking down five of his eight shots from long distance. With the win, the Raptors climb seven games above the .500 mark for the first time in six years. It ensures theyll have a winning record for a third consecutive month, accomplishing that feat for the first time since 2007. LaDainian Tomlinson Chargers Jersey . The Bobcats (2-2) trailed 35-23 early in the second quarter, but cut the lead to 42-40 at halftime. Charlotte outscored Cleveland 32-17 in the third quarter to go ahead 72-59 and pulled away. Shareece Wright Womens Jersey . - Inbee Park is back defending her No.MIAMI -- Theres no question that the city of Chicago was waiting, impatiently at times, to get Derrick Rose back. And the same could likely be said about the Bulls franchise. They werent alone. The NBA was waiting as well. When Roses comeback commences for real on opening night in Miami on Oct. 29 against the two-time defending champion Heat, theres no question the league will be savoring the return of one of its biggest sources of star power. Rose sells tons of jerseys, sells tons of tickets, gets more people watching on television and almost certainly will raise the quality of play in the Eastern Conference. Sure, its better for opponents when he spends an entire season in suits. For the game, its better when hes back on the floor. "Obviously, hes one of our better players in the league," said Heat All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, a native of Chicago. "You miss a guy as dynamic as that. The league as a whole missed him.. So Im sure for the city of Chicago, as hes a guy who really believes in and loves the city, Im sure theyre ecstatic. Having him back will bring a different kind of energy." Rose was the NBAs MVP in 2011, and has played in just 40 of the Bulls 166 games since because of a number of injuries -- the most serious of them being a torn-up left knee suffered in Chicagos first playoff game in 2012. Some suggested that because of his athleticism and commitment to rehabilitation, he would only miss a few months. By the time he returned to the court earlier in this preseason, more than 17 months had passed without Rose in uniform. By the time Rose plays in a game for real, it will be 18 months and 1 day since his knee gave way and rendered him to endless questions about why he could be practicing but not playing. Some of his NBA colleagues understood that logic. "I thought it was very smart of him not to rush back," Cleveland guard Jarrett Jack said. "Everybody kept thinking that just because it was an injury that happened last year that he should come back in the regular season. They didnt take into consideration that it happened so late in April and he would be walking a slippery slope to force himself back and then to try and be himself. "Thats the thing that people forget," Jacck continued. Kellen Winslow Jersey. "You dont want to come back and just be half of yourself. You want to come back and be at full strength." So Rose waited. The Bulls did better than many people expected without him, winning 45 regular-season games a year ago, ousting Brooklyn in the first round and taking Game 1 of a second-round series against Miami before falling in five games. And the off-the-court side of Rose seemed to flourish. He had the top-selling NBA jersey in China, Latin America and Europe last season. His jersey remains one of the most prominent -- and popular -- at the NBA Store in New York. All that came with the majority of Roses public displays of basketball being shooting and dribbling work on the floor before games, often working himself into a full sweat while his teammates were in the locker room making final preparations before starting warmups. "I think hes coming back stronger than ever," Atlanta forward Al Horford said. "Just from what Ive been hearing, hes anxious. He hasnt played in a year so hes going to be going after people." Thats been evident in this preseason. If someone with an MVP award on his resume needed a breakout preseason game, Rose got it last week against Indiana. He was vintage against one of Chicagos top rivals, with 32 points in just 31 minutes. He was aggressive, getting to the foul line. He created contact, just like he used to. He was strong defending on the ball. His jump shot looked better than ever. "Its definitely going to mean a lot to have him back," Minnesota forward Kevin Love said. "We obviously hope that when he plays the Timberwolves that he has an off game. He looks a lot stronger, he looks very confident and I think hes going to have a great year. He just looks really focused." By the end of the year, Indiana coach Frank Vogel will probably have seen enough of Rose, given that the Bulls and Pacers will probably be the top contenders in the Central Division. And if their four regular-season meetings werent enough, Chicago and Indiana squared off twice in this preseason as well. So Vogels already had a courtside seat from which to assess Roses return. "Same old Derrick Rose," Vogel said. Yep, hes back. ' ' '
