BROOKLYN - With the NFLs self-proclaimed best cornerback sitting courtside, Patrick Patterson came up with a timely interception. Gabriel Landeskog Camo Jersey . "Patrick looked like Richard Sherman out there with that steal," said Kyle Lowry, who may have set a franchise record for most post-game fist pumps after Patterson picked off an inbound pass and drained the winning jump shot moments later. For the first time in nearly two years, the Raptors were without DeMar DeRozan, as their leading scorer watched on from Toronto, nursing a recently sprained left ankle. Not even 10 minutes after the final buzzer - Toronto defeating the red-hot Brooklyn Nets 104-103 Monday evening - Lowry had already spoken with his injured teammate, via FaceTime. The conversation went as follows: "I cant tell you [what he said]," Lowry informed the enquiring media. Lowry, in the middle of a career season, was all smiles after what may have been his best game as a Raptor. The win and the vindicating feeling that accompanied it in the Raptors locker room were nearly stolen from them. With 19 seconds remaining and the Nets up one, Lowry drove into Deron Williams, a moving target, and was whistled for an offensive foul. The controversial call, made by official Violet Palmer, was the latest in a series of questionable whistles. Lowry, along with coach Dwane Casey, was understandably irate. "Its her call," Lowry said after the game. "She made a great call, I mean thats her call. Hey, she called it." You can read between the lines. Down by three after Paul Pierce sunk a pair of free throws, John Salmons extended the game with a quick layup, leading to an inbound play that the Raptors were prepared for. "We knew exactly what they were going to run," Casey said, crediting the teams scouting staff. "Our defence was set." No excuses. They were missing their best player and on the road against an opponent that had won 10 of 11 games in the New Year, their only loss coming to Toronto. The officials were doing them no favours, but this, of course, is a very different Raptors team than the one that would cower in these very situations. Pattersons first instinct after swiping Williamss inbound pass was to find Lowry, a wise decision, and the Raptors point guard set him up for the winning 12-footer, less than a minute after he air-balled a three-pointer. Patterson started the game wearing a face-mask to protect his broken nose, but by the second half, he had tossed it away. He was putting it all out on the line, in more ways than one, when he made the biggest play of the night. "You know me," Patterson joked. "Richard Sherman, Ed Reed, were all in the same category." Sherman and the rest of the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks were in attendance for what turned out to be a playoff-type battle between two teams vying for top spot in the Atlantic. In a game that saw 18 lead changes and nine ties, the Raptors extended their cushion in the division to two and a half games. Theyre still the only team to defeat Brooklyn in the calendar year. "Its a division game, I think everyone knew how big the game was for us," said Lowry, who took his game to another level in the absence of DeRozan, scoring 31 points to go along with seven assists and five steals. "For me personally I just wanted to try to do my best to keep my guys and keep our team together no matter what happened and try to win the game." DeRozan, who sustained his injury in Saturdays loss to the Clippers, had missed just eight games in his four-and-a-half-year career prior to sitting out on Monday. Theres no timetable for his recovery and, while his teammates anxiously await his return, theyre not relying on it. Often, you can learn a lot about a team and its players when a significant cog is removed. The lesson on this night; the Raptors have an array of viable weapons and Lowry has become their heart and soul. Gabriel Landeskog Premier Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Semyon Varlamov Authentic Jersey . The game will be made up on Thursday as part of a day-night doubleheader. Tickets for the Wednesdays game will be honoured for the 1:05 p. (Sports Network) - Returning home after their first victorious multi-city road trip in over two years, the Washington Nationals figure to stand a decent chance of matching their longest winning streak of the season if Ryan Zimmerman can find his way back into the lineup. The third baseman is expected to play for the first time in over two months tonight in the opener of a three-game series against a visiting St. Louis Cardinals club that lost command in the National League Central for the first time since mid-May. Washington returns to Nationals Park after sweeping a three-game series at San Diego over the weekend. That helped the Nats post a 6-5 record on their West Coast tour, marking their first winning road trip since going 4-3 on a seven- game trek from May 12-18, 2008. Washingtons nine-game homestand could get off to a great start with the return of Zimmerman, who hasnt played since April 9 because of a left abdominal strain. The 26-year-old former All-Star is hitting .357 in eight games this season with a homer and four RBI. It would be great [to get Zimmerman back tonight], Danny Espinosa told his teams website after a 2-0 win over the Padres on Sunday. He is a great player. To have him back would be huge. The rest of the Nationals will also welcome back the former Gold Glove winner as they try to match their longest winning streak of the season: A four-game run from April 15-20. Espinosa helped keep Washingtons current run alive with a sacrifice fly during a two-run ninth inning in Sundays victory. Sundays game was nearly one of missed chances as Washington went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. However, Espinosa launched his ball to deep right to score the games first run and Laynce Nix followed with a base hit to score Alex Cora. Im just proud of the way we played. The way we battled out there today. The way we pitched and played defense. You do a lot of little things and you come away with a win. Its good for the ballclub, Nats manager Jim Riggleman said. Jordan Zimmermann got a no-decision despite striking out 10 through seven shutout innings. Yunesky Maya will try to keep the momentum going tonnight and pick up his first victory of the season for Washington, which is 0-3 in the Cubans three starts this season. Joe Sakic Avalanche Jersey. Maya himself is 0-1 with a 5.40 earned run average, but is coming off a great outing at San Francisco on Wednesday. The 29-year-old righty allowed just a run on four hits and a walk over a season-high six innings. Maya faces a Cardinals club for the first time in his career tonight that is out of first place in the National League Central. St. Louis had held the top spot since May 19, but now sits tied with Milwaukee after getting swept in three games by the Brewers over the weekend. The Cards dropped Sundays finale, 4-3, for their fourth loss in five games. Jake Westbrook didnt allow a run over the first five innings, but was tagged for four in the sixth without recording an out. We had some momentum there and that one big inning beat us, said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. Thats tough. Colby Rasmus had a pair of hits and drove in a run before nearly coming up with some heroics in the ninth. He drilled a one-out offering to deep center, but the Brewers Carlos Gomez came up with a great catch while colliding with the wall to keep the tying run off base. St. Louis will look to rebound from getting swept for the second time this season behind Jaime Garcia, but the lefty has lost two of his last three outings since a 5-0 start. Garcia has given up four runs since getting charged with 12, all but one earned, over 3 1/3 innings of a setback at Colorado. The 24-year-old beat the Cubs on June 3, but lost at Houston five days later after yielding three runs on seven hits over five innings. Garcia has a 3.20 ERA through 13 starts and is 2-2 with a 5.70 ERA in eight games on the road this year. That is compared to a tremendous 4-0 mark and 0.46 ERA in five starts at home. He has won both of his career starts versus the Cardinals, pitching to a 0.87 ERA. That includes a home win on April 20 in which he allowed three runs -- one earned -- over five innings. The Cardinals took two of three in that series and have won nine of 13 and 16 of their last 22 against the Nationals overall. cheap jerseys from chinacheap jerseys ' ' '
