TORONTO - Stewing in the frustration of a Game 1 loss, DeMar DeRozan imprisoned himself in his room following a disappointing playoff debut on Saturday. Brian Leetch Rangers Jersey . His first postseason experience was something he had been dreaming about, something he had been preparing for, but it didnt go as he had planed. Reflecting on what went wrong, DeRozan spent the duration of the evening in solitude. He didnt turn on the television and he didnt speak to any of his friends around the league. He thought about returning to the Air Canada Centre at 1am to get up some shots, but decided against it. He needed to regroup, to recalibrate. The next day he went back to work. "Im a student of the game," said the Raptors All-Star. "I went back, watched the whole game two or three times." Fast forward to Tuesday nights sequel. DeRozan, finally getting into a rhythm, picked up his fifth foul with just over seven minutes remaining the final quarter. After pleading with coach Dwane Casey to keep him in the game, he was wisely subbed out, finding himself on the bench as his team clutched onto an evaporating lead. They had been up by as many as 11, but the Nets were closing in and the sell-out crowd, electric again, was getting deja vu. The Raptors were wilting under the pressure, succumbing to the veteran savvy of a Brooklyn team that owned the fourth quarter three days prior, or so we thought. There was DeRozan, in solitude once again on the bench, head down while his teammates and coaches convened during a timeout. "It was just my competitive spirit," he said. "I was a little frustrated, just calming myself down. I was a little frustrated that I couldnt be out there with my team, especially at that critical moment. Just staying focused." Two minutes later, he re-entered, the game tied at 83. Almost immediately, he drained a 20-foot jumper to put Toronto on top. Moments later, he knocked down a fadeaway, padding the lead. He never looked back. "It was just me taking advantage of the mistakes I made in the first game and not doing the same thing in this game," said DeRozan after leading the Raptors to a 100-95 win, evening their series with Brooklyn at one game apiece. "Its everything that you dream about, especially when you become a professional athlete, [play] at the highest level." After being held to 14 points - failing to make a shot until the third quarter - in the series premiere, the fifth-year guard scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the final frame Tuesday, hitting four of his five field goal attempts and nine of his 11 free throws. "Im just happy for him because a lot of people said he had a bad game [Saturday]," said Kyle Lowry, who scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2. "Every one has a bad game once in awhile. Tonight, he just showed what he can do. He did an unbelievable job of attacking, being aggressive and he got his rhythm going. Once he gets his rhythm going, he is a hard guard." The playoffs, as we know, are about adjustments from one game to the next and, despite another patchy performance through the first 36 minutes, DeRozan gave the Raptors new life in this series, one that few are expecting them to win. DeRozan was far from perfect and neither were the Raptors. After committing 19 turnovers Saturday, Toronto threw the ball away 21 times. They hit just two of 16 attempts from three-point range and had to overcome quiet outings from both Lowry and Terrence Ross, who shot 1-for-8. Perhaps they were fortunate that the Nets looked nothing like the team that thoroughly outplayed them in Game 1. Paul Pierce, Saturdays hero, was just 2-for-11. He didnt make a shot until the fourth quarter, but couldnt recapture last weekends late-game magic, misfiring on a couple wide-open looks from beyond the arc in the final 30 seconds. The win wasnt pretty, but it was one they needed - a hard-fought game resembling the style of basketball Casey expects to see from his team. "Earlier in the year, we wanted to be the Freddy Krueger of the NBA," said Casey. "Not give up, not give in. I think our guys have done that. We won against a very veteran team like Brooklyn and that is very difficult to do because they seem to find a way to challenge you and keep you on your toes. I thought our guys did a good job of making sure they kept the pedal to the metal." "We werent going down 0-2," stated Amir Johnson, who also enjoyed a bounce-back performance, scoring 16 points to go along with nine boards. "We were the desperate team and we had to play desperate. There was no way we were going to lose that game. It was a must-win for us." Now, its a brand new series, a best of five that will shift to Brooklyns Barclays Center for Fridays Game 3 and Sundays Game 4. Despite the statement win, the Raptors are still expecting be overlooked as they head on the road. "For us to go through the struggles and start from the bottom," DeRozan said, sounding awfully like Drake, the teams global ambassador, seated courtside Tuesday, "and work our way up and still dont get the respect we deserve, we understand we still have a long way to go." "We dont want no attention, at all," added Greivis Vasquez, who scored 11 off Torontos bench. "Were fine with that. We let the people talk, but we do the talking on the court and thats just who we are, really. We lost the first game and everyone was talking. Everyone was killing DeMar because he couldnt do anything, now theyre going to love him for a couple more days. Its just basketball, man." "Everyone is doubting us, which is great," Casey said. "We look at their minutes in playoff play, they have a couple Hall of Famers on the team. We are the underdog, but the way our guys competed and fought tonight, I was proud. Now the series starts." Quiet contribution from Fields As practice was letting out on Monday, Vasquez inadvertently let the cat out of the bag; Landry Fields had been involved in the teams preparation for Game 2 and could be used to try and slow down Pierce or Joe Johnson. Sure enough, Fields entered the game in place of John Salmons late in the first quarter. Although 12 Raptors saw the floor in Game 1, Fields was relegated to the bench, where hes spent most of the season. However, the fourth-year forward has stayed ready and has been a reliable source of energy when called upon. Tuesday was no different. Without attempting a single shot, Fields, an active player on both ends of the floor, made an impact with his defence. After Johnson scored 12 points in the third quarter - mostly against DeRozan - Fields held him to just two points in the final period. "Its just human nature, we always talk about who scored the most points, who carried the team," Vasquez pointed out. "Credit to Landry, because he wasnt playing at all and look at what he does. He was the MVP tonight. It wasnt anyone else but him because he didnt score, but he played great defence and that was contagious." Casey tightened his rotation, using just eight players, splitting minutes in the frontcourt amongst Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas and Patrick Patterson The stat(s) - Toronto had a 52-30 advantage on the boards, including a 19-11 edge on the offensive glass. Their 52 rebounds was the most the Raptors have ever tallied in a playoff game. - Valanciunas recorded his second straight double-double in the series - 15 points and 14 rebounds - becoming the first NBA player to total at least 30 points and 30 boards in his first two career playoff games since Ralph Sampson and Sam Perkins in 1985. - DeRozan became the fourth player in Raptors history to score 30 points in a playoff game, joining Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and Antonio Davis. The quote "Weve been here when people just thought you could come to Toronto and get a win," DeRozan said. "Weve been though all that, frustrating seasons and we want everyone to know that when you play against the Toronto Raptors, youre going to have to fight, youre going to have to bring your game." Mats Zuccarello Authentic Jersey . The AS Roma star injured his left knee in March, ruling him out of the tournament in Brazil. Van Gaal said Tuesday that "we do not have another Kevin Strootman in the Netherlands." The 62-year-old coach, who is widely expected to be the manager of Manchester United next season, has been experimenting in recent days with a new formation which he says may sound more defensive -- but will be executed according to the "Dutch school" of attacking football. Carl Hagelin Jersey . -- Garret Sparks made 31 saves as the Toronto Marlies beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-1 in American Hockey League play Tuesday.PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosbys comeback -- version 2.0 -- could come on Broadway. The Pittsburgh Penguins star ruled himself out for Sundays game against Boston but is optimistic he could play for the first time since early December when the team travels to play the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers on Thursday. "Any game at this point is going to be exciting," Crosby said. "A game like that you have need to make sure that youre that much more ready." And Crosby is not, at least not yet. The 24-year-old former MVP practiced with his teammates on Saturday but feels he needs a few more days of mixing it up with them before donning his familiar No. 87 for the first time since concussion-like symptoms resurfaced following a lost to the Bruins on Dec. 5. "This is something you dont want to mess around with," Crosby said Saturday. "Youve got to make sure, especially this time of year. Its more physical than ever and you have to make sure everything is well tested and I have to make sure Ive done the right things to prepare. Thats basically what it comes down to." Doctors cleared Crosby for contact earlier this week and he hinted hed be able to return as early as Sunday against the defending Stanley Cup champions. But Pittsburghs cramped schedule and limited practice time has him being cautious. Besides, the streaking Penguins are in no rush. Pittsburgh has won eight straight games to close within four points of the Rangers in the race for the Atlantic Division title and home ice throughout the playoffs. The Penguins will have a rare late-season break next week. Theyre off on Sunday and will practice on Tuesday and Wednesday before a pivotal three-game road trip through New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Though his teammates are getting by just fine without one of the games top players, Crosby said hes anxious to get back soon so the team can adjust before the playoffs start next month. Mike Richter Authentic Jersey. "I think youre always feeling more pressure when youve missed this much time," he said. "Its really nice that were winning, thats most important but I think that theres always a tendency to have high expectations and I have high expectations for myself." Crosby had 12 points in eight games after making his season debut against the New York Islanders on Nov. 21 but went back on injured reserve when the symptoms -- headaches, dizziness and motion issues -- returned following a physical loss to the Bruins. Over the last three months Crosby has hopscotched across the continent talking to experts. He took a shot for a previously undiagnosed soft tissue injury in his neck that mimics the symptoms of a concussion. He stressed his head is clear and has been eager to initiate contact with his teammates during practice. Of course, finding a willing opponent can be difficult. "Youve got to pick your opponent and theres a couple guys that Ive been skating with a lot," Crosby said. "The first couple times you really have to egg them on. But once they see youre in shape and want to engage in that physical stuff, theyre more willing." The biggest question after when Crosby will return is who will skate alongside him. The line of James Neal, Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kuntiz has fueled Pittsburghs 20-4-1 run since Jan. 13, and the second line of Jordan Staal, Pascal Dupuis and Steve Sullivan has picked it up the last two weeks. Crosby played with grinders Eric Tangradi and Dustin Jeffrey on Saturday, though its highly unlikely hed do the same whenever he hops over the boards to play in a game. Crosby, for one, isnt picky. "Everyones playing really well at this point," he said. "It really doesnt matter. 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