the start on Sunday and is 10-5-3 with a 3.03 goals against

TORONTO - The Raptors locker room was unnervingly quiet Friday evening, about how you would expect it after the implausible ending that sealed the teams fate in a double-overtime disaster. In the back corner sat an inconsolable John Salmons, the elephant in the room. Facing his locker, Salmons slouched forward in his chair, his head down in his hands and a long black towel draped over him. One by one his teammates came over to comfort him, patting him on the back and offering words of encouragement. He didnt move. He remained in that position, perfectly still for over 30 minutes. They win as a team and they lose as a team, but Salmons felt the brunt of it on this night. What seemed like a sure victory late in the second overtime period began to unravel when an exceptional player made an exceptional shot. With the Raptors up by eight, 49 seconds away from an improbable victory and season-sweep of the 50-win Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant banked in a 27-foot three-point jumper. Following another Thunder three - this one courtesy veteran assassin Derek Fisher - Salmons threw away an inbounds pass on the baseline, only to break up Durants runner and get sent to the line. With less than 10 seconds remaining, now up two, Salmons clanked both free throws, paving the way for the leagues leading scorer to do what he does best. Break hearts. "Great players make great plays," Dwane Casey said of Durant, moments after his 31-foot pull-up dagger gave the Thunder a 119-118 victory. Since coming over from Sacramento in December, Salmons has been praised for his poise and veteran savvy late in games, many of which hes helped them win. This was not his finest hour. "Hes a veteran (and) in those situations youve got to believe in him, that hes going to make those free throws," Casey said of Salmons, playing in place of Terrence Ross, who left the game with a hip contusion. "We had to go with John in that situation. Hes been one of our best defenders in that situation, but its not just one guy." The Raptors, now 1-6 in OT this season, need to close out these types of games. Salmons needs to be better down the stretch, they know it and so does he. It was three months ago, almost to this day that the Raptors pulled off their most impressive win of the season, a 104-98 victory in Oklahoma City. Coming off an OT win in Dallas a couple days prior and trailing by as many as 10 in the fourth, Toronto shocked the Thunder, who were undefeated at home at the time. "It helped kick start us going forward," Casey said of that night. "It helped our chemistry, it helped our togetherness it helped blend in the old and the new guys together." It would not have happened if not for Salmons. The 12-year vet spearheaded his new teams comeback, scoring nine points in the final quarter. After the game his teammates raved about his leadership and calming effect on the floor. Kyle Lowry gave him the game ball. Like Patrick Paterson - still out with an injured elbow - Greivis Vasquez, who was spectacular before fouling out Friday, and Chuck Hayes, Salmons fingerprints are all over the teams resurgence and that should not be forgotten, internally or externally. The Raptors proved something to themselves in OKC that night. They proved that they belonged. Three months later, clinging onto the Easts third seed and top spot in the Atlantic Division, they fell just short of proving something to everybody else. For whatever reason the franchise and its fan base has been battered by losses of the devastating variety to the point in which theyre almost immune to them. Toronto has lost 10 straight overtime games at home, an NBA record. "It does (hurt)," Casey admitted, "but we cant let it." "We cant let this game (give us a) hangover. (Its) a big learning experience for our guys. Youre playing with one of the top teams in the league, one of the top players... and you give yourself a chance to win in (double) overtime." KD the magnificent It seems impossible to fathom that Friday once started off as a slow night for Durant. The Thunder forward made just three of his 12 first-half shots but once Russell Westbrook went down in the third quarter - colliding with Lowry and spraining his surgically repaired right knee - Durant, with the help of some generous officiating, completely took over. Durant scored 51 and finished with 12 rebounds and seven assists, getting to the line 19 times and extending his streak of 25 or more points to 34 games, longest since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. Amirs memorable game Playing in his 500th career contest, Amir Johnson nearly willed his team to victory. The Raptors forward recorded a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds, connecting on 12 of his 19 shots in 50 minutes of action. He also spent the bulk of the second half guarding Durant, per his own request made after Ross exited with the hip injury. "It was tough, man," he said, asked about defending the leagues leading scorer. "Hes my height, out there shooting from half court. Theres not too much you can do but double team that." "He did a great job," Casey added. "I felt for him. Hes hurt. He was all over him, draped over him. (Durant) made a tough shot. Theres nothing Amir did wrong." The stat For the first time since Jan. 13, 2013, the Raptors had four players score 20 or more points. Along with Johnson, DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 33 points, hitting all but one of his 16 free throws, while Lowry added 25 and Vasquez scored 21 off the bench. The quote "We couldnt go another overtime," Durant said. "I had to live with whatever happened. You had to get out of there. I wasnt trying to go to another overtime. I pulled up for it, it looked good when it left my hands and God guided that thing to the basket, man. That was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of." Frank Robinson Jersey . The Oilers have been shut out in three straight home games and are in last place in the Western Conference with a 4-14-2 record. "Things have obviously not gone as well as I would have thought probable. Jonny Venters Jersey .Y. - Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers in his 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 points, and the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th straight at home, beating the Boston Celtics 114-98 Friday night. https://www.cheapnationals.com/667r-austin-voth-jersey-nationals.html .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Tanner Rainey Nationals Jersey . The closer wasnt available. The road trip, a disaster to that point. Koda Glover Nationals Jersey . The game got off to a less-than-ideal start for the Jets as Oliver Ekman-Larsson found a wide open net from the slot and opened the scoring for the Coyotes a lead in the first period, but Olli Jokinen answered back just over half a minute later.(SportsNetwork.com) - The rolling Anaheim Ducks will aim for a fifth straight victory on Sunday, when they welcome the Vancouver Canucks for a Pacific Division battle at the Honda Center. Anaheim enters Sunday leading the NHL with 29 points thanks to a stellar 14-3-1 record. The Ducks picked up a fourth straight win in Fridays rout of the visiting Buffalo Sabres and stayed perfect on home ice this season with a 7-0-0 record in Orange County. Ryan Getzlaf recorded his first career hat trick to lead the way in Fridays 6-2 blowout win over the Sabres. The centerman notched goals No. 8, 9 and 10 of the season in the easy victory and also added an assist. "You could tell, as soon as he started his skating, that Ryan was great. When we got the power-play goal early, it was because he did something he doesnt normally do, which is jump right into the play after a shot. As soon as he did that, I said Ok, hes going to have a good game. Consequently, he got four points in the first period," said Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau. Dustin Penner added a goal and three assists, while Cam Fowler and Andrew Cogliano both scored as well for the Ducks, who also improved to 7-0-1 over their past eight trips to the ice. Rookie netminder Frederik Andersen stopped 25-of-27 shots for his fifth win in as many starts. Jonas Hiller expects to get the start on Sunday and is 10-5-3 with a 3.03 goals against average in 19 career outings against the Canucks. The Ducks are closing a three-game homestand on Sunday before heading out on a four-game road trip. The swing is set too begin Tuesday at Florida.dddddddddddd Sundays tilt is the first of five scheduled meetings between the Ducks and Canucks this season. The clubs are now in the same division thanks to the onset of realignment. Vancouver and Anaheim have alternated wins and losses over the last 11 meetings in this series, with the Ducks winning six times during that stretch. The Canucks have claimed two straight and three of the past four tilts at the Honda Center. Vancouver will try to bounce back from a rough loss after taking a 5-1 beating Saturday night in Los Angeles. The hometown Kings led 2-0 after the first period and were leading by the final 5-1 margin midway through the second. Dan Hamhuis scored the lone goal for Vancouver with Kevin Bieksa and Ryan Kesler picking up the helpers. It was the second loss in three games for the Canucks and their third setback in five trips to the ice. Roberto Luongo was chased from the net after allowing four goals on 18 shots. Eddie Lack stopped 13-of-14 shots in relief. "I thought in the first two periods we had surges early, but couldnt score. Its a 5-1 game and you think you got spanked, but I thought (Kings goaltender Jonathan) Quick made some really important saves at key times. We had some breakdowns, and its in the back of our net," said Vancouver head coach John Tortorella. Despite Saturdays loss, the Canucks still boast a solid 7-3-2 record on the road this season. The club is completing a four-game road trip tonight and will begin a six-game homestand with Thursdays showdown against San Jose. ' ' '