es fans were just trying to fit in. But for goodness sake, if

ATLANTA - With an ice pack wrapped around his injured lower back, a frustrated Jonas Valanciunas spoke to the media having just watched his teams second straight loss from the visitors locker room, unable to influence the final result. After missing 20 games as a rookie a year ago, Valanciunas - like the Raptors as a whole - has been fortunate to be in good health this season. As he spoke about it, the Raptors sophomore centre scanned the room for wood to knock on. "It is disappointing because we lost today so thats the worst part of the day," said Valanciunas, who left Tuesdays game with a lower-back sprain in the third quarter, missing the rest of Torontos 118-113 overtime defeat at the hands of the Hawks. "Everyone wants to win and do something to help us win but I couldnt do anything sitting back here." With Valanciunas unavailable and Patrick Patterson missing his sixth straight game with an elbow injury, the Raptors found themselves as far outside their comfort zone as theyve been in months. Dwane Casey was forced to mix and match several different combinations of Amir Johnson, Chuck Hayes, Steve Novak and Tyler Hansbrough in the frontcourt while cycling through various unorthodox lineups to spark an underperforming second unit. All the while, Atlanta - winners of five straight after losing 14 of 15 - did them no favours. Following Sundays loss to the Suns, Casey was confident his team would not have to face the level of speed and quickness they saw that afternoon. Two days later, Jeff Teague had something to say about that. "He lived in the paint tonight," Kyle Lowry said of Teague, who matched his career-high with 34 points, hitting 11 of his 18 shots, all but six of them taken in the paint. "He got layups and free throws. You have a quick guy like that its hard for the bigs to try and help me and its hard for me to try to figure out where hes going. We tried to change our coverage a little and it worked but he lived in the paint too much tonight." "Its my fault," Lowry said, taking responsibility for his counterpart. But it wasnt, not entirely. "Its a speed league," he acknowledged. Its not the Raptors strength but theres too many up-tempo teams, too many quick players to allow it to be such a glaring weakness. Like Phoenix on the weekend, the Hawks burnt Toronto with speed, playing at a pace that the Raptors could not catch up with, especially with two key defensive players out of the lineup. Toronto tried blitzing Teague, they tried trapping him and switching and pick and rolls. More often than not the Hawks point guard blew by the coverage. He ran an effective two-man game with all-star Paul Millsap - who recorded his first career triple-double - and found open shooters. The Hawks hit 11 three-pointers, their seventh straight game with 10 or more. "We were trying to take away their threes," said DeMar DeRozan, who had 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists. "We did a good job to start out the game but we got out of place, missed some rotations and they started knocking down threes. They got confident with it and they kept knocking them down." "They make you change your coverages a little bit with the way they space the floor," added Lowry after a 20-point, nine-assist night. "But we had a decent chance to win that game." Late-game execution failed the Raptors - now 1-5 in overtime this season - once again. They turned the ball over eight times in the fourth quarter and overtime, also committing 16 fouls and giving up seven offensive rebounds. "I just thought we were casual with the basketball," said Casey, his team dropping back-to-back games for the first time since the West Coast trip in early February. "[We] had a lot of opportunities to attack and were casual and soft with our passes and they took advantage of it." The Raptors got off to a strong start, holding Atlanta to 17 points on 25 per cent shooting, including 2-for-9 from long distance in the first quarter. The momentum turned immediately as the second quarter began and the Raptors depleted bench came into the game. Without Patterson, Torontos second unit - outscored 59-11 on Sunday and 20-11 in the first half Tuesday - lacks spacing and movement on the offensive end and foot speed defensively. Then, late in the third quarter, the Raptors lost Valanciunas. The seven-footer felt his back tighten up as he turned to set a screen. "I stopped and hyperextended my back," he said. "I cant tell much about it. I just felt pain and that was it." Valanciunas, who hasnt dealt with back issues in the past, wanted to continue playing but the teams medical staff pulled him prior to the fourth quarter. For the third straight game the sophomore centre got off to a hot start, scoring 11 points and grabbing four boards in the opening frame. "I thought he had something good going, a match inside," Casey said. "He was attacking the rim, attacking the basket, he was giving us some rim protection and rebounding." Valanciunas will be re-evaluated in New Orleans ahead of Wednesdays game against the Pelicans. Abdou Diallo Jersey . These teams will see plenty of each other in the next few weeks as three of the Canucks next nine games are against the Wild (after today they meet February 9th in Minnesota and again February 16th at Rogers Arena). Marco Reus Jersey .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. http://www.dortmundfcfanshop.com/c-20-marcel-schmelzer-fc-borussia-dortmund-jersey.aspx . - This win was more the New Jersey Devils style. Jeremy Toljan Jersey . 4 jersey of former defenseman Rob Blake this coming season. The ceremony will take place prior to the Kings January 17 game against Anaheim. Eric Oelschlagel Jersey . "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Phoenix Coyotes fans treatment of Gary Bettman, MLSEs government handout, Jeffrey Loria and two legacy CFL stars. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is down to those fans at the partly empty Phoenix Coyotes home opener who booed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman when he appeared on the big screen. Those fans will never know I disapprove, of course, since they appear to live in desert caves when theyre not at the local hockey game. Blame Bettman for whatever you like, but...Phoenix? The team he tortuously fought to save for five long, litigious years? Phoenix, which could have been Seattle or Hamilton or Quebec City? Maybe it was visiting Canadians; maybe it was just Glendale taxpayers; maybe Coyotes fans were just trying to fit in. But for goodness sake, if not for Gary Bettman, none of them would have been watching the game at this insane, frozen oasis in the first place. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to the cozy relationship between taxpayer money and the multi-billion dollar business, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Its easy to be offended that the Ontario government will provide MLSE with $500,000, an apparent incentive to bring the NBA All-Star Game to Toronto, as if it werent doing it anyhow, with or without a government handout. Its just MLSE has this way about them - their soccer team plays in a stadium they operate, paid for with taxpayer dollars. Their AHL hockey team plays in an arena they operate, again paid for with taxpayer dollarrs.dddddddddddd. MLSE is a wonderfully rich, profitable company...if only its teams could win and it left government of all levels alone. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to the Miami Marlins, but my palms are up because I cant decide the main reason why my thumb is down. Is it for venality? Or is it for stupidity? Lets start with the venal. Henderson Alvarez no-hit the Tigers on the last day of the season and because, as H.L. Mencken observed, no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria tried to peddle 9,000 unsold tickets to the finale, for $15 apiece, as mementos. Now, the stupid - the souvenir tickets, PDFs actually, were printed with the wrong date: October 3rd and not September 29th. Yeah, I guess Ill go with the stupid. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumbs are up to a couple of new CFL stars whose last names are getting them and the league itself, increased attention these days. They are receivers Luke Tasker of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Duron Carter of the Montreal Alouettes. Luke Tasker is the son of former Buffalo Bill and current NFL TV analyst Steve Tasker and Duron Carters dad is none other than Hall of Famer and TV analyst Cris Carter. Lets not pretend that the players are not interested in the NFL careers that their fathers enjoyed and would love for their sons, but for now, theyre making the most of their time in the CFL and they, and the league, are benefitting from those efforts. The CFL can always use big names. In football circles, Tasker and Carter are big names. Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '