NTO - As Dwane Casey called

TORONTO - As Dwane Casey called a timeout late in Fridays victory, one of his teams most impressive of the campaign, an honorary addition to the Raptors coaching body was the first to race out and rally the troops. jerseys from china . Donning a charcoal blazer on top of his white t-shirt, Kyle Lowry immediately pulled aside his replacement, Greivis Vasquez, as the two point guards calibrated by the bench with less than a minute remaining. A reluctant spectator for the second straight contest, nursing his bruised knee, Lowry refused to take the night off. Not that anyone truly expected him to. "He was like our second or third coach," said Jonas Valanciunas. "He was kind of doing the same thing he does when hes in the game," added Terrence Ross. "Helping us with plays, drawing things up for us, being vocal." The Raptors would rather have him in uniform, dressed in red and white while leading his team in the trenches instead of on the sidelines, but they have more than held their own in his absence. For the second time in three days, Toronto - missing both Lowry and forward Amir Johnson - was able to knock off a top-six team, as the teams confidence continues to grow heading into the playoffs. "With us we feel like we can beat anybody when we step out there on the court, honestly," said DeMar DeRozan, who tallied 20 points and nine assists in his teams inspiring 102-94 win over the Indiana Pacers. "Theyre [a] top team in the East. We understand tonight was a big win at this time of the season." The Pacers - a team the Raptors could see in the second round of the playoffs, should they advance - are backing into the postseason. Frank Vogels club, losers of six straight games on the road and six of eight overall, had occupied the Easts top seed for most of the season before surrendering it to Miami last week. Vulnerable as Indiana may be, the Raptors have split the season series and given that they were without two starters on Friday, their latest victory was of the statement variety. "If theyre looking for themselves, whatever it is, its a win," Casey said. "Whatever their deal is, theyve won 53 games. Thats the way I look at it. Its a quality win." Fresh off a similarly opportunistic win over a Rockets team missing Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, the Raptors displayed characteristics you wouldnt expect from a young, undermanned group. They were resilient, hitting back after the Pacers cut into their 11-point cushion and took a lead of their own late in the game. They were tough, winning the battle on the boards and refusing to back down from Indys intimidation tactics. They embodied the seemingly irreplaceable qualities of their fallen comrades, Lowry and Johnson. Lowry - for better or for worse, in uniform or not - is the engine that drives this ship and even from the bench he couldnt help but to take control. "Its a little bit worse than what he does when hes in the game with you," DeRozan joked. "He just wont stop talking but hey, we deal with it, its cool. He shut up a little bit more once we were winning." "Id rather have him in uniform than in street clothes and coaching," Casey said, also having some fun at the expense of the vocal Lowry. "I tell Kyle this all the time, that when he becomes a coach I cannot wait to come watch his teams play." "Ill tell you what, Imma be that heckler in that stands. Boooo, coach." The relationship between Casey and Lowry has grown exponentially over the past 18 months. Theyre both strong-willed, passionate competitors. Whatever rift they may or may not have had last season - when the team was losing and Lowrys minutes were sporadic - appears to be a thing of the past. They understand and respect each other. Winning will do that. "I mean we have the same goals and thats to win as many games as we can win, make noise in the playoffs and compete our butts off," Casey said before the game. "Were tied together from that standpoint." The Raptors have navigated through the toughest stretch of their late-season schedule without Lowry and Johnson - out with a lingering ankle ailment - and can now afford to be more cautious with the health of their stars. Torontos final six regular season games come against sub-.500 competition, beginning with Saturdays contest against the lowly Bucks in Milwaukee. "The big picture is the most important thing," Casey acknowledged, "keeping guys healthy going forward." Sophomores stepping up Facing elite defenders at their positions, the Raptors duo of second-year starters came up big in the absence of Lowry and Johnson. Valanciunas, who scored 22 points on 14 shots, anchored Torontos defence and pulled down crucial rebounds in crunch time while vastly outplaying Pacers all-star centre Roy Hibbert. Meanwhile, Ross picked up the slack on offence, leading the team with 24 points - including five made threes - against a couple of tough wing defenders in Paul George and Lance Stephenson. "They came in and played with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy," Casey said of his sophomores. "They continue to get better and work hard at it every single day," DeRozan added. "They understand they play a key role on this team and us being successful. I credit tonights game to them because they came up big." De Colo making an impact With Vasquez stepping into Lowrys slot as the teams starting point guard, Casey has looked to trade deadline acquisition Nando De Colo off the bench. Even without scoring, the former Spurs guard has been making an impact with his energy and basketball intellect. He logged 23 minutes on Friday - most hes played with the Raptors - and with the increased role came a greater comfort level offensively. "He knows that hes going to get extended minutes with Kyle out," Casey said of De Colo, who scored 10 points and dished out five assists. "When youre in that situation you play a little more free and a little looser. Hes [being] himself and hes done an excellent job." The stat DeRozan, who had a team-high nine assists Friday, has now recorded five or more dimes in 24 games this year after doing so 18 times in his first four seasons combined. The quote "It should help their confidence," said Casey on the win. "To go against a team like Indiana without our two starters helps us but its not worth a darn if we dont come out [Saturday] night and have the same focus and energy and effort. Were happy, were excited about the win. I dont want to poo poo on it but weve got to turn it up and crank it up again tomorrow night. cheap jerseys . Make that 2-40 now. Tony Gwynn Jr. led off the ninth with a walk against Miami closer Steve Cishek and later scored, Ben Revere added the go-ahead run when Miami second baseman Donovan Solano bobbled a potential double-play grounder and the Phillies rallied past the Marlins 5-4 Thursday night to snap a six-game losing streak. wholesale nfl jerseys . 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. ST. LOUIS -- Texas manager Ron Washington joked about not being able to match wits with Tony La Russa. No joke. Who can, these days? The St. Louis boss looked like a genius once again in Game 1, especially when Allen Craig pinch-hit for ace Chris Carpenter and delivered a go-ahead single that sent the Cardinals past the Texas Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday night. Craigs slicing hit with two outs in the sixth inning fell inches in front of sliding right-fielder Nelson Cruz. Game 1 was just that tight throughout a cold, damp evening. It was a game perfectly suited for La Russa -- lots of bunts, intentional walks and pitching changes. And in a post-season in which hes made all the right moves, the 67-year-old manager was at the top of his game. "Its going to be interesting to see how it plays out," Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman said. "But I feel like we have to win the National League-style games if were going to win this thing and tonight was a National League-style game -- 3-2, good pitching, good defence, timely hitting. "I dont think that we want to get into a gorilla ball-type series with these guys. Well see what happens when we add the DH and go to the American League ballpark, but I think when we have the National League style and we have the advantage we have to capitalize." The Cardinals did, barely. A sliding stop by first baseman Albert Pujols helped prevent Texas from taking the lead on Carpenters final pitch in the sixth. St. Louis even won without its Rally Squirrel. There were no sightings of the elusive critter still roaming Busch Stadium -- good thing for the rodent, too, because La Russa probably wouldve devised a way to catch him. Game 2 is Thursday night, with Jaime Garcia starting for the Cards against Colby Lewis. Texas has not lost two straight games since Aug. 23-25. In a post-season where St. Louis and Texas starters have struggled, Carpenter and C.J. Wilson each pitched well enough. They both left in the bottom of the sixth when the managerial wheels started to spin. It was 2-2 when the Rangers worked around eighth-place hitter Nick Punto with a four-pitch walk that put runners at the corners with two outs. La Russa did not hesitate, pulling Carpenter and sending up Craig, a versatile player who was injured for much of the season. Washington countered by bringing in hard-throwing reliever Alexi Ogando. "I know they had either Carpenter coming up or a pinch-hitter, and with Ogando warming up behind me, I have confidence that hes going to come in and get that guy out," Wilson said. Rather risky lately, trying to play baseball chess with La Russa. As Washington said a day earlier: "Well, I dont think I can ever live up to matching a wit with Tony La Russa." La Russa liked Craigs chances. "Cold weather game, sitting on the bench, Ogando. Its not a very good situation," La Russa said. "But hes got a history in our system, thats why we like him so much. He should have a really good career." All the pieces in place, it was time to play -- and what followed was the play of the game. Craig swung through two fastballs, then hit a drive toward the right field line. Cruz tried to make a sliding catch, except the ball bounced just before it reached him and thudded off his left leg for an RBI single. Craigs single scored NL championship series MVP David Freese, the St. Louis area prep star who led off with a double. Freese has hit in 11 straight post-season games. "Man, hes tough," Craig said of Ogando. "He came right at me with fastballs, and I missed the first two. Then that last one I was trying to get the barrel on it, make the defence make a play. Fortunate, kept it fair, and Cruz made a great attempt on that. It was a great play all-around." Ahead, La Russa coaxed three scoreless innings from his deep bullpen. Five relievers did the job, with Jason Motte closing for his fifth save of the post-season. This was the first time Texas had ever played in St. Louis. cheap nfl jerseys. Yet Josh Hamilton, Cruz and the big-hitting Rangers looked a lot like the team that fizzled at the plate in last years World Series against San Francisco. Each team wound up with six hits. The wild-card Cardinals just did more with them. Berkman put St. Louis ahead with a two-run single in the fourth. Mike Napoli tied it with a two-run homer in the fifth. Carpenter earned his eighth post-season win, breaking the team record he shared with Bob Gibson. Of course, all of Gibbys victories came in the World Series. Texas nearly took the lead on Carpenters final pitch. Instead, Pujols smothered Michael Youngs grounder behind the bag and tossed to Carpenter to end the sixth with a runner on third. Carpenter helped himself with a nifty play in the first inning, diving to catch a toss from Pujols and tagging the bag with his glove. He didnt argue when La Russa removed him -- all the Cards know too well to doubt La Russas smarts. Cardinals relievers Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel, Arthur Rhodes and Motte finished. Wilson fell to 0-5 in his last seven post-season starts, dating to last year. The Texas lefty recently spent 2 1/2 minutes in a Dallas cryotherapy chamber, where liquid nitrogen lowered the temperature to 295 degrees below zero trying to speed body recovery. It was a bit warmer at the ballpark, at 49 degrees for the first pitch. Wilson became the first pitcher to lose an all-star game, an AL division series game, an AL championship series game and a World Series game in the same year, STATS LLC said. Napoli kept up his season of slugging, hitting a two-run homer in the fifth that made it 2-2. He had come into the game 3 for 3 lifetime against Carpenter and had been the only Texas hitter to homer off him, but he bounced into a double play with two runners on his first time up. He avenged that with an opposite-field drive to right. Traded twice within a week last winter, Napoli blossomed in Texas, prompting Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon to pronounce it "The Year of the Napoli" during the AL playoffs. The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the fourth after Pujols hit -- or was hit by pitch, more precisely. The St. Louis star was plunked on the lower left leg to start the inning, Matt Holliday sliced a double and Berkman chopped a two-run single down the first base line. Players, umpires and techs needed a little time to work out the kinks. Freese saw Ian Kinslers leadoff grounder glance off his glove at third base for a single, and stared at the glove that betrayed him. The next inning, Adrian Beltre doubled off Freeses leather. Third base umpire Ron Kulpa missed his first call in a Series. He ruled Beltre caught Pujols liner to third when the ball actually bounced in the opening inning. And there was a glitch when "American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery started to sing the national anthem. The microphone didnt work and he got a replacement. The delay came with Michelle Obama and Jill Biden standing on the mound to honour military veterans. The first ladys husband stood in the same place to throw out the first ball at the 2009 all-star game. NOTES: Wilson issued two intentional walks in a game for the first time in his career. ... Rhodes, in his 20th big league season, made his World Series debut. ... This was the Cardinals 106th World Series game, breaking a tie with the Dodgers and Giants franchises for second-most in history. The Yankees lead with 225. ... Garcia is 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA in three post-season starts. ... Lewis is 4-1 in the post-season. His loss came this year to Detroit in the ALCS. ... The team that has won the Series opener in 12 of the last 14 years has gone on to take the crown. ... This was the first AL Central vs. NL Central matchup in the Series since baseball went to six divisions in 1994. ... Young had his 35th birthday. Cardinals infielder Daniel Descalso turned 25. ... NBA all-star Dirk Nowitzki of the champion Dallas Mavericks is set to throw out the first ball at Game 3. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' '