for pro personnel Billy Eppler interviewed Thursday

TORONTO - Kyle Lowry laid flat in the centre of the key, hands on his head as he stared straight up at the top of the Air Canada Centre, likely seeing nothing at all, having just missed the biggest shot of his eight-year career. Although, technically it was not a shot. With their season on the line, the ball was in Lowrys hands, deservedly so. The clock showed 6.2 seconds as the Raptors inbounded, trailing by only one in the dying moments of a deciding Game 7. Jason Kidd and his Nets team had little doubt the ball would find Lowry. The star point guard caught the pass, with Deron Williams draped all over him, and went straight toward the rim as Kevin Garnett came over to trap. Lowry split the two defenders and floated a shot up at the basket just as Paul Pierce entered the fray in time to block it. As the buzzer sounded, putting an end to Torontos magical season, Lowry - the teams heart and soul - fell to the court. What was going through his head? "Whats not?" he shot back. DeMar DeRozan was the first one to come over. Crouching over the sprawled out Lowry, DeRozan offered up some words of encouragement. "He said, If anyone is taking that shot, Im living and dying with you taking it and trying to get that shot off," Lowry recounted after the Raptors heartbreaking 104-103 Game 7 loss. "It was one of those things, a brotherly moment." DeRozan helped the point guard up and the Raptors two best players walked off the court - Lowry with his jersey over his face - to a rousing ovation from their appreciative fans. "It was big time," Amir Johnson said of the scene. "Just them showing their appreciation, how well we did this season and how hard we worked. So it was a sad moment but bittersweet, I guess." The Raptors couldnt hide their disappointment after falling just short of advancing to the Conference Semifinals Sunday afternoon, it was written all over their faces, but they have no reason to hang their heads. The sellout ACC crowd stood and chanted in salute of their team, the game - however frustrating - served as a good reminder of why. With five minutes left, the Raptors appeared dead in the water. Frustrated and coming undone in the moment, down 10, their season was on life support but, like hes done so many times before, Dr. Lowry refused to let them die. Lowry scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the final quarter and the Raptors came storming back. That resiliency has been their most admirable quality all year. They had led the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring differential, earning 11 comeback wins, eight more than the season prior. "Were going to fight until our last breath," said DeRozan after scoring 18 points, playing with the flu, as Casey revealed following the game. "Were going to leave it out there, every single thing we have there on the court." "We battled," added Johnson, who recorded his first playoff double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. "I would go to war with these guys any day and they showed a lot of pride and a lot of heart tonight. We just ran out of time." Lowry and his unwavering resolve have a lot to do with the teams late-game tenacity and so, with their season in the balance, they had no qualms with letting him decide their fate. "That young man did everything he could to get to the basket," Casey said of Lowry on the final possession. It was what they had drew up, Lowry going to the rim, though it was a slight variation of what was intended, with poor spacing that ultimately led to the blocked shot. "He tried to will his way to get that extra point." One point separated the teams Sunday and after 11 meetings - in the regular season and playoffs - Toronto and Brooklyn each scored 1,070 points. The series was as close as they come. "We were right there," Casey pointed out, and if a few calls from another highly critiqued officiating crew went their way they may have pulled it out. But in the end, the Nets were the better team Sunday and that was the case, more often than not, throughout the series. Joe Johnson - the best player on either side over the seven-game span - proved un-guardable again, scoring half of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, while the Raptors youth and inexperience continued to rear its head. Although Terrence Ross turned in his best game of the series, securing the steal that made Torontos final possession possible, the bar had been set low. Fellow sophomore Jonas Valanciunas scored just three points to go along with five rebounds in one of the quietest outings of his brief career. As a team, the Raptors wanted to go further, they believed they were ready and came just one play short of proving it. Even after the loss, with their season now over, the progress theyve made does not go to waste. Three of their starters had never appeared in a playoff game. Only four players on their roster had ever experienced a Game 7, no one has emerged victorious from one. This experience is invaluable and can only serve them well, both individually and as a collective, going forward. "Im proud of our guys," Casey said. "Nobody gave them a snowballs chance in you know where to be here. They competed all year. This group has a lot of stuff in front of them, a lot of basketball in front of them. The organization is in a great spot." "This playoff run is nothing but positive for these young men and anyone that thinks any different doesnt know basketball." Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . 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In Sundays Blackhawks-Penguins game, Pittsburgh defenceman Brooks Orpik laid a huge hit on Chicagos Jonathan Toews. Now in my view, Orpik can be clearly seen leaving his feet while delivering a moderately high hit. MINNEAPOLIS -- Sometimes the game can shift with one swing. Carlos Beltran took a big cut, sent a fastball soaring into the seats in right field and snapped the foundering New York Yankees out of their funk. Beltrans three-run homer Thursday night lifted Masahiro Tanaka to his majors-leading 12th win and helped the Yankees stop a season-worst five-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. "We have to find a way to score more runs. Theres no doubt about that. We played very poor at home," Beltran said. Zelous Wheeler homered in his big-league debut after nearly eight years in the minors. David Robertson notched his 19th save by striking out the side in a hitless ninth inning, and the Yankees started an 11-game road trip with a sigh-of-relief performance that put their record back at the .500 mark. "It felt great. Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time, and hopefully I can take advantage of it," Wheeler said. Phil Hughes (8-5) was rolling along against his former team, leading 2-0 until Beltran cleared the tall wall in right following consecutive singles to start the fifth. Wheeler went deep two batters later. "Not knowing much about him, in a 3-1 count, Im going to challenge him," Hughes said. "He put a good swing on it." Wheeler had a big smile on his face afterward. "Every time you see a story like that, a guy thats spent a lot of time in the minor leagues and all of a sudden comes to the big leagues and being able to do what he did today, its just special," Beltran said. So was Beltrans big hit, considering the slump the Yankees brought with them on the road. "Those are the type of things we need to be successful in the American League," manager Joe Girardi said. Tanaka (12-3) allowed a season-high four runs. He finished seven innings with nine hits and no walks while striking out a season-low three. "Theyre not going to be perfect every time. Hes been about as consistent as you can be as a starting pitcher. He just wasnt quite as sharp," Girardi said. Through his interpreter, Tanaka said this was one of his worst starts of the season.ddddddddddddThrowing only 85 pitches, at least, allowed the star Japanese rookie to maintain some freshness for the next turn. "Not too much pressure, but I obviously understood where the team was," Tanaka said. With Eduardo Escobar on first after an RBI single in the seventh, Tanaka dodged serious trouble. Sam Fulds screaming line drive went straight to Mark Teixeira, who easily stepped on first base for the double play to preserve the three-run lead. Chris Parmelee drove in a run with a double in the first and Kurt Suzuki and Kendrys Morales had RBI groundouts, but the sputtering Twins missed their opportunities to put bigger numbers on the board like the Yankees did against Hughes. The Twins have lost eight of 10 and fell a season-worst eight games under .500. Wheeler had a single to help spark the three-run rally in the seventh, too, scoring on Brett Gardners single after a one-out RBI double by Brendan Ryan chased Hughes. Derek Jeter drove in a run with a groundout. The Yankees havent been nearly as potent at the plate as they are paid to be, ranking 12th in runs and 10th in homers in the American League. They totalled one run over Tanakas last two starts, both losses, but this was the breakout they needed. "Hes very competitive. Hes in control of the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. NOTES: Beltran passed Lance Berkman for fourth place on the career list for home runs by switch hitters. With 367, hes behind Mickey Mantle (536), Eddie Murray (504) and Chipper Jones (468). ... Parmelee stretched his hitting streak to 13 games. Hes hitting .440 (22 for 50) during the run. ... Yankees assistant GM for pro personnel Billy Eppler interviewed Thursday for San Diegos vacant GM spot. ... The Yankees will send Chase Whitley (3-2, 4.70 ERA) to the mound Friday afternoon for the 10th start of his rookie season, and Kyle Gibson (7-6, 3.77 ERA) will pitch for the Twins. The Yankees are 5-1 in Whitleys six turns on the road. Gibsons 1.54 ERA at home is the best among qualifying AL pitchers. ' ' '