ets on Thursday.Wizards: Host Bulls on Friday.___Follow Jo

SALT LAKE CITY - Sporting a Seahawks cap during afternoon shootaround, coach Dwane Casey reinforced a sentiment hes preached over and over again since coming to Toronto. Cheap Fake Shoes . "Relentless defence wins in any sport," he said after watching the hard-hitting, opportunistic Seahawks stymie the Broncos and their high-octane offence. Casey didnt have to say much as he and his team watched Seattles dominant Super Bowl victory from their Salt Lake City hotel Sunday night. The message had already been engrained into the mindset of his players and stuck with them in Utah the following evening. "We cant control if our shots go in, we cant make every shot but we can control when we play hard on the defensive end," DeMar DeRozan said after holding Utah to 41 per cent shooting in a 94-79 win over the Jazz Monday. "Were understanding that more and more every game." Again, the Raptors got off to a slow start on the defensive end, something that plagued them in Portland Saturday as their comeback bid eventually fell short. The Jazz shot 50 per cent and scored 27 points, closing out the opening quarter with a three-point lead before Toronto tightened the screws in the second frame. Utah scored just 17 points in the second quarter, shooting 35 per cent from the field, 0-of-7 from three-point range and was held without a single assist. The Jazz didnt score more than 18 points in any quarter after the first. "Thats an issue with our team," Casey said before the game. "For whatever reason we turn up the intensity after halftime. I dont know if they like hearing me go ballistic at halftime." "Its one of our unfortunate traits, I would say, but again well take [the win]." The Raptors resiliency was tested again as Kyle Lowry - fresh off being named Eastern Conference Player of the Month - left for the locker room late in the third quarter to get treatment on a sore right knee. Lowry has been the teams most consistent contributor but seemed off his game, shooting 1-for-8 in 25 minutes before he was ruled out for the fourth quarter. The good news is the injury doesnt appear to be a serious one. Lowry has been battling soreness in the knee for about a week, playing through it and playing well, but on Monday he couldnt get it loose. "I couldnt help my team as much as I wanted to," said Lowry, who expects to play in Sacramento on Wednesday. "I trust my teammates would get the job done and thats what they did tonight." Torontos depth and team chemistry came through with Lowry on the sideline. Greivis Vasquez, who returned from a bout of the flu, stepped in at the point and scored 12 off the bench. Amir Johnson - playing on a sore right ankle - looked better, recording a double-double. Jonas Valanciunas had one of his better games in a tough matchup against Enes Kanter and John Salmons chipped in with 13 off the bench. As it has been when one Raptor struggles or gets hurt, the next man steps up. "Thats what it is, I think were playing for each other," Vasquez said. "I want Kyle to get healthy, I want the best for each and every one of us so thats important, man. When you have a team that has such a great atmosphere in the locker room, that care about each other, its going to be scary." Most importantly, it was the defensive effort that carried them to their sixth win over the last eight games. Casey preaches it every day and his troops have all bought in. Theyve seen how far it can take them. "The good thing about it is our players were talking about it last night watching the [Super Bowl]," said the Raptors coach. "Our guys were talking about how [the Seahawks] were hitting people and thats what Ive been preaching and am preaching, hit first." "Basketball-wise, its a little bit different but you can be aggressive for 48 minutes, take away options, take away passing lanes, bump cutters, box out [and] hit people coming for rebounds." Casey, an assistant with the Sonics for 11 years, resides in Seattle during the offseason and was invited to visit the Seahawks training camp a couple summers ago, where he - along with Blazers coach and good friend Terry Stotts - got the opportunity to watch Pete Carroll at work. The takeaway for Casey was to fully embrace and stay true to his philosophy as a head coach. "[Carroll is] a guy thats comfortable in his skin and Im at that point in my career too," he said. "In his first couple of tries he tried to do it the way the organization wanted to do it and he was trying to please everybody. I think you have to coach to your personality and to the personality of your team and thats what he conveyed to [Stotts] and I when we met with him" That philosophy - defence first, second and third - has been hammered home since day one and the results are beginning to reflect it. Entering Mondays games the Raptors ranked sixth in defensive efficiency, just behind the leagues heavy hitters (Indiana, Chicago, Golden State, Oklahoma City and San Antonio). On Monday they surrendered just 79 points, matching the second lowest total theyve given up all year. "I dont care who is playing, when you play the Utah Jazz, its a brand of basketball thats very difficult," Casey said. "Youre going to have to grind it out, youre going to have to earn every inch, every yard in this place and we did tonight." "The rest of the way, before the [All-Star] break, were going to have to grind it out mentally and physically," he continued. "Thats how its going to be because people are going to come out throwing haymakers at us and weve got to be physically and mentally prepared for it." On the season, theyre now 22-6 when holding teams under 100 points. Theyre 20-4 when opponents shoot below 45 per cent. Fake Shoes From China . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give. Wholesake Fake Nike Air Force 1 . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday. https://www.fakeshoes.net/ . Meeks has agreed to a $19.5 million, three-year deal with Detroit, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday night. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because free agents cant sign contracts until the leagues moratorium ends July 10, also said Cartier Martin had agreed to a one-year contract with the rebuilding franchise.WASHINGTON - The New York Knicks deconstruction project hit a new low, setting a team record with a 13th straight loss.The Knicks fell 101-91 to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, giving New York its longest in-season skid in the proud franchises 69-year history.With J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert traded away, and with Carmelo Anthony (sore left knee) and Amare Stoudemire (sore right knee) injured, the Knicks made dubious history by giving major minutes to the likes of Cole Aldrich, Langston Galloway and Cleanthony Early. Their 23rd loss in 24 games featured all the now-familiar follies and a few new ones: passes that went nowhere, shots that became bricks, and Tim Hardaway Jr.s bizarre decision to pass the ball away from the basket when he had a two-on-one fast break right in front of him.We cant get caught up in the history and record and number of games, first-year coach Derek Fisher said, and so were coming out and trying to win one game, and were supposed to celebrate because we broke a streak? No. Thats not who were going to be.The idea of celebrating was pretty much moot after Washington made a 9-0 run late in the first quarter. The Wizards never really put the Knicks away, but there was also never a sense that they were in danger of losing, and Rasual Butlers back-to-back baskets midway through the fourth quarter quieted any and all concerns after New York had cut the deficit to five.John Wall had 18 points and eight assists for the Wizards, who avoided slipping in an obvious trap game after a tough five-game road trip.Its a situation if you sleepwalk through it, you can look bad, and we slept-walk after we got up 20, Washington coach Randy Wittman said. We just cant take things for granted.Jose Calderon scored 17 points for the Knicks, whose roster requires a flow chart these days just to keep up. Galloway, signed to a 10-day contract earlier in the day, played 18 minutes. Team president Phil Jackson is mostly concerned with clearingg salary cap space for the future. Fake Nike Shoes. Its not easy, Calderon said. All the things going on, in a season like that, all the changes happening to us — our teammates, they are going and new guys are arriving — and weve got so many injuries as well.___RECORD IGNORANCE: Fisher said before the game he wasnt aware his team was on the verge of an infamous achievement.This franchise has been around long before I was even born, so we cant carry that much weight into a game like tonight, Fisher said. Theres a lot of guys in this locker room that werent alive barely 20 years ago, so its just about our team and what it is that were trying to do.We dont like our record, where it falls in franchise history. I guess it would be a reality possibly depending on how the night goes tonight, but that doesnt have to define us at all. Thats what it is, thats what it would be and when things are going well for us, were setting records the other way, thatll just be a part of this job and well keep moving forward.MORE TO LOSE: The unwelcome record chase isnt done. The Knicks lost 12 straight at the end of the 1984-85 season, won the draft lottery and came away with Patrick Ewing, then lost the first eight games of the 1985-86 season to complete a franchise-record 20-game skid — a mark well within reach of this years team.TIP-INSKnicks: Fs Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas and C Alex Kirk — all received in the Smith-Shumpert trade — were waived, as expected.Wizards: F Paul Pierce was given the night off ahead of a demanding upcoming set of games. Otto Porter started in Pierces spot, and F Martell Webster (18 minutes) received his most extensive playing time since returning from back surgery. ... Swingman Glen Rice Jr. was waived. He played in only five games this season and was shipped to the D-League in late November.UP NEXTKnicks: Host Rockets on Thursday.Wizards: Host Bulls on Friday.___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP ' ' '