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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." Joel Iyiegbuniwe Jersey . The Red Wings hadnt played the night before. The Boston Bruins had. A month from now, or two months from now, it doesnt matter. But right now it does matter, when you start and you play back to back, its wear and tear on you for sure, Babcock said. Allen Robinson Bears Jersey . Wheeler scored at 4:58 of overtime, with Scheifele getting an assist, and the Jets beat the slumping Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Sunday night. http://www.probearsonline.com/authentic-aaron-lynch-bears-jersey/ . All of 46 seconds into the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 victory over Alex Ovechkins struggling Washington Capitals, Crosby assisted on Chris Kunitzs goal. Trey Burton Bears Jersey . - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels 7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Taylor Gabriel Bears Jersey . The commissioners office said Friday that Sears tested positive for metabolites of Methandienone. Sears will be 23 in March. He signed with the Braves in June 2013 out of Arizona Christian, an NAIA school, and is on the roster of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves.PARIS – Milos Raonic almost seemed offended by the question. On Wednesday, Raonic was asked about the challenges that will come facing Frenchman Gilles Simon at the French Open on Friday with a partisan Parisian crowd likely looking to influence the outcome of the third-round match. "The lines are the same, courts are the same, go out there and play tennis," Raonic said describing his approach. So, a hostile crowd doesnt bother the eighth seed at all? "I hope not," Raonic quipped. The Thornhill, Ont. native is used to playing in enemy territory. Last year he beat Frenchman Michael Llodra, ranked 55th at the time, in four sets in the second round at Roland Garros. He beat James Blake in straight sets in the third round of the US Open in 2012 although the American did enter the match ranked 114th. Raonic has fallen victim to the hometown hero at a slam, though, losing to former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in four sets at the Australian Open two years ago. But Raonic insists the Australian fans had no impact on him. "I think the only thing it really brought out was the best in Lleyton. I dont think it really got down on me. I have been in situations since then, I have played James in New York, so I have been in similar situations and I cant really predict, assume, or worry too much about whats going to be happening and whats going to be said. Ive got to focus really on just playing." Most recently, Raonic posted an impressive five-set marathon win over Janko Tipsarevic during Davis Cup play in Belgrade last year. He lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets a couple days later although the opening set went to a tiebreak. "Its never easy playing Novak with a Serbian crowd. There are many situations I have already been in. I have learned from them and I just keep it within myself. I just focus on myself," the 23-year-old said. Simon and Raonic played just once before with Raonic triumphing in a tight three-set battle in Portugal (Estoril) three years ago. "I played him on clay there," Raonic said. "I think Im a much better player than I was baack then, but at the same time I believe he plays much better here than he does throughout the rest of the clay events.dddddddddddd." Simon, the 29th seed, has cruised through his first two matches of this years French Open dropping just 11 games. In contrast, Raonic has lost 23. "Its going to be a difficult match," Raonic said. "But I think I will have my opportunities to take control and dictate and thats going to be the most important thing." Raonic has run into some rough patches early in his two matches in the French capital. He was forced into a tiebreaker in the opening set against Jiri Vesely on Wednesday ultimately besting the 81st-ranked Czech 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1. "I felt like in the beginning I was just missing a little bit of intensity and I was letting him dictate a little bit too much. Then in the important moments I played the right way," Raonic explained. "At the beginning of the second, I sort of fell into the same slump a little bit with intensity, but then I feel like I did the right thing for the rest of the match and I gave myself plenty of opportunities." Raonic was asked why, at times, intensity is an issue early in these matches. "Sometimes you go in maybe sort of calculating, because it is three out of five, which youre a little bit unused to because [most tournaments are best of three]. I think thats really the only thing. And, also, at the beginning of matches you sort of try to find your way into it. You cant go out trying to hit close to the line, because thats never going to really work. Maybe once in a while it will, but you sort of have to find your way in. I just wasnt gradually picking it up the way I needed to during the first." In general, though, Raonic is happy with how his tournament is progressing. He beat Australian wildcard Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the first round on Sunday. "I feel like Im playing better and I think I dealt a little bit better with it when I got things figured out as far as intensity. I held it on a little bit better where I struggled a little bit with my match three days ago." ' ' '