Chatecke » They knew they had the cameras on them

NEW YORK -- The last time the New York Rangers had a game to forget, they responded with five straight wins that put them on the cusp of the Stanley Cup finals. Fake Air Force 1 . They are still there, and the Montreal Canadiens arent going away without a fight. New York needs one more victory to reach the championship round for the first time in 20 years. The Rangers know that Game 6 at home on Thursday is their best chance to get it. They returned home from Montreal on Wednesday, one day after a wild 7-4 loss cut their series lead to 3-2. If New York doesnt end it Thursday, the Rangers will have to go back to Montreal for a deciding Game 7. New York, which went the full seven games in each of the first two rounds of this years playoffs, will be playing its 20th post-season game. No team that played a pair of seven-game series before the conference finals has reached the Stanley Cup finals. "Its an opportunity to win the game to go to the Stanley Cup final," Rangers forward Brad Richards said. "I think everybody is alert and ready that way. We were talking about it all (Tuesday) how excited we were to get on the ice and start playing. "We had some mental breakdowns, but I dont think it had anything to do with (fatigue). Weve had a lot of rest this series. The opportunity that faces us right now, were pretty excited about it. I dont think there is too much letdown." In the second round, a poor performance at home in Game 4 against Pittsburgh dropped the Rangers into a 3-1 series hole. But New York won Game 5 on the road, took Game 6 at home, and won the clincher back in Pittsburgh to set up the matchup with Montreal. Now that the Canadiens have staved off elimination once, the Rangers are wary of giving them any more hope they can turn the tables. "You learn a lot from it. Thats why experience is experience," Richards said. "You go through many situations. (Tuesday) night was a bad feeling, but today were getting on a plane to go back to our city, and we get to play in front of our fans. "Its always, forget as quick as possible and try to remember the good things that were doing. It was one bad night, but weve been doing a lot of good things in this series." The Rangers won the opening two games in Montreal and then split a pair of overtime decisions at home. Even though they have had success on the road and in recent Game 7s, they know that going the distance again works against them. "Its a desperate time," Richards said. "You dont want to go back to a Game 7 where anything can happen. We want to get this done. Theyre a good team anywhere. "Were going to have to be a lot better, and we will be." This is as far as New York has advanced since captain Mark Messier led the club to the 1994 Stanley Cup title -- breaking the Rangers 54-year drought. The Garden will be ready to celebrate again Thursday. After the Rangers lost Game 4 to Pittsburgh, the loyal fans thought they might not see their team again until next season. That will be the situation again if the Canadiens pull off another victory. "You win a game, and things change in your locker room and you start feeling better about yourselves," Rangers defenceman Marc Staal said. "We know how it feels coming back in a series, but it doesnt change anything in our room. We are as confident as ever going into our building, and looking forward to it." So are the Canadiens. They know that if they wouldve scored in overtime of Game 4 as they did in Game 3, they wouldve had a two-game sweep at the Garden and would be the ones looking to advance Thursday. "Well be ready for one of those tight-checking games," defenceman Josh Gorges said Wednesday after an optional practice in Montreal. "Im sure it will be again one of those hard-fought games that well have to make sure that were even better than we were last game." Montreal will have rugged forward Brandon Prust back in the lineup after he served a two-game suspension for a late hit on Derek Stepan in Game 3 that broke the Rangers forwards jaw. Stepan returned Tuesday and scored two goals while wearing a full faceguard. The Rangers will be without defenceman John Moore. He was suspended for two games Wednesday after receiving a match penalty Tuesday night for a hit to Montreal forward Dale Weises head. Henrik Lundqvist will be back in goal for the Rangers after he was pulled in Game 5 on a rare off night in which he allowed four goals on 19 shots in less than two periods. He avoided the loss when New York rallied from a 4-1 deficit to get even. Backup goalie Cam Talbot gave up two goals in relief. "(Tuesday) night was probably the best game weve played in this series," Canadiens forward Lars Eller said. "If we keep doing a lot of those things, I think the end result will be good." Fake Air Max 95 . Fielder ended 4-for-5 with a solo homer, while Avila was 4-for-4 with two runs scored for the Tigers, who put the brakes on a three-game skid and rebounded from a loss in Mondays opener. Victor Martinez and Austin Jackson both contributed two hits, an RBI and a run scored as Detroit maintained its healthy lead atop the AL Central. Cheap Jordans From China . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. http://www.fakejordancheap.com/wholesale-air-max-97-china.html .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.TORONTO -- For a young Toronto Raptors squad that had almost no playoff experience, Saturdays Game 1 had a little bit of everything -- from a faulty shot clock, to a GM hollering a profanity and a deliriously loud crowd dying for a post-season victory. It was a loss. But it was also a learning experience. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson had 24 points each to lift Brooklyn to a 94-87 win over the Raptors, making their first playoff appearance since 08. "I thought we played a little bit as expected as it is our first playoff game," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "But still as bad as we played, we put ourselves in position to win and thats the approach we have to take. The series is now at only one game, there is still a lot of basketball to be played." Kyle Lowry, whose locker had a sign overhead that read "Good luck dad," had 22 points for Toronto. Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 18 boards in his first post-season appearance. "Just keep playing," was Lowrys message to his teammates after the loss. Greivis Vasquez added 18 points while DeMar DeRozan finished with 14 on an afternoon punctuated by Raptors GM Masai Ujiris apology for dropping an F-bomb when addressing a crowd, and the shot clock that malfunctioned midway through the third quarter. The Raptors might be the Atlantic Division champs and No. 3 seed in the East but theyre considered underdogs in this series based on experience -- or lack thereof. The Nets starting five came in with a combined 417 post-season starts. Torontos starters: zero. But if they felt any pressure, Valanciunas and Lowry certainly didnt show it. The 21-year-old Valanciunas became the first Raptor since Tracy McGrady in 2000 to record a double-double in his playoff debut and also set a record for rebounds (Keon Clarks 16 boards versus Detroit in 2002 was the previous mark). "I tell you what, I thought Jonas played big-time, he really did," Casey said. "He grew up today, that was huge for us." Paul Pierce added 15 points for the Nets and was especially lethal down the stretch, scoring nine points in the final 2:58. Shaun Livingston had 10 points as Brooklyn had 17 points off 19 Toronto turnovers. The Raptors rallied from an early 12-point deficit to take a one-point lead early in the third, but it was short-lived as Brooklyn led 67-62 heading into the fourth quarter. A basket by Lowry, then a three-pointer by Vasquez gave Toronto a 76-75 lead with 5:13 to play, but Brooklyn responded with seven straight points -- capped with a Pierce three-pointer -- to take a six-point lead with three minutes remaining. Pierce raised his hands and gestured to the crowd after his long bomb. "It was just emotions flying high, playoffs, close game, taking some shots, making some shots," Pierce said. "I really feed off the emotions of the crowd, especially on the road . . . I think its more gratifying than winning at home, I love those moments." The Raptors pulled to within five points several times over the final couple of minutes but could come no closer, sending the series into Game 2 on Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre with the Nets leading 1-0. The series shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Friday. Toronto forward Amir Johnson said turnovers proved costly for the Raptors. "Tough game. Our turnovers really hurt us," he said. "They really beat us in the third quarter. All around we played good basketball, there were just a lot of turnovers." Emotions ran high even before this series started, with talk the Nets tanked down the stretch -- losing four of their last five -- to purposely drop to sixth so theyd face the less-experienced Raptors. Ujiri took the stage before the afternoon game to address pumped-up fans at Maple Leaf Square. The moment seemed to get to him as he paired an F-bomb and Brooklyn on his way off the stage. "I apologize to kids out there and to the Brooklyn guys," Ujiri said at halftime. "Nothing against them. Just trying to get our fans going. Thats it." He offered over his shoulder as he walked away: "You know how I feel. I dont like them (the Nets), but I apologize. Cheap Jordans Fake. " Casey wasnt offended by Ujiris remarks. "Thats Masai, thats why our team plays like that," Casey said. "Hes a fiery guy, and that should represent how we feel. I dont have any offence of it whatsoever." Adding to an already strange afternoon, the shot clock went black with 5:57 left in the third, and after a 10-minute delay, it was decided the game would be played without one. Announcer Herbie Kuhn counted down the clock from 10 seconds on every possession. "Its not that disruptive, it is what it is," Lowry said. "You cant make excuses." The soldout Air Canada Centre crowd of 19,800, that included hip-hop artist Drake, former Raptors star Alvin Williams and Toronto FC GM Tim Bezbatchenko, was a sea of white, thanks to a pre-game T-shirt giveaway. They waved white towels. They stood and hollered for much of the game, breaking into random chants of "K-G sucks!" in reference to Nets veteran Kevin Garnett. "It was unbelievable, the atmosphere of the crowd, the intensity, the noise," Lowry said. "I can tell you the Brooklyn Nets, they were like Speak up, I cant hear, its loud in here. So it definitely affected them a little bit." Anthem singer Michael Ciufo sang the first verse of O Canada, then held up the mic and let the crowd take over, making for a stirring start to the afternoon. Outside, Maple Leaf Square was jam-packed as red-clad Raptors fans watched the game on the huge screen outside -- an idea that started with the Toronto Maple Leafs brief playoff run last year. Saturdays front page of a Toronto newspaper referred to Pierce, whos 36, and Garnett (37) as "dinosaurs." Pierce said he didnt see the paper. But when asked if hed ever played a game without a shot clock, he replied to much laughter from the media: "I dont remember if Ive ever played without it since Im a dinosaur. Its been so long." A grinning Pierce tried to chuck his headband up into the crowd as he trotted off the court after the game. Twice, fans threw it back. A reporter noted that Toronto fans clearly didnt want it. "Yes they did," Pierce said laughing. "They knew they had the cameras on them, they wanted to have pride. The third (throw) was a charm." The Raptors shot 39 per cent on the night, while the Nets shot 42. Toronto outrebounded Brooklyn 45-37. DeRozan and Terrence Ross both had shaky afternoons for Toronto -- the Nets did a great job in shutting down DeRozan, and Ross seemed to get flustered after picking up a couple of early fouls. "Weve got to make adjustments to help (DeRozan)," Casey said. "This is the time you do step up and nobody wants to win more than DeMar DeRozan. "His heart is into it, hes got sweat equity into this team. Again everybody is going to have an off night. Their whole gameplan was to take him out and theyre a veteran team and they did." Toronto (48-34) and Brooklyn (44-38) split four meetings during the regular season, with each team winning once on the opponents court. The Raptors had only opened the playoffs at home in one other year, in 2007 -- incidentally also against the (then-New Jersey) Nets. Toronto, also Atlantic Division champions that year, lost in five games. Valanciunas scored the teams first eight points of the game, and Lowry poured in 11 first-quarter points, but otherwise Johnson -- with two points -- was the only other contributor on the offensive end in opening frame. The Nets galloped out on an 18-2 run capped by a three from Williams to go up by 12 points with three minutes left in the first, and took a 29-21 lead into the second. Vasquez, with 10 second-quarter points, led the Raptors in a 14-6 run to open the frame and Toronto pulled even eight minutes before halftime. The Nets took a 50-46 advantage into the dressing room at the half. The Raptors had a brief one-point lead early in the third thanks to a three-pointer by Ross, but couldnt maintain it. The Nets led by eight before Lowry drained a three-pointer at the buzzer, pumping his fist as it cut Brooklyns lead to 67-62. ' ' '