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TORONTO -- Dwane Casey saw it as a sign of maturity on the part of his young team. After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. "Thats another step in our growth," Casey said after Friday nights win at Air Canada Centre. "Last year at this time, if wed have missed shots like that wed have caved in. "But we kept grinding it, grinding it, grinding it and thats what you have to do when the shots arent falling." The Raptors (30-25) shot a woeful 32.7 per cent from the field in the first half and trailed 44-39. But, with second-year centre Jonas Valanciunas leading the way, Toronto shot an impressive 16-for 23, or 69.5 per cent, in the third quarter on the way to winning their fourth game in five starts. "We said we need to pick it up, we need to come out with energy," Valanciunas, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, said of the talk in the locker room at halftime. "Thats what it was all about. "We shot really bad the first half but we did a better job the second half and thats what matters." Valanciunas scored 10 of his 14 second-half points in the third quarter, including five in a row during a 4:07 stretch that saw the Raptors turn a one-point deficit into a 10-point lead. Second-year guard Terrence Ross had a team-high 20 points as the Raptors snapped the Cavaliers (22-34) six-game winning streak and widened their lead to 3-1/2 games over the idle Brooklyn Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division. With the win, the Raptors equalled the third-fastest time theyve reached the 30-win mark in team history, just one game off the best mark of 54 games in both the 2009-10 and 2007-08 seasons. The Raptors, who have missed the playoffs in each of the past five seasons, didnt win their 30th game until their 78th outing last year. Although Ross led the Raptors in scoring, it was his defensive play against Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving, who was named MVP of last weekends NBA All-Star Game, that drew rave reviews from his teammates. "Defensively, hes always been impressive, and hes getting better," Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said after Irving was held to 3-for-16 shooting on his way to 17 points. "I told him that on the bench tonight." Lowry had 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds. DeMar DeRozan added 14 points and five assists. Clevelands Luol Deng led all scorers with 21 points and added 11 rebounds while Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ont., added 13 points and nine assists and Anthony Bennett, also from Brampton, who last spring became the first Canadian to ever go first overall in the NBA draft, had nine points in his first game here. "We just had to pick up our defensive intensity," Ross said of the message delivered at halftime. "The biggest thing, we were coming out, playing too lackadaisical and we had to pick that up." Toronto outscored Cleveland 37-21 in the third quarter to take control. Valanciunas made a layup with 7:22 to go in the quarter to put the Raptors up for good at 53-52. After Valanciunas and Amir Johnson combined for just four points in the first half, Casey said he gave the big men "a wake-up call" going into the second half and they responded at both ends of the court. "We reminded them theres more to the game than the offensive end," Casey said. "You can get rebounds. You can get back in transition. You can challenge shots and you can go vertical. "You can do a lot of different things other than make shots and I thought the second half (they) worked at it and got it done." Yeezy 350 Cheap . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown. Yeezy 350 On Sale .com) - Sergio Agueros 63rd-minute goal was enough to lift Manchester City to a 1-0 win over 10-man Manchester United on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium. https://www.cheapyeezy350outlet.com/ . - Jesse Shynkaruk scored a hat trick as the Moose Jaw Warriors snapped a seven-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Prince Albert Raiders in Western Hockey League action on Saturday. Yeezy 350 Clearance . - The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent centre Brian de la Puente. Yeezy 350 Sale . -- The court fight over NFL concussions should heat up soon as a judge in Philadelphia weighs the fairness of the proposed $765 million settlement.(SportsNetwork.com) - In his more reflective moments you can bet Phil Emery looks in the mirror and realizes that he made a mistake by plucking Marc Trestman out of the CFL to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears. By admitting that, though, the Bears general manager would be highlighting his own failings and placing a rather sizeable bulls-eye on his own back when it comes to any future employment prospects in the Windy City. For that reason and that reason alone, Trestman will likely get a third opportunity to try to resuscitate the Bears in an NFC North that is seemingly now the Green Bay Packers birthright. I dont think it ever has changed here. By all the key parties that youre thinking about, Trestman said after his teams latest loss, a 41-28 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. It has been tremendously supportive, during the good weeks and bad weeks. And it has been extremely consistent by everybody here. The only thing that people ask me here is what can they do to help, Trestman continued. And that comes from all areas of this building. What can we do to help you along? And that support has been very heartfelt. Things arent so heartfelt for defensive coordinator Mel Tucker, however. In the its-so-obvious-why-do-you-need-to-report-it department, NFL Media leaked the upcoming Bears narrative Sunday when they reported Tucker will likely be the one paying for the sins of those higher up on the food chain. The NFL Networks Ian Rapoport was the one claiming that the Bears will be terminating Tuckers deal at seasons end which is comparable to breaking the news that the sun will rise Monday. There are a number of issues with the Bears, who will be missing the postseason for the seventh time and eight years, but they start at the top where its always been about signing high-profile names in free agency and cost-cutting where you dont have a salary cap and can really make inroads, the coaching staff. That flawed philosophy is only magnified because the Packers, CChicagos most- heated rival, do things the opposite way, largely eschewing free agency in favor of the draft, while possessing one of the leagues most highly-regarded coaching staffs.dddddddddddd Its not like you should feel sorry for Tucker or that he has done a good job in Chicago, however. The Bears are 26th in total defense, allowing 377.8 yards per game and the team has given up more than 50 points on two different occasions. Theyve also been blown out five different times, the latest of which was Thursday in Soldier Field when the Cowboys blew into town. Whats unfair is the illogical belief in the Second City that the Bears are a talented but underachieving team because of all the high-profile names that dot the roster. Offensively you can at least make that argument because players like Brandon Marshall (before his injury on Thursday) and Jay Cutler can still perform at a high level, at least on occasion. Even thats nonsense of course because Cutler is orchestrating things and he is this generations Jeff George, a signal caller with elite arm talent but no leaderships skill to speak of and the body language of a pre-teen who hasnt gotten his way. Yet, Emery still signed him to a seven-year, $126.7 million extension this past offseason, with $54 million of that guaranteed. In Tuckers domain, observers who dont understand look at names like Jared Allen, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman and assume they will always be the players they once were. In truth they were all descending talents coming into the 2014 season, far closer to the end of spectacular careers than the beginning. And when Tillman and then Briggs were lost to injury for yet another campaign, the floor fell out because depth is a major issue, something that again points toward Emery far more than Tucker or even Trestman. Moving forward by jettisoning Tucker is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg. Its simply not addressing the real problem for Chicago. And when Emery looks in that mirror, he knows it. ' ' '