The Ranch » second inning Friday night and never let up. "I would jus

TORONTO -- Jonas Valanciunas was five years old when Kevin Garnett earned his first of 15 NBA all-star selections. He was 11 when Garnett was named the league MVP. Valanciunas -- now 21 -- went toe to toe with the 37-year-old Garnett in Torontos loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their playoff series last Saturday. And if there was any sense of awe in the name on the back of the Brooklyn jersey he was guarding, the young Valanciunas didnt show it, laying down a monster game in his post-season debut. "He was not intimidated, he wasnt fazed by the physicality or guarding a legend like KG. Youre talking about a guy who is going to be in the Hall of Fame," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "I told our guys, Youve got to respect them because those guys have accomplished a lot in this league. But you cant fear them. KG would think less of him, knowing him, if it was anything less. Respect him, but you cant fear him. (Valanciunas) did that." The Raptors host Game 2 of the series on Tuesday, then it shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. Valanciunas had 17 points and 18 rebounds in the opener of the seven-game series, while holding Garnett to five points. While many of the Raptors appeared overwhelmed by the enormity of their first playoff appearance in six seasons -- for some players, it was their first playoff appearance, period -- Valanciunas looked especially fired up from the opening tipoff. When asked Monday about guarding Garnett, Valanciunas merely shrugged. "Hes the same Garnett in regular season, so Im playing him the same way. Just maybe adding 10 per cent more effort," Valanciunas said, laughing. On Garnetts infamous trash talking: "I dont understand English. So Im OK." More laughter. On whether Garnett was a player he looked up to growing up in Utena, Lithuania: "His last name is really famous, so I heard about him when I was a kid." Respect, but no fear. What helped Valanciunas keep the nerves at bay, Casey believes, is thats hes accustomed to playing in front of noisy, passionate crowds. "Thats one thing with the Euroleague, hes played in some big games over there for his country," Casey said. "He was not fazed by the crowd, by the moment, by it being the playoffs. I thought he did a good job of fighting the physicality, getting inside, rebounding, using his length against KG and (Nets centre Mason) Plumlee." As the Raptors season continues, so does Valanciunass development. His rebounds Saturday were a Raptors post-season record. His double-double was only the second by a Raptor in their playoff debut (Tracy McGrady recorded the other in 2000). He scored a career-high 26 points earlier this month, less than three days after he was charged with drunk driving. "Its a positive. Him growing over the last month or so has really been a positive for our season," Casey said. "Hes our future. Hes our starting centre for a while to come so its great to see. Plus, hes a great kid. He works at it." Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez, meanwhile, grew up watching the Nets other NBA legend Paul Pierce. He even attended Pierces basketball camp when he was a kid. The 36-year-old Pierce was huge down the stretch in Game 1, scoring nine of his 15 points in the final three minutes. Asked if there was one thing he learned from Pierces camp, Vasquez replied, with a wide grin: "I did. How to be clutch." Vasquez played like he was similarly unfazed by the big names on the opposing team. Vasquez, one of four Raptors acquired in December in the trade that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento, scored 18 points off the bench and doled out eight assists. "You know what, to me, its fun," Vasquez said. "Im an underdog guy, so Ive got to prove myself every day. I wake up with 220,000 pounds on my shoulder, so Ive got to be able to find a way to walk and get to my job. "Its fun when you face Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, KG. I mean, I grew up watching those guys, especially Paul Pierce. Now I got a chance to beat em? To me, I cant ask for anything better than that. Its fun. Its a basketball game, man, at the end of the day weve all got two hands. We all can shoot. Weve got one of the best point guards, too (in Kyle Lowry). Ill take our chances, man." For the players who did look affected by the nerves in Game 1 -- all-star DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross, to name two -- Casey and his players believe Game 2 will be an entirely different story. "Were disappointed but were anxious to get a second chance at it. I think the second time around well get the first game jitters away, out of us," Casey said. Game 2 could be a repeat of Game 1 when it comes to officiating. The Raptors werent on the favourable end of any calls in the fourth quarter on Saturday. They sounded resigned to the fact after Mondays practice. "Weve accepted that all year long as far as not getting recognition or getting respect or even getting calls we think we should get," said Raptors forward Patrick Patterson. "Thats happened all year long, so for us to think its going to change in the playoffs, were fooling ourselves. We have to go out there and not worry about the referees, not worry about the calls and just play basketball." The Raptors are hoping for a repeat performance by the Air Canada Centre crowd. A sellout crowd of 19,800 took in Game 1, clad in white T-shirts and waving white towels, thanks to a pre-game giveaway. Hundreds more fans watched the game on the big screen in Maple Leaf Square outside the arena. "Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Casey marvelled. "We were in Dallas for the (NBA) championship ... but this arena Saturday was unbelievable. I was proud of our fans. They showed the NBA what were about. The white-out, it was unbelievable. The enthusiasm. They not only cheered when we were up, they cheered when we were behind. It was constant. It was like a soccer crowd. "Our players appreciated it. We appreciate it now weve got to go out and reciprocate with our effort." Saturdays game was also a ratings hit for TSN. Overnight data from BBM Canada indicated an average audience of 539,000 viewers watched Game 1. It was the most-watched Raptors game on English television in Canada since 2002, the network said in a release. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Keeping The Captain? Brian Giontas agent Steve Bartlett told La Presse on Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens want to keep their captain - an unrestricted free agent on July 1 - in the fold, while sources tell the paper that the two sides will start talks this week. Curt Schilling Jersey . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondb...onzalez-jersey/. Halak did not get the start in the Washington Capitals Tuesday night game against the St. Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. Randy Johnson Jersey . Jurrjens signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati in May, and was 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. He has a 53-37 record with a 3.63 ERA in seven major league seasons, including five with Atlanta.CLEVELAND - The Oakland Athletics showed off their offensive prowess all weekend at Progressive Field. Sundays 13-3 win gave Oakland a three-game sweep over slumping Cleveland, a series in which the Athletics outscored the Indians 30-6. Yoenis Cespedes drove in a career-high five runs and Brandon Moss had three RBIs to pace Oaklands offence that began with an eight-run second inning Friday night and never let up. "I would just use the word confident," Moss said of his teams offence. "Everybodys going up there and taking good swings. We have guys who put together some good at-bats who have some pop. That usually leads to runs." The Athletics, who have won nine of 10, saved their best for the final game, pounding out 12 hits, including seven doubles, and drawing nine walks. Cespedes two-run double was the key hit in Oaklands four-run fifth. He also drove in two runs with another double in the eighth. Moss was 3 for 3 with two walks and scored four runs. He had an RBI double in the fifth, a two-run double in the sixth and a triple in the second. John Jasos RBI double in the fourth put Oakland ahead for good while Josh Donaldson, who drove in seven runs in the series, had an RBI single in the fifth and scored four runs. "All the guys we rely on to knock in runs are doing exactly what theyre supposed to do," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Thats when were at our best." Jesse Chavez (4-1) gave up solo homers to Michael Bourn in the first and Michael Brantley in the fifth, accounting for both runs the right-hander allowed in five innings. Cleveland has dropped four straight and six of eight. The Indians scored first in all three games, but were no match for Oakland, which leads the AL West with a 28-16 record. Indians manager Terry Francona is impressed with the Athletics. "They got it working right now," he said. "They have good starting pitching, theyve got a very good bullpen and they are swinging it from one through nine." Justin Masterson (2-3) allowed seven runs, seven hits and five walks in 4 1-3 innings. Francona moved Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana, who hhave battled season-long slumps, down in the batting order, but the changes didnt help the struggling offence, which has scored three runs or fewer 24 times in 44 games.dddddddddddd Santana, moved from cleanup to seventh, was hitless in four at-bats while Swisher, switched from second to sixth, was 0 for 5 and committed an error in the seventh. Swisher fielded a routine grounder to end the inning and was given a sarcastic cheer by the small crowd of 14,872. Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall also had an error, giving the Indians a major-league high 45. Bourn led off the game with a home run to centre that landed in Clevelands bullpen, but the lead didnt last long. Moss started the second with a triple. Chisenhall fielded Cespedes ground ball and his throw landed in the camera bay behind first base. Cespedes was given an RBI. Masterson walked Donaldson and Moss to start the fourth. Jasos one-out double put Oakland ahead and Josh Reddick followed with a single for a 3-1 lead. Oakland put the game away in the fifth, stringing together four hits and a walk off Masterson. Following Donaldsons RBI single, Moss drove in a run with a double and Cespedes double scored two more. Jaso and Reddick also drove in two runs apiece. "Obviously, we got a lot of guys on base this series," Donaldson said. "From top to bottom, we had guys having really good at-bats." Oakland shortstop Jed Lowrie left the game in the second inning because of a strained neck and was replaced by Nick Punto. NOTES: The Athletics announced following the game they claimed LHP Jeff Francis off waivers from Cincinnati and he will join the team for its series at the Rays that begins Tuesday. ... LHP Joe Savery, who was expected to go on the paternity list, was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento instead. He pitched two scoreless innings Sunday. SS Jake Elmore (strained left quad) has been moved to the 60-day disabled list. ... 2B Eric Sogard was removed in the eighth inning after fouling a ball off his knee. ... Melvin said LHP Scott Kazmir, ejected in the second inning Saturday, will likely stay on his regular turn and start Friday in Toronto. 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