MIAMI – The Toronto Raptors havent defeated the Miami Heat since January 27, 2010, less than five months before the Big Three joined forces in Miami. Riley Ridley Youth Jersey . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. The Raptors believed they had a chance, they felt like they should win and to their credit, they nearly pulled it out. The mentality has changed and so too have the expectations, evident in the visitors locker room after the teams 102-97 loss at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I like the way our guys fought," coach Dwane Casey said after the loss, his teams first in six games. "But, again, you dont get a win or any medals or anything for losing." "I like what our guys are building. I know where we are. Ive said it, I havent wavered from it. I like the direction were going. Were building something [but when] youre playing against the best, youve got to do the little things and there cant be any slippage." Riding a five-game winning streak, which included an impressive victory over the conference-best Pacers, the Raptors never looked out of place against the second-place Heat. They led by as many as nine in the third, up five going into the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie when Kyle Lowry missed a step-back triple with four seconds remaining. The performance validated the legitimacy of their recent success and proved they can compete with the leagues best. That may be a revelation to those who are just tuning in but it comes as no surprise internally, as Lowry firmly pointed out. "We played the Pacers a couple games ago and played them tough, we played the top two teams tough, theres no moral victories at all," said the Raptors point guard, who had 14 points and nine assists in the loss. "We just know we can play with anybody, weve been saying that for a long time. We could play with anybody." "It says a lot," added DeMar DeRozan after scoring a game-high 26. "It says no matter who we play were going to go out there and play hard. People are going to have to worry about us when we come in their building or they come in our building. Were not no scrub team." DeRozan - who was spectacular in the first half, shooting 8-of-10 - made just two of his eight fourth-quarter attempts, forcing tough jumpers. As a team, the Raptors shot 29 per cent in the final frame and went an uncharacteristically terrible 12-of-21 from the line on the night. LeBron James, who was guarded primarily by sophomore Terrence Ross, went off for 30 points on just 18 shots. They gave up 14 offensive boards - including three on one possession - to the worst offensive rebounding team in the league. A month ago Casey may have focused on the positives, the fact that his team hung in with the champs. Its a process, he would say. Now he expects more, a true indication of their evolution and how far theyve come since they dropped a pair of games to the Heat at home in November. "You shoot 57 per cent from the free throw line, youre not going to beat too many people, I dont care if its [the] Miami Heat or Miami-Dade High School," he said. "The 30th offensive rebounding team in the league and they get 14. Thats not acceptable for us. Our interior people have to do a better job of finding bodies." He was especially critical of 21-year-old Jonas Valanciunas, who held his own in the second half after getting off to a slow start against a smaller Heat lineup. "Second half he played much better [but] first half he didnt do anything," Casey said. "A lot of those offensive rebounds were coming over his back. Hes got to dominate, especially against a smaller centre to be effective, to stay in the game." Still, Valanciunas was on the floor down the stretch, along with Ross and the rest of the Raptors starters. Casey comfortably stood his ground, forcing Miami to match-up with him rather than the other way around. Finally, the Raptors are well on their way to developing and, most importantly, maintaining an identity. "Weve all noticed," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Torontos improvement before the game. Theres no such thing as a "moral victory" in the NBA. In fact, Casey and company couldnt bear to hear the term after the loss but if Sundays game was a litmus test, as Torontos coach suggested pre-game, than the Raptors came out in pretty good shape. "Were a different team than when we played them before," Casey said ahead of Sundays meeting. "But still, we have to have a healthy amount of respect for the Miami Heat." "Were not thinking that were at the level of the team [we played] tonight, were not there yet, but that is our goal. Were striving to be like the Heat." Mitchell Trubisky Womens Jersey . GQ Lundqvist quite well.Three rounds, and nearly two months later, will the Kings have the strength to reach the summit of the Empire State to claim the cup?Truer words have never been spoken. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Bears Jersey . -- During a players meeting following the All-Star break, Jermaine ONeal promised his teammates to play the rest of the regular season like he would never play again -- because he very well might not. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-richard-dent-bears-jersey/ .com)LeBron clearly likes his Italian sports cars, and thats ok with me, so up next up is the 458 Spider. WINNIPEG -- New head coach Paul Maurice has liked what hes seen so far from Winnipeg Jets rookies Jacob Trouba and Mark Scheifele. The pair of freshmen scored all three goals for the Jets in a 3-2 overtime win over the visiting Edmonton Oilers, boosting Maurices record to 3-0 since taking over for the fired Claude Noel on Jan. 12. "Theyre good players," said Maurice, adding that he doesnt really look at the franchises first two No. 1 draft picks since moving from Atlanta as rookies. "Theres not like a kiddie section in our locker room." Trouba, a 19-year-old defenceman, tied the game in the third period and scored in overtime for Winnipeg (22-23-5), while Scheifele, a 20-year-old centre, gave the Jets a 2-1 lead midway through the third. Jordan Eberle and David Perron scored for the Oilers (15-30-6), who finished 0-4 on a Central Division road trip that saw them outscored 17-8. After nearly scoring himself, Jets winger Blake Wheeler found Trouba alone in front of the net for the winning goal 1:10 into overtime. "Nobody really got down when we got down a goal," said Trouba, who couldnt recall ever scoring an overtime winner or scoring twice in a game. "I dont do that very often." The Oilers forced extra time when Perron redirected a Jeff Petry point shot with two minutes remaining to make it 2-2 on just the fifth Edmonton shot of the third period. Perron said the game would have played out much differently had the Oilers been able to add to their 1-0 lead. "I had a breakaway in the first," he said. "I would like to have that one back, probably." Trouba had tied the game at 5:48 of the third with a short-handed goal when Bryan Little carried the puck down the left wing, went around a sprawling Petry, and found the rookie defenceman in the low slot. It was the league-worst ninth short-handed goal allowed by the Oilers this season. "They were both spectacular plays," Trouba said of the setups from Little and Wheeler. "Youve just got to get the puck to those kind of players and theyll find you." Little and Maurice spoke of the Jets willingness to stay patient despite trailing by a goal. "We didnt want to take too many chances and too many risks yet," Little said. "It was just a one-goal game. We were waiting for our opportunities, and it happened to come when we were shoorthanded. Roquan Smith Jersey. " Then Scheifele fought through a check along the boards, cut to the front of the net and banged home his own rebound to make it 2-1, his ninth goal of the season, at 10:37 of the third period. Oilers coach Dallas Eakins was encouraged by the fight his team showed after finding itself down a goal. "We were fine early," Eakins said, "and then as the game wears on and as the game gets harder and harder we dont have that strength to quite sustain it for the full 60 minutes." Ondrej Pavelec stopped 20-of-22 shots for Winnipeg, while Ilya Bryzgalov made 36 saves for Edmonton. Eberle opened the scoring for the Oilers on the power play at 6:59 of the second period with his 16th goal of the season. Eberle took a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins below the left faceoff dot and beat Pavelec high to the glove side. The Jets came close in the first 40 minutes, outshooting the Oilers 24-16 through two periods, but couldnt beat Bryzgalov. The Jets had an 11-8 edge in shots after a scoreless first period that saw each team fail to score on a pair of power plays. Newly acquired Oilers forward Matt Hendricks took a puck to the ear midway through the period and went to the locker-room, but returned to the game shortly after. Wheeler was shaken up after taking an elbow to the head from Taylor Hall, but didnt miss a shift. Some were expecting the bad blood to carry over from the teams previous meeting, a 6-2 Edmonton win on Dec. 23 in which the Jets racked up 78 penalty minutes. But there was little action after the whistle until a short third-period scrap between Hendricks and Jets defenceman Mark Stuart. The Oilers return home for three games, beginning Tuesday against Vancouver. The Jets, meanwhile, face a difficult two-game Californian road trip with games Tuesday in Anaheim and Thursday in San Jose. Notes: Oilers forward Nail Yakupov, who left Thursdays game with a head injury, was a scratch. Teammate Ales Hemsky missed a second straight game with a foot injury. a Jets winger Evander Kane missed his fourth consecutive game with a hand injury suffered during a fight in the final seconds of a game against Tampa Bay on Jan. 7. a Winnipegs experiment with Dustin Byfuglien at forward continued for a fourth game. Regularly a defenceman, the 28-year-old Byfuglien was playing in his 500th career NHL game. ' ' '