News » ontest, Amir Johnson nearly willed his tea

TORONTO - Buffalo will return from its bye week to host the fading Atlanta Falcons in its not so comfortable home away from home, Torontos Rogers Centre. This weeks contest will mark the sixth regular season affair the Bills will have played north of the border since 2008 and Rogers Media along with the club recently announced a five-year partnership renewal, beginning with this game and continuing through the 2017 season. Problem is Buffalo hasnt been all that successful when crossing over into Ontario. In their five previous "homes games", the Bills are just 1-4 with the lone win coming in 2011 when they blanked Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins 23-0. Buffalo lost consecutive games to Miami, the New York Jets and Chicago in Toronto between 2008-10 before gaining the victory and then suffering through its worst Rogers Centre performance in 2012, a 50-17 collapse against the Seattle Seahawks. The Bills are coming off one of their most impressive 2013 performances back in Week 11 when the club snapped a three-game losing streak with an emphatic 37-14 victory on a windy day in western New York at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Rookie quarterback EJ Manuel won his second duel with New York freshman Geno Smith in that one, bouncing back from a 27-20 defeat in Week 3 at MetLife Stadium when Manuel completed only 19-of-42 passes and Smith threw for 331 yards with a pair of scores. This time, Manuel connected on 20-of-28 throws for 245 yards with a pair of long touchdown passes into the wind for Buffalo, while Smith completed just 8- of-23 passes for only 103 yards and was intercepted three times. "It was a physical game, we took advantage of some opportunities, thought (Manuel) played well," said Bills coach Doug Marrone. Jairus Byrd came away with two of Smiths picks and DaNorris Searcy returned one 32 yards for a touchdown. Smith, who was benched in the fourth quarter, was also sacked four times and lost a fumble deep in his own territory that set up another Buffalo touchdown. "You got to give all the credit to Buffalo. They did a tremendous job, outplayed us in every phase of the game," said Jets coach Rex Ryan. The Falcons, meanwhile, are in the middle of a nightmare. After finishing 13-3 in 2012 and coming up just short in the NFC Championship Game against San Francisco, Atlanta fell to 2-9 in Week 12 after a hard-fought 17-13 loss to New Orleans at the Georgia Dome. Atlanta has dropped five straight overall and is now tied with Houston and Jacksonville for the worst record in the NFL at 2-9. Quarterback Matt Ryan played well against NOLA, finishing 30-of-39 for 292 yards, while Steven Jackson racked up 63 yards on 16 carries and scored the Falcons lone touchdown in the loss. Sundays game will mark the 11th regular season meeting between Buffalo and Atlanta, with the Falcons holding a slim 6-4 advantage in the series. Air Jordan 11 Wholesale Australia . Its Wu-Tang and Outkast in the final. Now, we all know youve played the role of Andre 3000 in the past, does that mean Outkast is getting your vote?AJ: You know it, you know it. Cheap Jordan 11 Retro Australia . -- Caris LeVert had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, and No. http://www.cheapairjordan11australia.com/. - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. Jordan 11 For Sale Australia .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Jordan 11 Cheap For Sale . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour.TORONTO - The Raptors locker room was unnervingly quiet Friday evening, about how you would expect it after the implausible ending that sealed the teams fate in a double-overtime disaster. In the back corner sat an inconsolable John Salmons, the elephant in the room. Facing his locker, Salmons slouched forward in his chair, his head down in his hands and a long black towel draped over him. One by one his teammates came over to comfort him, patting him on the back and offering words of encouragement. He didnt move. He remained in that position, perfectly still for over 30 minutes. They win as a team and they lose as a team, but Salmons felt the brunt of it on this night. What seemed like a sure victory late in the second overtime period began to unravel when an exceptional player made an exceptional shot. With the Raptors up by eight, 49 seconds away from an improbable victory and season-sweep of the 50-win Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant banked in a 27-foot three-point jumper. Following another Thunder three - this one courtesy veteran assassin Derek Fisher - Salmons threw away an inbounds pass on the baseline, only to break up Durants runner and get sent to the line. With less than 10 seconds remaining, now up two, Salmons clanked both free throws, paving the way for the leagues leading scorer to do what he does best. Break hearts. "Great players make great plays," Dwane Casey said of Durant, moments after his 31-foot pull-up dagger gave the Thunder a 119-118 victory. Since coming over from Sacramento in December, Salmons has been praised for his poise and veteran savvy late in games, many of which hes helped them win. This was not his finest hour. "Hes a veteran (and) in those situations youve got to believe in him, that hes going to make those free throws," Casey said of Salmons, playing in place of Terrence Ross, who left the game with a hip contusion. "We had to go with John in that situation. Hes been one of our best defenders in that situation, but its not just one guy." The Raptors, now 1-6 in OT this season, need to close out these types of games. Salmons needs to be better down the stretch, they know it and so does he. It was three months ago, almost to this day that the Raptors pulled off their most impressive win of the season, a 104-98 victory in Oklahoma City. Coming off an OT win in Dallas a couple days prior and trailing by as many as 10 in the fourth, Toronto shocked the Thunder, who were undefeated at home at the time. "It helped kick start us going forward," Casey said of that night. "It helped our chemistry, it helped our togetherness it helped blend in the old and the new guys together." It would not have happened if not for Salmons. The 12-year vet spearheaded his new teams comeback, scoring nine points in the final quarter. After the game his teammates raved about his leadership and calming effect on the floor. Kyle Lowry gave him the game ball. Like Patrick Paterson - sttill out with an injured elbow - Greivis Vasquez, who was spectacular before fouling out Friday, and Chuck Hayes, Salmons fingerprints are all over the teams resurgence and that should not be forgotten, internally or externally.dddddddddddd The Raptors proved something to themselves in OKC that night. They proved that they belonged. Three months later, clinging onto the Easts third seed and top spot in the Atlantic Division, they fell just short of proving something to everybody else. For whatever reason the franchise and its fan base has been battered by losses of the devastating variety to the point in which theyre almost immune to them. Toronto has lost 10 straight overtime games at home, an NBA record. "It does (hurt)," Casey admitted, "but we cant let it." "We cant let this game (give us a) hangover. (Its) a big learning experience for our guys. Youre playing with one of the top teams in the league, one of the top players... and you give yourself a chance to win in (double) overtime." KD the magnificent It seems impossible to fathom that Friday once started off as a slow night for Durant. The Thunder forward made just three of his 12 first-half shots but once Russell Westbrook went down in the third quarter - colliding with Lowry and spraining his surgically repaired right knee - Durant, with the help of some generous officiating, completely took over. Durant scored 51 and finished with 12 rebounds and seven assists, getting to the line 19 times and extending his streak of 25 or more points to 34 games, longest since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. Amirs memorable game Playing in his 500th career contest, Amir Johnson nearly willed his team to victory. The Raptors forward recorded a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds, connecting on 12 of his 19 shots in 50 minutes of action. He also spent the bulk of the second half guarding Durant, per his own request made after Ross exited with the hip injury. "It was tough, man," he said, asked about defending the leagues leading scorer. "Hes my height, out there shooting from half court. Theres not too much you can do but double team that." "He did a great job," Casey added. "I felt for him. Hes hurt. He was all over him, draped over him. (Durant) made a tough shot. Theres nothing Amir did wrong." The stat For the first time since Jan. 13, 2013, the Raptors had four players score 20 or more points. Along with Johnson, DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 33 points, hitting all but one of his 16 free throws, while Lowry added 25 and Vasquez scored 21 off the bench. The quote "We couldnt go another overtime," Durant said. "I had to live with whatever happened. You had to get out of there. I wasnt trying to go to another overtime. I pulled up for it, it looked good when it left my hands and God guided that thing to the basket, man. That was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of." ' ' '