TORONTO - For the first time in three days, the most turbulent 72 hours of his life, Jonas Valanciunas was able to find an escape, an outlet for his ranging emotions. [url=http://www.shoptheofficialbuccaneers.com/Elite-Joe-Hawley-Buccaneer s-Jersey/]Joe Hawley Jersey[/url] . "Its been a rough cou

TORONTO - For the first time in three days, the most turbulent 72 hours of his life, Jonas Valanciunas was able to find an escape, an outlet for his ranging emotions. Joe Hawley Jersey . "Its been a rough couple days," the Raptors centre admitted following Wednesdays game, speaking with the media for the first time since he was arrested for drunk driving earlier this week. He was unable to address the incident directly, as he has yet to meet with his lawyers. "I found the power, found the energy to come out [and] fight," he continued. "I felt really good [because of the] fan support, thank you to them. That felt great, because everybody supported me. I say sorry and [am] learning. Ill be better." Valanciunas wasnt sure how he would be received by the teams fans, feeling he had disappointed them, just as they did not know what to expect from him, returning to the court in the aftermath of Monday mornings events. "Honestly, he was going to play like trash or he was going to play amazing," said Kyle Lowry after Torontos 125-114 win over the 76ers. "He played amazing, like we expected." The 21-year-old sophomore would go on to score a career-best 26 points to go along with 12 rebounds, hitting 10 of his 14 shots in 37 minutes of action. Once the ball was thrown up, and for the two and a half hours that followed, the only thing that was on his mind was the task at hand. "Its a tough situation for him to handle, to be going through," Lowry added, "but this is our sanctuary: basketball. We get a chance to be away from everything. Basketball is like our space, our secret spot and thats where guys can release a lot of energy and intensity." Scoring the first four points of the game, Valanciunas came out with a fire, a purpose and an air of confidence. He has been playing some of the best basketball of his career and those off-court distractions could not derail him. Leading the team with 23 double-doubles after recording just eight a year ago, Valanciunas has played 30 or more minutes and scored in double figures in eight straight games, matching a season-high. The biggest difference has been his comfort level and self-assurance, according to his teammates. The game has slowed down for him, hes playing with patience and most importantly hes not getting down on himself. "[Hes] much more aggressive, much hungrier," said Lowry. "He wants the ball. Tonight he was literally yelling at me to give him the ball." "He came up big," DeMar DeRozan stated. "That just shows you hes not letting everything else affect him, everything thats going on or the situation that happened. Hes just going out and playing. He did what he did, its over with, he apologized to us and he understands whats at stake and that we need him." His big night couldnt have come at a better time. Valanciunas has some work to do. He knows this. On top of learning from his error in judgment, hell have to win back the fans he let down. Wednesdays performance was the first step in turning the page. Lowrys return Although Lowry eased into his return from a three-game absence, sidelined with a bruised left kneecap, he more than made his presence felt when his team needed him most. The Raptors starting point guard recorded four assists before attempting his first shot late in the opening quarter. By the second half he was up to his old tricks. Lowry scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the final 24 minutes, including 10 in the fourth quarter. "I was happy to be back there with my teammates, to be honest," he said after the game. "When you miss games you feel like youre letting your team down but it was great to be back out there with the fellas." Prior to the game, Dwane Casey indicated there would be no restriction on Lowrys usage and sure enough he played the entire first quarter and logged 38 minutes on the night. "[The week off] definitely helped my body rest but a week doesnt do anything," Lowry said. "Its going to take two months for me to actually be normally healthy again." Amir Johnson got another precautionary night off, missing his third straight contest with a lingering right ankle injury, though he could have played if necessary and shouldnt be out much longer. Nearing division title With Torontos victory and the Nets loss in Orlando, the Raptors are now one win - or Brooklyn defeat - away from clinching their second division title in franchise history. They can wrap up the Atlantic crown while also matching a franchise-record 47th win of the season in front of their home crowd on Friday when they host the Knicks. The stat The Raptors are a perfect 10-0 in games without at least one of their five starters (Lowry, DeRozan, Johnson, Valanciunas or Terrence Ross) this season. The quote "Our guys see the computers, they see the standings and the records but we cant play that way," Casey said of the teams defensive slippage, after allowing the lowly 76ers to score 114 points on 52 per cent shooting. "I just told them that weve got to pick our defence up and not have the mental letdowns that were having defensively. Its nothing that we havent seen before or any new trick plays. Its just one-on-one defence, blow-bys, our feet in the sand. There is a slippage." Vernon Hargreaves III Jersey .Martin Caceres marked his return from injury by scoring in the 3-1 win at Napoli and he believes Juventus sent out a warning to the rest of the league with that result.We go out on the pitch every game looking to give our all, Caceres said. Kwon Alexander Jersey .S. military base for UFC: Fight for the Troops 3. This fight card, which takes place in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has had a number of changes, including headliner Lyoto Machida replaced by fellow Brazilian Rafael Natal. http://www.shoptheofficialbuccaneers.com/Elite-Jameis-Winston-Buccaneers-Jersey/ .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night. #52162711 / gettyimages.com DW: Whos your favourite player in todays NHL and why?KP: I like watching [Steven] Stamkos; hes big and rangy and has that great release. Hes a player. Offensively hes a threat every time hes on the ice. Its guys like that who are always fun to watch. #479303113 / gettyimages.com DW: If you could choose one team to play for in todays NHL, which team would you pick and why?KP: Probably the LA Kings because theyve had so much success and theyre built for the playoffs. Theyre not a team that has dominated the regular season, but come postseason time theyve been great. They find ways to win games and its always somebody different. Its a unique setup. So ya, probably the LA Kings. #146684222 / gettyimages.com DW: Whats the best prank you ever witnessed pulled in a hockey locker room?KP: The one that I always remember that gives me the greatest chuckle was the time Chris Therien took Daymond Langkows dress shoes, we were in Buffalo, and he had them glued to the ceiling in the locker room. Daymond obviously couldnt get them down because he wasnt tall in stature… even me at 65" wouldnt have been able to get them down! Its just one of those silly pranks. Im not sure where he got the glue or how he got them up there, but he did and it was funny.DW: Whats the most memorable game you ever played in the NHL?KP: I guess the most memorable game would have to be the fifth overtime in Pittsburgh. It was certainly the most memorable goal, back in 2000 in the Eastern Conference Finals. But also, the most memorable game personally might be Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004 where I was more involved offensively, I was all over the score sheet, and it was an elimination game we ended up winning. That was a very memorable game for me as well.DW: What is the strangest NHL moment you ever experienced in your career?KP: I dont know if it was a moment… I guess it was a moment in time. 1991 was my second year in the league, it ended up being a strike year, and that year I had gone back and fourth between Adirondack and Detroit liteerally four or five times. Lee Roy Selmon Jersey. The strike occurred, we went down for the playoffs, got called back up when the strike ended, got sent back down when we ended up losing, and then went on to win the Calder Cup in Adirondack. It was just a very bizarre stretch of about three months in my career. #52409977 / gettyimages.com DW: I know you dropped the gloves against your brother - what was it like to fight a sibling on the NHL stage?KP: It was in the heat of the moment, and on reflection both Wayne and I agreed it wasnt the smartest thing wed ever done and swore it would never happen again. Its something YouTube has resurrected for me and is brought up in a lot of conversations as Im seen around town.DW: If the science behind concussions, and player safety was where it is today, do you think you might have approached the game differently as a player?KP: I dont know if I would, but I would definitely understand it better, so theres the chance that I would have approached it better or differently. The sad thing is, ultimately I cant say that I would have. But I agree that with the heightened awareness and the education thats occurred, certainly people are approaching it much differently than they did even as early as five or ten years ago. #53131589 / gettyimages.com DW: Tell me a little bit about the Stop Concussions Source for Sports Skate Sharpening Day youll take part in Saturday?KP: Source for Sports has been a huge supporter of Stop Concussions and a huge contributor to our growth and ongoing success. Theyve given us much needed resources in order to do the things we do that relates to education, and setting up a platform to stop concussions. One day a year Source For Sports and the participating franchises donate all the proceeds from the skate sharpening in their stores to Stop Concussions. Weve had tremendous success and appreciate all the work Source For Sports does for us.DW: And finally, because were here at BarDown, Im going to have to ask you - can you still go BarDown?KP: Oh ya (laughs)! 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