Inland Waterways » Neither team shot well in the second half, but Ric

TORONTO - After taking full advantage of a friendly early-season schedule, the Raptors are set to embark on a daunting six-game road trip, their longest of the campaign and a stretch that should go a long way in determining what theyre really made of. Its been a historic start to the franchises 20th season. Sitting atop the Eastern Conference for a team-record 49 consecutive days, theyll enter the Christmas break with at least 22 wins for the first time in their existence. The caveat, if there is one, has been the degree of difficulty. Its important that we play good teams because its really going to test our character, said Greivis Vasquez following the Raptors 118-108 wire-to-wire win over the Knicks, their sixth straight victory. We havent really faced adversity and everything right now is great, but I think were ready for a couple of premium tests. A third of the way through the season, Toronto has played 17 home games - winning 14 of them - which tops any team in the NBA. Theyve seen the Western Conferences top seven teams just twice - defeating the undermanned Grizzlies and falling to Dallas. At times, the modest level of competition has allowed them to get away with some bad habits, primarily on defence, where their effort has been sporadic. Unexpectedly, Toronto features the leagues second-most efficient offensive attack but theyve fallen to 11th in that same category on the other end of the floor. While their defence tends to pick up in the second half, saving them from slow starts against inferior opponents, they know theyll need to put together more complete outings over the next couple weeks to come up victorious away from the comforts of the Air Canada Centre. Its going to be a challenge, Vasquez said. Were looking forward to this challenge. Anytime you go to the West, its not easy but I think were good enough to come out with a couple of wins and do our job. Weve got to remain humble and hungry and continue to work. Im ready for it, Dwane Casey insisted. We should be ready because weve been preaching it. Everyones all excited but reality is real and we have to be ready for adversity, whenever it hits. You go into it with positive vibes, ready to kick some behind but when adversity hits thats when you find out how close we are and how we have to stick together. The trip begins with a visit to Chicago - their only Eastern Conference stop - in the second game of a back-to-back Monday. Theyll have three days off for Christmas before heading out West, where theyll face the Clippers, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Warriors and Suns as the ACC hosts the world junior hockey championship. Torontos opponents during their most recent six-game winning streak entered Sundays games with a combined record of 43-123 (.259). The six teams theyll face on this coming road trip are 106-55 (.658), while the Raptors have an all-time record of 42-80 (.344) in the buildings theyll be visiting. Tomorrow will be a game that lets us know where we are in the league, Casey said of Mondays match-up with the Bulls, a team that defeated Toronto 100-93 last month. Were one of the top teams, we are in that group but tomorrow night we have to show where we fit in that sphere. As a team, their first challenge came in the form of an injury to DeMar DeRozan. In 12 games without their leading point producer, the Raptors have held together, winning nine of those contests as their nightly scoring average - almost exactly the same as it was before the all-star guard sustained his injury - remains elite. Without a timetable for DeRozans return, the Raptors will hit the road and its unlikely theyll have him back in uniform before their return home in early January. This trip wont determine their fate. In the grand-scheme of things, the six-game stretch accounts for roughly seven per cent of their regular season schedule. Its not make or break, but it should be a healthy barometer for a team with high aspirations in the spring. Its always about ourselves, Vasquez said. We dont want to prove anything to anybody. This is a family right here in this locker room. Hopefully we do well. Ive got all the confidence in the world that we can do better and that were going to continue to get better. We cant be satisfied because weve got a 22-6 record. We want more. Good teams win the games they should - the Raptors are an impressive 15-2 against losing clubs this season. But great teams are the ones that can compete with the rest of the leagues elite. What are they made of? Well find out soon enough. FIELDS SITS OUT The Raptors were without newly-minted starter Landry Fields, who was sidelined as a precaution having sustaining a head injury in Fridays win over Detroit. Fields needed eight stitches to close up a gash on the back, right-side of his head after a scary fall knocked him out of the game. He remained sprawled out on the court, surrounded by his teammates, coaches and the medical staff for several minutes, as a pool of blood collected underneath his head, before being helped up and to the locker room. Although the forward passed initial concussion tests that night, he failed a secondary examination ahead of Sundays contest. Fields had said he blacked out for a moment after hitting his head on the court but seems to have dodged a bullet. He was lucid in the locker room post-game, walking around and conversing with teammates. Hes alert, looks good, looks as ugly as hes always looked, Casey joked. But those tests are intricate so its something that you have to go through, which is great. Its the right thing to do to make sure [hes okay]. The fifth-year vet had been a pleasant surprise, starting six straight games in the absence of DeRozan, logging over 20 minutes in each of the five before his injury - his longest streak as a Raptor. James Johnson replaced him in the starting lineup Sunday, matching up with Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. Although Johnson picked up two quick fouls, limiting him in the first quarter, he did an admirable job on Anthony in 24 minutes of action. The Raptors - primarily Johnson and Terrence Ross - held Anthony to 28 points on 26 shots. Buffalo Bills Jerseys .Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. Frank Gore Bills Jersey .com) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to win two straight games for the first time since mid-January on Monday night as they play host to the struggling New York Islanders. http://www.authenticbillsfanaticfootball.com/authentic-lesean-mccoy-bills-jersey/ .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown. Matt Milano Womens Jersey . He looked very comfortable Wednesday night. Konerko had a big three-run double and Gordon Beckham homered for the second straight game, leading the Chicago White Sox to an 8-3 victory over the sliding Chicago Cubs. Jordan Poyer Youth Jersey .com) - The Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics both entered Wednesday nights game riding lengthy losing streaks.Richmond, VA (SportsNetwork.com) - Kendall Anthony scored 22 points, and the Richmond Spiders upset cross-town rival No. 14 VCU, 64-55, on Saturday. The Spiders (12-9, 5-3 A-10) handled the Rams Havoc defense in a 42- point second half. The Rams shot just 40.7 percent overall and made just 3- of-20 attempts from 3-point range. We rebounded very well, defensively, said Richmond coach Chris Mooney. Not turning the ball over and our defense were the story for us. Terry Allen added 15 points and seven rebounds for Richmond. VCU (17-4, 7-1) saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end. Treveon Graham paced the Rams with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and seven boards. Briante Weber chipped in 11 before leaving late in the game with a knee injury. Were hopeful its something he can come back from, said VCU coach Shaka Smart. I dont want to say more than that because I dont know. Tight defense dominated the early portion of the game. Allens jumper with 8 1/2 minutes to go in the first half tied the game at 11 before VCU went on a run. The Rams made seven shots in a row from the field, capped by JeQuan Lewis layup to put VCU up 28-17 at the 1:48 mark. Richmond recovered with the last five points of the half to trail 28-22 at the break. Richmond hit three triples coming out of the break to go up 31-30. It took four minutes for the Rams to make their first shot from the field, but they would never take the lead again.dddddddddddd Neither team shot well in the second half, but Richmonds ability to get to the free throw line and take advantage of its opportunities was the difference. The Spiders were 18-of-22 from the charity stripe in the second half while VCU was just 8-of-13 for the game. Weber left the game with VCU down 50-41 at the final media timeout. He would not return to the court, but he came back to the bench on crutches with ice on his right knee. With under three minutes remaining, the Rams hit four shots in a row to cut their deficit to four points with 52 seconds to play, but they could not get any closer as Richmond closed the game hitting all six free throw attempts in the final minute. Alonzo Nelson-Ododas emphatic slam with four seconds to play punctuated Richmonds upset win. Game Notes Richmond started the season 0-7 on the road ... The Spiders had not beaten a ranked opponent on the road since Jan. 22, 2004 at Kansas ... VCU still leads the all-time series, 45-27 ... The Rams had won 16-straight conference games at home ... VCU was 13-0 when leading at halftime ... Richmond outrebounded VCU, 39-27 ... VCU travels to in-state rival George Mason on Wednesday while Richmond plays at La Salle on Thursday. ' ' '