Begrüßung » such as Parker and Ginobili, who both said

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. Wholesale Air Jordan . Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Houston Texans No. 1 pick in the draft, was on the field Tuesday for the first time with former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J. Clearance Air Jordan Store . Eller scored the midway through the third period after Dallas scored twice to tie it, leading Canadiens to a 6-4 win over the Stars on Thursday night. https://www.jordanchina.us/. "Its amazing to do this coming from such a small island, where tennis isnt necessarily recognized as one of the main sports," Puig said. "Im just happy Im able to be here playing tennis not only for myself, but for my country too. Air Jordan Discount . The 33-year-old defender has spent his entire career at Chelsea, scoring 57 goals in 621 appearances. He regained his regular starting place under Jose Mourinho in the season that ended at the weekend without Chelsea winning a trophy. Air Jordan China . -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. SAN ANTONIO -- "Beat the Heat!" had a whole new meaning in a sweltering start to the NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Spurs beat the Heat 110-95 on Thursday night in Game 1 at steamy AT&T Center. With an air conditioning failure making it feel like a sauna and causing James to battle cramps that knocked him out of the decisive stretch, the Spurs pulled away to win the opener of the first finals rematch since 1998. "After I came out of the game, they kind of took off," James said. "And it was frustrating sitting out and not be able to help our team." Manu Ginobili had 16 points and 11 assists, Tony Parker added 19 points and eight assists and the Spurs -- 6 for 6 in NBA Finals Game 1s -- shot 59 per cent. "Just very proud of my team," Parker said. "We kept believing, kept pushing. We know its not easy." They host Game 2 on Sunday -- likely in cooler conditions. James finished with 25 points but played only 33 minutes, and Miami was outscored 36-17 in the fourth quarter. "It sucks not being out there for your team, especially at this point in the season," James said. Dwyane Wade had 19 points and Chris Bosh added 18, but the Heat wilted in temperatures that soared to 90 degrees in the second half. "It was tough on both teams," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They were pretty dead. We tried to get guys in and out. ... It was really hot out there." James, who had cramping issues two years ago in the finals, had to ask for a break in the fourth quarter and was getting treatment during a 15-4 Spurs run that turned around the game. James came back in and made a basket that cut it to two points with about 4 minutes left, but couldnt even run back on defence, promptly putting his hand up and lingering at the baseline until help arrived to take him off for good. "I think it felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping like that back to the bench," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Danny Green followed with 3-pointer to trigger what became a 16-3 run to end the game. "You could see the heat was getting to a lot of guys. If I played as many minutes as he did, Id probably be cramping up, too," said Green, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter. The ccrowd chanted "Beat the Heat! Beat the Heat!" late in the game, which was just what the fans themselves were trying to do.dddddddddddd The Spurs said an electrical failure for the power that runs the air conditioning system had occurred. They apologized for the inconvenience but also seemed to poke fun of it, playing songs with "hot" in the lyrics over the sound system. Fans were trying to cool themselves on the hot night, a reminder of what it was like in the old Boston Garden when the Celtics and Lakers got together. The Heat are the first team since those Celtics of 1984-87 to get to four straight finals. They are well-rested after a relatively easy roll through the Eastern Conference playoffs, a key to keeping Wade healthy entering the finals. James was the MVP of the series last year when the Heat rallied from five points down in the final half-minute of regulation to win Game 6 in overtime, then won a Game 7 that was close the whole way for their second straight championship. A rematch was widely anticipated and was close almost throughout. The Heat led 86-79 after Boshs four-point play with 9:38 remaining in the game, but it was all San Antonio from there, and Wade said there were problems even beyond James absence. "Obviously, tonight we wouldve loved to have him in there to finish the game, but weve got to finish the game better," Wade said. The Spurs ended up extending their NBA-record streak to eight straight home playoff wins by 15 or more points. Their roster is filled with international players, such as Parker and Ginobili, who both said they were used to playing without air conditioning overseas. Bosh, scoreless in Game 7 last year, scored Miamis first five points in the Heats 7-2 start. But Ginobili came off the bench firing, making consecutive 3-pointers for an 18-13 lead. Wade and James combined for six straight points before Ginobili made another 3, and Patty Mills added one to close the first-quarter scoring and give the Spurs a 26-20 advantage. The Spurs committed nine turnovers while managing only 20 points in the third quarter, and Miami led 78-74 heading to the fourth. Notes: James joined Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only players with 4,000 points and 1,000 assists in the post-season. ... Ray Allen moved past Bryant and Derek Fisher into second place on the career list with 49 3-pointers in the NBA Finals. Robert Horry, a former Spurs forward, is the leader with 56. ' ' '