TORONTO – Earlier this week, Cliff Lee was trying to decide which Kyle Lowry T-shirt to wear when the former No. 7 returns on Sunday.
Lee has 40 hero jerseys, including the number 3 that Lowry wore when he arrived in 2012 after an exchange with Houston (Andrea Bargnani then wore 7).
Lee finally turned to the red and white “North”, which was worn in the decisive game of the 2019 Finals, where the Raptors defeated the Golden State.
“They should not have worn them so often that season. But because it brought them success, they continued to wear it, Lee said. They are hard to find. »
A broker, Lee has about 400 Raptors of all types in his basement at his home in Brampton.
“I will not let them go around,” Lee said, smiling.
His wife, Jennifer, became a big fan of the team.
Lowry has not played in Toronto since February 2020, when the pandemic shut down the NBA in anticipation of a restart in Florida.
Sunday, when the Heat visit, will be a moving night for the 36-year-old. It will also be for the city of Toronto where the stubborn and hardworking Lowry, originally from Philadelphia, has forged strong ties over time. The metropolis of Ontario was conquered.
“It represents a lot of what the Raptors are,” said Lee, a fan from the start (1995-96 season).
“Kyle was never the fastest or the most athletic, but he worked hard and took things seriously. His mentality was not to relax until the job was done. »
A member of six all-star teams, Lowry traded to Miami last summer after nine seasons with the Raptors. He left a lot to fill on the field, but maybe even more off the lines.
One day, Lowry surprised dozens of children at an elementary school in Regent Park, a downtown area of Toronto, by taking them to a large shopping spree at Toys R Us.
“With everything happening in the world, having someone like Kyle spread love is over,” said John Yan, executive director of the Angel Foundation for Learning, one of Lowry’s many charities. helping hand.
In 2017, the Toronto Catholic District School Committee honored Lowry and his wife, Ayahna, for their work through the Lowry Love Foundation.
“We miss him very much,” Jan said.
Second Harvest also benefited greatly. The Lowry Foundation donated hundreds of food baskets, in addition to organizing Thanksgiving meals for families in need.
“The Lowry family has helped raise awareness of the issue of hunger in Canada. It’s a big issue in the country, said Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest. We loved working with them. »
“It was wonderful, this kind of event. “These young people are so unlikely to go to a Raptors game,” he added. Tickets are so expensive. So seeing their hero, I think it could have changed the lives of many of these young people. »
In Sunday’s game, Fred VanVleet, who Lowry has served as a mentor, could well overshadow a record of the latter.
With 236 three-pointers, VanVleet is three shots away from Lowry’s dethronement of the Raptors’ one-season record.
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.
Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.
Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.
Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Injury Update: Nikola Jokić suffered a Hyperextension injury in his Left Knee in last night’s match against Miami Heat. Nikola will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/NIDmlKAN81
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.
Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.
The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.
The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.
San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.
Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.
Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.
Toronto beat Orlando at home.
Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.
Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo He gave a harsh response to the question about a possible trade to another NBA club:
“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to me and my teammates. I wear this jersey every day.
To say I don’t want to be here is disrespectful to the organization, the coaching staff, myself and everyone who worked hard to get me on the field. Don’t ask me this question. I am her. I’m going out in this uniform. And as long as I’m here, I’ll give it my all until the last second of the match.”
On the night of December 27-28, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player of the game with the Chicago Bulls – 112:103.
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
