change hands several times and neither team lead by more than five. Durant scored on a stepback jumper with

NEW YORK - In the summer of 2006 John Salmons nixed a sign-and-trade deal that would have made him a Raptor heading into the prime of his career. He was 26 years old at the time and coming off his best season in Philadelphia. But his faith had led him in a different direction, it led him to Sacramento. Over seven years later, his career has come around full circle. He starred for playoff teams in Chicago and Milwaukee, ended up back with the Kings and now, fate - in the form of a seven-player swap - has finally steered him to Toronto. The 34-year-old swingman was supposed to be a spare part in the salary dump of Rudy Gay, a contract that could be bought out at an affordable price in the offseason or moved at the deadline. He still may end up being those things but two weeks into his ironic tenure in Toronto, he has brought something no one expected him to, something the Raptors have been without for years. As head coach Dwane Casey has put it, Salmons brings "old-school toughness." "He has a settling effect when hes in the game and it helps us," Casey said of Salmons, who is averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds, playing just under 26 minutes per game in six contests with the Raptors. "He doesnt get rattled." A versatile defender, Salmons has been used to frustrate the opponents best wing player, most notably Monta Ellis and Kevin Durant in a pair of surprising road victories last week. Hes been one of the first players off Caseys bench, a facilitator in the offence down the stretch but most importantly, hes been a calming presence in the face of adversity and thats rubbing off on his new teammates. After engineering a 19-point comeback in Dallas and withstanding a run from the leagues best team in Oklahoma City, the team pointed to Salmons and his understated brand of leadership. "Im not a rah-rah guy at all," the even-keeled Salmons admitted after Sundays win over the Thunder. "But Ive been around for a long time, Ive experienced a lot so I just try to give my advice when I can." "Being in the league as long as Ive been Ive seen a lot of things and I just try to show poise on the court and lead like that." If you didnt know any better you could easily mistake Salmons unflappable persona for indifference but that, as his new coach has learned, is not the case. "Hes very quiet, [a] quiet leader," Casey said. "He does more [with] his actions than his words but hes a solid man. You engage him in conversation and he has a lot to say. People take that quietness for, whatever but he has a lot to say once you sit down and talk with him. "I like his demeanour. I like his approach. Hes an old-school pro." Its been some time since the Raptors have rostered a vet able and willing to make that type of impact on the teams younger players. You may have to go all the way back to the days of Charles Oakley, Kevin Willis, Doug Christie and the veteran-laden teams that helped turn Vince Carter into an overnight superstar. "I remember walking in [on] day two," Carter reminisced before facing the Raptors in Dallas last week. "And Oak grabbed me by the shoulder and said, hey, Im going to take care of you and show you how to be a professional and be a pro in this league. "And I think of those days and I think of coming to practice when they used to kick the ball in the stands and what do you say? Nothing, youve just got to go get it. You learn a lot from that." Salmons is not Oakley - few are - but his experience and know-how could go a long way in the continued development of sophomores Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas. Then theres DeMar DeRozan, another willing student who, in his fifth NBA season has been forced to learn on the fly without the benefit of a mentor. Veteran players have come and gone - DeRozan credited Reggie Evans and Jarrett Jack - but the roster has mostly been in flux since the 24-year-old was drafted. No one has been around long enough to truly take DeRozan under their wing. Salmons may not be a long-term fixture either, but for now DeRozan is taking in what he can. "Hes played in the playoffs, hes been a leader a long time, played with a lot of great guys," DeRozan said of his new teammates. "He knows how to play the game. "Were definitely paying attention to it, Im even paying more attention to it. I always look at it like, I could always learn more and thats what were doing." Salmons is due to make $7 million next season but the Raptors will only owe him $1 million should they waive him prior to June 30. For that reason, he could become a valuable trade chip and thanks to Masai Ujiris timely acquisition of the four Kings players, he can be repackaged before the February deadline. His time in Toronto may end up being short-lived but even as a temporary player, he could have a long-lasting impact on the future of the Raptors franchise. Jordan 11 Cheap For Sale . Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, president of the EOM (Municipal Olympic Company), will be leaving her post but will remain as an advisor, a city hall statement said Tuesday. Cheap Jordan 11 Retro Australia . -- Houstons All-Star tandem of James Harden and Dwight Howard refused to let the Rockets give in to fatigue. http://www.cheapairjordan11australia.com/ . On the day after Billy Horschel posted his 12th straight round in the 60s, won his second straight tournament against a world-class field and picked up an additional $10 million bonus as the FedEx Cup champion, Watson was kicking back in his seat at a Kansas City Royals game. Jordan 11 For Sale Australia . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. Cheap Air Jordan 11 Australia . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide.TORONTO - The game, according to DeMar DeRozan, was the kind that players live for. The ending was not. Kevin Durant calmly drained a three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 119-118 victory over the Toronto Raptors in double overtime on Friday. The buzzer-beating bomb from 31 feet out capped a 51-point performance by Durant, the leagues top scorer. Still, DeRozan said there was plenty to take from the game that almost became the Raptors second win this season against one of the best in the West. "Thats a helluva Western Conference team right there, and we fought with them to the end, we were blow for blow," DeRozan said. "It came down to the last shot, those are the types of games you live for. "We cant win every game and we wish we would have got that one, but it still was a helluva game." DeRozan scored 33 points to top the Raptors (38-30) in just their sixth loss at home in 22 outings. Kyle Lowry added 25 points, including a three-pointer that forced a second overtime period, while Amir Johnson had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Greivis Vasquez finished with 21 points. Reggie Jackson added 25 points for the Thunder (51-18), while Russell Westbrook had 15 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with yet another knee injury. Durant extended his scoring streak — of at least 25 points a game — to 34 consecutive games. Its the leagues longest scoring streak since Michael Jordans 40-game run in 1986-87. "Straight up, that was the craziest game Ive ever been a part of," Durant said. With the capacity crowd of 19,800 fans on their feet, and a playoff vibe palpable at the Air Canada Centre in the game that saw 23 lead changes, the Raptors dominated the second overtime period to nearly secure the hard-fought win. DeRozan pumped a victorious fist when he scored on a pullup jumper with 2:37 left to put Toronto up by five. Fans chanted "M-V-P!" when Lowry stepped up to the line to sink two free throws that gave Toronto an eight-point lead. But the Thunder rallied to pull within two on a three by Derek Fisher with 15.7 seconds left, then John Salmons missed on two free throws that surely would have sealed the victory for Toronto. Then, with Johnson on Durant, the Thunder superstar pulled up and calmly launched his second three of the games final minute to send Torontos fans home unhappy. "Yeah, yeah. . . I thought we had it," DeRozan said. "Just give us one of those threes and the game is ours." Added coach Dwane Casey: "Great players make great plays and (Durant) made a great shot." DeRozan said that during a third-quarter timeout, Johnson had asked Casey if he could guard Durant. "It means a lot, man," DeRozan said of his teammates request. "Ive got the utmost respect for him. . .That takes a lot of guts to go out there and play great defence. Got to give it to K.D., he made a lot of tough shots." Johnson said he thought he might be able to throw Durant off with his height. Both Johnson and Durant are six foot nine. "It was tough, hes my height out there shooting from halfcourt, theres not too much you can do but double team that," Johnson said. "It just came down to the stretch where he hit one off the glass (with 47 seconnds left) and then that last shot was a tough shot.dddddddddddd What can I say about that? It was just a tough shot." The game had gone into a second overtime tied 107-107 thanks to a three-pointer by Lowry with seven seconds left. The game might have been bad news for Westbrook, who sprained his surgically-repaired right knee and with 7:37 left in the third quarter. Lowry had inadvertently bumped into the same knee the Thunder player had undergone his third surgery on in late December. Lowry apologized to Westbrook, as he was being helped to the locker-room by teammate Hasheem Thabeet. Westbrook had sat out the Thunders 102-95 win at Cleveland the previous night to rest his troublesome knee. Westbrook insisted afterward that he didnt expect to miss any time. "Well just see how it goes," he said. "It was fun," he added on the game. "I was in the back wishing I could go out there and help them out but as you see, Kevin took care of that." The Raptors trailed Oklahoma City 72-71 going into the fourth quarter in a scrappy see-saw affair that saw 22 lead changes. The Thunder stretched their lead to seven points when Jackson chucked up an alley-oop to Durant for a dunk with 9:14 left to play. Toronto chipped away at it, eventually taking a 90-89 lead with 3:08 left after a thrilling 30-second segment that saw five points and a steal from DeRozan, and a basket by Johnson. The Raptors were trailing by three with just under a minute to go when Johnson hit one of two free throws then a layup with 17 seconds to go to send the game into the first extra period 96-96. The Raptors had beaten the Thunder 104-98 on Dec. 22 at Oklahoma, ending the Thunders 13-game unbeaten streak at home. That victory was one of the Raptors first significant wins after they overhauled their roster in a seven-player deal, and their solid play has continued as theyre poised to make the post-season for the first time in six years. Durant and the Thunder got some revenge Friday. Asked about Durants game-winning shot, Westbrook said: "Just letting it all hang out. Hes been doing that all season and tonight it was a win or go home. Hes playing at an MVP level as hes been doing all season." Durant and Westbrook scored eight points apiece in a first quarter that saw the lead change hands several times and neither team lead by more than five. Durant scored on a stepback jumper with seven second to go to send the Thunder into the second half with a 22-20 lead. The Raptors held their visitors to 24 per cent shooting in the second quarter, and a stepback jumper by Vasquez put the Raptors up by eight about four minutes into the frame. Westbrook drained a three with 1.9 seconds left to cut Torontos lead to 46-42 at halftime. Durant had 14 points in a third quarter that saw the lead change hands nine times, and the Thunder led by one heading into the fourth. NOTES: The Raptors had won six of their previous seven games against Western Conference teams. . . The Thunder have won 12 of 14 games on the road against Eastern Conference competition. . . Three-time world figure skating champion Patrick Chan was at the game. He was presented with a No. 14 Chan jersey. . . The Raptors host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, a game that marks the return of The Raptor. The team mascot ruptured an Achilles tendon during training camp. ' ' '