r. Crawfoord then opened the second with another triple,

NEW YORK -- The Toronto Raptors are the only thing standing between the Brooklyn Nets and a perfect 2014. Patrick Patterson stole Deron Williams inbounds pass and made the go-ahead jumper with six seconds left, and the Raptors stopped a five-game winning streak by the Nets for the second time this month with a 104-103 victory Monday night. Toronto dropped Brooklyn to 10-2 in January and opened a 2 1/2-game lead in the Atlantic Division over the Nets, who would be on the doorstep of the division lead if they could solve their neighbours to the north. "These guys are chasing us but theyre putting it together. Theyre playing well," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. "Were the only team that beat them in 2014. I mean, thats a tough team. They had the game and we made a play and we made a shot." Brooklyn had a three-point lead with 17 seconds left behind Paul Pierce in his best game with the Nets, but John Salmons scored on a drive with 12 seconds remaining before Brooklyn took its last timeout to move the ball into the frontcourt. Patterson stole the pass and fed Lowry, who got it back to Patterson for his jumper. Pierce was well off on a final attempt. "We knew they didnt have any timeouts. We guessed right and Patrick looked like Richard Sherman out there with that steal," Lowry said, referring to the Seattle Seahawks defensive back who attended the game with a number of his teammates. Lowry finished with 31 points and seven assists for the Raptors, who clinched a winning record in consecutive months for the first time since December 2009 and January 2010. Pierce scored 33 points, making seven three-pointers in a strong bounce-back performance after going just 2 for 10 in his emotional return to Boston on Sunday. He had the Nets in position to win after scoring their last nine points before Toronto stole it. "Last night was a tough game to play in, so many emotions," Pierce said. "It was good to just get some normalcy back today and I felt comfortable, relaxed. But it wouldve been better if we got the win today, though." The stunning turnaround deflated the crowd at Barclays Center for a back-and-forth game that drew a visit from several Seahawks, who will hold their Super Bowl media day Tuesday at the Nets last home, the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Sherman and Bobby Wagner grabbed a baseline seat in the first half, while Russell Wilson and other players sat above in a private box. Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who played without injured leading scorer DeMar DeRozan. Terrence Ross, who tied a franchise record with 51 points and made 10 3-pointers Saturday, had a quiet 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting. But Toronto got a big boost from Patterson, who ditched the mask he began the game with for a recent broken nose and finished with 15 points off the bench. "This is all about our toughness, our resiliency," Patterson said, "no matter whos out there during the course of the game, no matter whos not playing." Andray Blatche scored 20 points for the Nets, who lost 96-80 in Toronto on Jan. 11, a night after they played two overtimes in a victory over Miami. Lowry scored six straight points before Amir Johnson made a pair of free throws during an 8-0 run that gave Toronto a 94-85 lead with about eight minutes to play. The Nets answered with nine in a row to tie it on Alan Andersons jumper, and after Valanciunas basket, Pierce nailed consecutive three-pointers to make it 100-96 with 2:37 remaining. "Paul played well," teammate Kevin Garnett said. "He totally carried us for that fourth quarter, that second half, and we all came in and just said at the end of the game weve got to make plays, weve got to close games out and tonight we didnt do that." Toronto cut it to one and had a chance for the lead when Lowry stole Williams pass intended for Pierce, but Williams redeemed himself by drawing an offensive foul on Lowry with 19 seconds left. Pierce then made two free throws, but the Nets couldnt overcome Williams next giveaway. "Two turnovers in the last minute of the game, its not what I typically do, but thats how it goes sometimes," Williams said. There were eight lead changes in an entertaining second quarter, two in the final 1.3 seconds. Andersons three-pointer put the Nets up by two, but Lowry beat the buzzer from beyond halfcourt to give Toronto a 57-56 halftime lead. NOTES: DeRozan had made 125 consecutive starts. ... Ross, DeRozan and the Nets Mirza Teletovic were all nominated for last weeks Eastern Conference player of the week award, which was won by Atlantas Paul Millsap. Elie Okobo Jersey . Chan captured two silver medals at last months Sochi Winter Games — mens singles and the inaugural team event. But he doesnt have the urge to resume training to defend his world title when the event is held in Saitama, Japan, later this month. Devin Booker Jersey . -- Derek Jeter says the New York Yankees have no choice but to move forward now that Alex Rodriguez has accepted his suspension for the 2014 season. https://www.thesunslockerroom.com/Steve-Nash-City-Edition-Jersey/ . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Mikal Bridges Jersey .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. Jason Kidd Suns Jersey . Sure, Josh Browns 45-yard field goal on the third drive of overtime lifted the New York Giants to a 23-20 win over Detroit on Sunday. But the Lions (7-8) dropped themselves out of the NFC North race by losing five of their last six games, blowing fourth-quarter leads in each setback.NEW YORK, N.Y. - A chance to gain ground in the playoff race was there, until Jarrett Jack took it away. Now the New York Knicks have 3,000 miles to think about how this game — and maybe any realistic post-season hopes they had — was lost. Jack scored a season-high 31 points Sunday night in the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-100 victory over the Knicks, who had their eight-game winning streak snapped. The Knicks wasted a chance to pull within two games of a playoff spot before leaving for a five-game Western Conference trip that starts Tuesday against the Lakers. "This was a huge opportunity lost, one we cant afford," Knicks guard J.R. Smith said. "But we cant get it back. Weve just got to go on the road, win some games and try to come back home and win." Hours after being handed a chance to get closer to the final spot in the Eastern Conference when Atlanta blew a fourth-quarter lead in Toronto, the Knicks responded with an inept final period of their own after they led by 17 points in the first half. They couldnt stop Jack and couldnt get a basket from Carmelo Anthony, who missed all five shots in the final period and finished with 32 points. New York remained three back with 12 to play. "Its tough. We shouldve won this game. We gave it away. They earned it, they beat us. We didnt play well coming down the stretch or in the second half and they did," Anthony said. "But its behind us now, theres nothing we can do about that." Jack scored 23 in the second half after coach Mike Brown challenged his team at halftime. "It was just about making a stand and each individual person making a stand and then collectively as a team us all bringing that same mindset to the table," Jack said. "Thats pretty much what it was about. I just thought guys responded." Jack finished with 10 assists for the Cavaliers, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Dion Waiters scored 22 points and Luol Deng had 13 in his return from a three-game absence with a sprained left ankle for the Cavs, who didnt miss All-Star Kyrie Irving because Jack torched the Knicks for 13 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-7 shooting. "I just challenged them. Thats all. I didnt say thatt much," Brown said.dddddddddddd"The guys in the locker room, they decided to go play and they went out and got it done." New York was missing ailing Iman Shumpert, their best perimeter defender who surely wouldve gotten a chance to defend Jack since nobody else could. The Knicks, who suddenly were back in the playoff race after looking out of it after a seven-game skid dropped them to 21-40 after a loss in Detroit on March 3, will have to bounce back on the road. The Hawks had already lost at Toronto by the time the Knicks showed up for work Sunday. Coach Mike Woodson said he was glad but didnt appear overjoyed, realizing the Knicks still have plenty to do to get to the 35 to 40 wins he think will be necessary to earn a playoff spot. "Its good that they lose, but again, its about what we do at this point," Woodson said before the game. Even getting to 35 wins will be difficult considering they still have games against Miami and Chicago, plus two apiece against Brooklyn and Toronto after their trip. New York made 15 of 21 shots (71 per cent) in the first quarter, getting 14 points from Anthony and taking a 34-27 lead when Smith made a 28-footer with 0.2 seconds left. The Knicks pushed the lead to 17 in the second when Pablo Prigioni made a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and threw an alley-oop pass that Smith slammed down to finish off a fast break and make it 51-34. But down 61-46 at halftime, Cleveland scored the first nine of the second half to get within six, and the Knicks never really got the momentum back. The Cavs used an 11-4 spurt to tie it at 90 on Jacks jumper with 7:29 remaining, then Dengs 3-pointer gave them a 93-92 edge with 5:46 to play. Anthonys free throws gave the Knicks their last lead, but Jack knocked down a jumper, Waiters made a 3-pointer and Anderson Varejao had an easy dunk after a pick-and-roll to make it 100-94 with 2:37 remaining. New York cut it to two, but Jack answered with another jumper, finishing two points shy of his career high. Smith finished with 18 points. NOTES: New York had won the previous five meetings at home. ... On Noche Latina, Spanish for Latin night, former St. Johns star Felipe Lopez announced the starting lineups in Spanish. ' ' '