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TORONTO - For over a month Nando De Colo was Torontos forgotten man, an afterthought at the bottom of a playoff-bound roster, a masked phantom lurking on the end of the Raptors bench. Who was he and why was he brought here? As the visitors locker room cleared out after Saturdays win in Milwaukee, a reporter approached De Colo, who was suddenly making an impact in an expanded role for his new, undermanned club. Curious about the origins of his first name, which isnt a traditional French moniker, said reporter asked the Raptors guard where it came from. "It came from my parents," he replied, straight-faced, flaunting a quick wit we didnt know he had. Up until last week we didnt know much about him at all. The acquisition of De Colo, trickling in minutes after the trade deadline passed, went under the radar. A player from the end of one bench exchanged for a player on the end of another. Masai Ujiri opted to hold onto Kyle Lowry and keep the band together, that was the headline. Austin Daye for De Colo was a footnote. Now, six weeks later, the move is owed some belated acknowledgement. Ujiri was familiar with De Colo having seen him play overseas and with the Spurs. He knew what he was getting. Dwane Casey was less acquainted with the second-year combo guard but was equally as intrigued by his intangibles and has been looking for a way to find him more playing time. With Lowry resting a sore knee, Casey has been provided that opportunity and De Colo, to his credit, is taking advantage of it. "Its what I was expecting and what we needed and wanted, as far as another ball handler," Casey told TSN.ca. "That was the main thing we saw. We needed another guy that can handle the ball, to create, to be a passer, a facilitator, a transporter of the ball, to get it across the court. "Hes done that." In extended minutes, backing up and playing alongside temporary starter Greivis Vasquez, De Colo has been a sparkplug coming in off the bench to begin the month of April. Over the last two games hes tallied 11 assists to just three turnovers in 42 minutes of action. After easing into his new surroundings, De Colo no longer appears reluctant to let it fly. Hes shooting and scoring with confidence, something he lacked upon arriving in Toronto, playing sporadically last month. "Hes still learning our system," said Casey, "still getting comfortable and the more he gets comfortable the more hes going to knock down shots. I think were seeing that now." The easy explanation for his confidence boost is the increased playing time that has come as a result of Lowrys injury. "Im finding a rhythm," said De Colo, who has attempted 16 shots over the last three games, the same number he hoisted in his first 14 contests with the Raptors. "Im in shape after adjusting to find a rhythm of the game with a new team. Now I just try to play my game, try to be aggressive like everybody wants on the team and since then Ive been good." Since arriving from the Spurs, De Colo has been touted for his basketball intellect and decision-making ability. Teammates and coaches have cited his time playing for the venerable Gregg Popovich with a world-class organization in San Antonio, as well as his experience overseas - where he competed professionally from the age of 19 - and with the French national team. In a year and a half with the Spurs he was sent back and forth from the NBA Development League an astonishing total of nine times, a product of the close proximity between San Antonio and its D-League affiliate in Austin. More so than the path hes traveled to get here, De Colo credits his approach. "I think its something Ive always had in my game," he said. "I try to see what happens and make good decisions. I know I can pass the ball. I must be aggressive on this kind of team and I have to take the open shot." Casey has entrusted De Colo to run his offence, immediately vaulting him over the young Julyan Stone and Dwight Buycks in Torontos backcourt rotation. When Lowry makes his return - hes expected to be cleared this week - the Raptors head coach has a decision to make. Can he afford to juggle minutes for three point guards going into the playoffs or does De Colo go back to the end of the bench? Although Casey has been most impressed with him as the primary ball handler, its conceivable that the Raptors could feature more two point guard lineups in the postseason, when the defence is likely to apply more pressure on Lowry. Of equal importance, the Raptors need to find out what they have in De Colo, a free agent at the end of the season. If Lowry is retained this summer and Vasquez - a restricted free agent - proves too expensive, De Colo may make more sense as an affordable backup, assuming he continues to impress. All of a sudden, De Colo has become more than late-season bench fodder. The Raptors under-the-radar deadline acquisition has helped keep them afloat in the absence of their most important player and could continue paying out come playoff time, and beyond. Nando is a name worth remembering. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Hes just beginning to get similar results. The right-hander struggled after winning the honour in 2008 and 2009, but a retooling of his game has begun to pay off and has the San Francisco Giants thinking about the Lincecum of old. Wholesale Stars Jerseys . Ryu (8-3) allowed a run and three hits in six innings and struck out six in his 13th start. In his first 13 starts last season -- his first in the major leagues -- the left-hander was 8-5 with a 2.85 ERA. This was the ninth time this year that Ryu has allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 7-0 in those games. http://www.cheapstarsjerseys.com/ . Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early. Cheap Dallas Stars Jerseys .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray. Cheap Stars Jerseys . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. LOS ANGELES -- The ovations started after the Los Angeles Kings third goal in 16 minutes to open Game 4 of the Western Conference final, and the home crowd eventually serenaded its team off the ice for intermission. The low-scoring Kings have become the Stanley Cup playoffs highest-scoring team. This defensive powerhouse is shutting down the Chicago Blackhawks big stars while pushing the defending champions to the verge of elimination. Yep, the Kings deserved a hand -- even if they insist they still havent anything thats really worth cheering. Jake Muzzin, Marian Gaborik and captain Dustin Brown scored in a dominant first period, and Los Angeles beat Chicago 5-2 Monday night to take a 3-1 series lead. Muzzin and Drew Doughty each had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 22 saves as the Kings moved to the brink of their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in three seasons with their third straight win over the defending champion Blackhawks. Gaborik, who joined the Kings on March 5 and immediately catalyzed their offence, took a momentary break from the businesslike atmosphere of the Kings dressing room and just plain marveled what Los Angeles has accomplished this spring. "To come into every game with that confidence, to have that mojo that you can win every game, thats the difference," Gaborik said. "Its great to come to a team like this and be part of a winning culture." Tanner Pearson added an empty-net goal for the Kings, who have been to the NHL finals just twice in franchise history, winning their only title in 2012. One year after Los Angeles lost the conference finals in five games to Chicago, the Kings have their own chance to close it out in five. Game 5 is Wednesday in Chicago. "Were not looking ahead," Kings forward Justin Williams said. "Chicago, I believe theyve been down 3-1 before. Every team has been through experiences that have made them better. Stanley Cup championship teams like Chicago and us, weve been through a lot. Weve persevered through a lot, and theyre down 3-1, were trying to squash them, and theyre trying to get some life." Two days after the Kings gritted out a 4-3 victory over Chicago in Game 3, they won again at Staples Center by scoring three goals on their first six shots of Game 4, capping an incredible three-game offensive performance by the lowest-scoring NHL team to make the postt-season.dddddddddddd. After trailing 2-0 late in the second period of Game 2, Los Angeles scored 13 goals in less than 100 minutes, capped by a dominant first period in Game 4. Muzzin scored on a power play. Gaborik added his 10th goal of the post-season off Duncan Keiths turnover. Brown banged a puck into an open net for another power-play goal, his first score since Game 7 of the first round against San Jose. Cue the standing ovations. Brandon Saad and Bryan Bickell scored and Corey Crawford stopped 16 shots for the Blackhawks, who didnt get rolling until they trailed 4-0 late in the second period. "I dont think we played that poorly," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "We made some mistakes, and their confidence snowballed on us. Next thing you know, it doesnt matter how hard you work or how many shifts you spend in their zone. If the bounces arent going your way, its tough to get back in a game like this. Were going to find a way to get those bounces again and get things rolling our way. Well work ourselves out of it." The Blackhawks escaped a 3-1 hole in the second round against Detroit last season, but thats the only time in franchise history Chicago has rallied from that deficit -- and the Kings are an entirely different post-season challenge. "Its not a good position to be in," said Patrick Kane, who assisted on Bickells goal for his first point in the series. "Coming into this series, wed be lying if we thought wed be in this position, but it happens. Got no one to blame but ourselves, so were the only ones that can get ourselves out of it." After their dominant opening period, the Kings kept pressing in the second, and Doughty put a long shot through traffic midway through the period. Doughty, the Kings leader in ice time, has goals in back-to-back games after scoring just once in the first 16 playoff games. Chicago finally beat Quick when Saad scored on a backhand. The Kings sat back on defence to start the third period, and Bickell got just his second goal in eight games when he jumped on a loose puck in the slot with 10:31 to play. NOTES: Chicagos power play went 0 for 3, dropping to 1 for 24 on the road in the post-season. ... The Blackhawks scratched F Brandon Bollig in favour of Peter Regin, who sat out Game 3 after Andrew Shaws return. ... Game 6 would be Friday at Staples Center. ' ' '