less than seven minutes to go in the first half when Lynch rumbled

TORONTO - Sunday afternoons track meet with the fleet-footed Suns left the Raptors in a daze, but one player was feeling it more than the others. With just over 90 seconds remaining, down by nine in a game Toronto would go on to lose 121-113, Kyle Lowry - the Raptors most irreplaceable player - clutched his head, as he remained sprawled out on the court across from the teams bench. Scrambling for a loose ball moments earlier, Lowry took two inadvertent knees to the head from Suns 235-pound forward P.J. Tucker. Assisted by his teammates and the medical staff, the Raptors point guard walked gingerly to the bench where he was examined briefly during the timeout but would ultimately stay in the game. "Hes fine," Dwane Casey said after the game, but Lowrys assessment was a little less comforting. "I got kneed in the head, bad," he told reporters. "Ive got a headache right now. These (television) lights are killing me right now. But Im alright, though." Has he suffered a concussion before? Was he concerned that he may have suffered one that afternoon? Lowry balked at those questions. "No, Im tough," he said with a laugh, as if that could shield him from possible head injury. For those familiar with Lowry, one thing was for certain. He was not coming out of that game voluntarily. Sure enough, he shook it off and played the final 1:36, badly missing his next shot, a three coming out of the timeout. After a slow start, Lowry scored all but two of his team-high 28 points during the Raptors second half push. Ultimately he and his club could not overcome Phoenixs dynamic backcourt and devastating team speed. "Their speed and quickness was the biggest factor," Casey said after his team surrendered 121 points, most since they lost a Jan. 25 shootout to the Clippers. "Speed does that," he continued. "Speed kills. Thats the whole bottom line. We wont see a faster team than that the rest of the year. It caused a lot of breakdowns." With the tandem of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe setting the tone for Phoenix, the Raptors were forced out of their comfort zone, playing at a tempo that suited the Suns high-octane attack. "Thats their type of game," Lowry admitted. "We dont want to have no type of game like that. We want to hold teams under 100, under 90, preferably." The Raptors, who had not lost a game by more than five points in over a month, were holding their previous nine opponents at home to 91.3 in regulation. For the first time over that stretch, they seemed to let their own frustration get the better of them. Usually a calm, cool and collected bunch, the Raptors got caught up arguing with the officials during a third quarter in which the Suns shot 23 free throws, including 10 from Bledsoe alone. The afternoon mercifully came to an end with reserve forward Steve Novak confronting a teammate on Torontos bench as Jonas Valanciunas played peacemaker and held him back. Novak would not say he was shouting at, or why and insisted, its a non-issue. Despite a bit of understandable post-game tension in the teams locker room, there was an underlying feeling of calmness, stemming from their unflappable head coach. "Its not a systemic problem," Casey insisted. "Its not a situation where (we should) panic. Its one game. We knew we werent going to go undefeated the rest of the way. That team right there, theyre fighting for their playoff lives like we are." Of course, that wasnt the case back in December when Toronto last visited the Suns. In the midst of a Western road trip, the Raptors dropped their fifth straight and fell six games below the .500 mark for the only time this season. It was an undeniable low point for the squad before their fortunes turned two days later, as Rudy Gay was traded. Even after Sundays loss, they are 31-16 since that game in Phoenix. In a couple losses to the Suns - the Western Conferences feel-good story - this season, the Raptors have been out-rebounded by 36, grabbing a season-low 26 on Sunday, allowing a total of 227 points. Missing Patterson Without Patrick Patterson, missing his fourth straight game with an elbow ligament sprain, the Raptors undermanned second unit was thoroughly outplayed Sunday. The Suns finished with a 59-11 advantage in bench scoring, led by the 28 points of Gerald Green - a starter until Bledsoe returned from injury - and the Morris twins, who Patterson likely would have guarded. "Once Patrick gets back we have offence coming off the bench, which is huge, everybody kind of gets back in their place," said Casey, who wasnt concerned about long-term ramifications of the benchs underwhelming performance. "Again, no time to panic. Weve showed that weve played against quality teams without Pat. Weve got to continue to do that." Patterson will be re-evaluated Monday and the team hopes to have him back in the lineup sometime this coming week. Johnson climbs franchise block list With his swat on Tucker midway through the first quarter, Amir Johnson passed Antonio Davis for third on the Raptors all-time block list. Johnson, who leads Toronto with 73 blocked shots this season, has recorded 406 since being acquired by the Raptors ahead of the 2009-10 campaign. He is now 9 blocks away from tying Vince Carter for second-most in franchise history. Chris Bosh is the Raptors all-time leader with 600. The Stat DeMar DeRozan, who scored 17, has been held under 20 points in consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 20-23. The Raptors all-star guard tallied 16 points on Friday in a challenging matchup against the Grizzlies Tayshaun Prince and Tony Allen before facing Tucker and the Suns Sunday. The Quote "Its just tough when you go out there playing hard and sometimes we dont get a call that were fighting or dying for, that we may need at a critical time," said DeRozan, who was whistled for a technical, along with Casey, after voicing his disapproval of a no-call on a drive to the basket in the third quarter. "Its definitely tough but its something we can learn from." NMD R1 Kopen .com) - The Utah Jazz look to put an end to their five-game losing streak when the Denver Nuggets visit Salt Lake City Monday night. Yeezy Schoenen Kopen . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. http://www.yeezybelgie.com/ .com) - The collective hearts of Chicago Bulls fans sank on Friday night when Derrick Rose went down with a leg injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yeezy Boost 700 V2 Kopen . -- Oakland Athletics third baseman Scott Sizemore has undergone surgery on his left knee to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Yeezy Boost 350 Belgie . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal.Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Wilson was overcome with emotion while leading the postgame prayer following an improbable Seattle Seahawks comeback in the NFC Championship Game. Wilson had just played one of the worst games of his brief NFL career. That game started kind of ugly, huh, Wilson joked in his postgame press conference. Yes it did Russell. Good thing there was enough time to rectify those mistakes. Wilson tossed a game-winning 35-yard TD pass to Jermaine Kearse 3:19 into overtime and the Seahawks rallied past the Green Bay Packers 28-22 on Sunday to become the first defending champion to reach the Super Bowl in 10 years. The Seahawks miraculously overcame five turnovers, four of them Wilson interceptions, and a 12-point hole in the waning minutes of regulation. The stunning turn of events kept their dream of becoming the first team to win consecutive Super Bowls since the 2004 New England Patriots alive. That last three minutes plus the overtime was probably as good of a game as you can get, Wilson said. Seattle will play the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona. New England routed the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 in the AFC title game. Such a classic challenge and our guys found a way to get it done, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. That took tremendous faith by everybody, not just Russell. Wilson kept it himself and scored from a yard out on a zone-read keeper to pull the Seahawks within 19-14 with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter and Seattle recovered the ensuing onside kick. Steven Hauschkas attempt went through the hands and off the helmet of Green Bays Brandon Bostick before Chris Matthews pounced on the football at midfield. It just slipped away, Bostick said. Marshawn Lynch then dashed through the left side of the line and ran for a go- ahead 24-yard touchdown with 1:25 on the clock. Luke Willson hauled in the two-point conversion after an incredible scramble from Wilson. Wilson threw up a prayer across his body from the right side of the field at around the 20 and Willson was able to come down with the catch in the front left part of the end zone. Aaron Rodgers responded, though, and got the Packers into field goal range. He fired consecutive 15-yard completions to Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb to move Green Bay across midfield before limping for 12 yards on a scramble. Mason Crosby then split the uprights from 48 yards out to tie the game with 14 ticks on the clock. Rodgers never got the ball again. Seattle won the overtime coin toss and Wilson hit Doug Baldwin along the right sideline on a 3rd-and-7 for 35 yards to get it to the Green Bay 35. Wilson then lofted a perfectly thrown pass over the middle and past the outstretched arms of cornerback Tramon Williams before landing into the waiting hands of Kearse for the game-winner, his only catch and the target for all four of Wilsons interceptions. Wilson, who was 8-of-8 for 199 yards and three touchdowns on third down last week against the Carolina Panthers, threw three third-down interceptions on Sunday. He finished 14-of-29 after going just 2-of-9 in the first half and totaled 209 yards for the Seahawks, who have won nine consecutive postseason home games. Jon Ryan tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Garry Gilliam on a fake field goal, Lynch carried the ball 25 times for 157 yards, and Baldwin caught six passes for 106 yards in the triumph. Rodgers was 19-of-34 for 178 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Green Bay, which scored the first 16 points of the game. Eddie Lacy gained 73 yards rushing on 21 totes, Cobb had seven receptionns for 62 yards and a score and Nelson hauled in five balls for 71 yards.dddddddddddd We were the better team today, we played well enough to win. We cant blame anybody but ourselves, Rodgers said. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix intercepted two passes and Morgan Burnett picked off a pass and posted two of Green Bays five sacks. This is a hard one to swallow, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. We had opportunities, particularly at critical times to make plays and Seattle made some of those big plays to keep the game alive. The Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 26-21 in the NFC Divisional playoff to reach the NFC title game. Richard Sherman, who wasnt thrown at in the first meeting between the teams in Week 1, showed why Rodgers stayed away from him in that initial encounter with an early interception. Faced with a 3rd-and-10 at the 29, Rodgers lofted a pass in the back right corner of the end zone intended for Davante Adams. Sherman, though, positioned himself in front of Adams and hauled in the pick for a touchback, halting a promising 9-play opening drive. It didnt take Packers long to get back into Seattle territory. A slant toss intended for Kearse on a 3rd-and-7 was tipped into the air and Clinton-Dix brought in the easy interception at the 30 and returned it to the four. John Kuhn appeared to plunge in from a yard out on 2nd-and-goal, but the call was overturned following a review. Lacy was stuffed for no gain on third down and Green Bay settled for an 18-yard Crosby field goal for the games first points at the 8:07 mark of the first quarter. The Packers settled for another short Crosby field goal, this one from 19 yards out, after Baldwin fumbled the ensuing kickoff. I just felt like you had to take points, McCarthy said opting for the early field goals. I didnt think a lot of points would win this game. Green Bay then forced a Seattle three-and-out and Rodgers finished off a brisk 7-play sequence when he stepped up in the pocket and found Cobb in the back of the end zone for a 13-yard score on the final play of the opening frame. After the Seahawks were unable to move the chains, Micah Hyde returned a punt 29 yards and Crosby booted a 40-yard field goal to make it 16-0 with 9:37 to go in the second. Seattle didnt pick up its initial first down until there was less than seven minutes to go in the first half when Lynch rumbled for 14 yards on a 3rd- and-2. Wilson, who began 0-of-6, tossed his first completion with under four minutes in the second when he hit Ricardo Lockette for 14 yards on a 3rd- and-7. But the march was fruitless because Sam Shields intercepted Wilson on a 3rd- and-8 from the Green Bay 18. The Seahawks finally got on the board at the 4:44 mark of the third. They had a 2nd-and-30 after Clay Matthews sacked Wilson for a loss of 15 on first down, but Lynch broke off an 11-yard run and Wilson hit a wide open Baldwin along the right sideline for a gain of 29 to the Green Bay 19 on 3rd-and-19. Seattle lined up for a field goal on fourth down, but Ryan kept the ball and rolled left before hitting an open Gilliam for a 19-yard score. Crosby nailed a 48-yard field goal in the early stages of the fourth for the Packers 19-7 cushion. Game Notes Wilson became the second quarterback to throw four interceptions and win a conference championship game. George Blanda tossed five interceptions in the Houston Oilers 10-3 win in the 1961 AFL title game over the San Diego Chargers ... The Seahawks improved to 26-2, including the playoffs, at CenturyLink Field since 2012 ... Kearse has caught touchdown passes in four consecutive postseason games. ' ' '