TORONTO - The surging Phoenix Suns had already erased a 17-point deficit and hit seven of 10 three-point attempts in the fourth quarter when point guard Isaiah Thomas made his move, looking to complete Phoenixs comeback with just over 20 seconds remaining. Thomas, one of the leagues premier reserves, had hit all four of his shots in the frame, all four from beyond the arc and a couple of them from way behind the arc. Borrowing a play from his own greatest hits - one that won Toronto a game in Boston earlier this month - Kyle Lowry, defending Thomas, reached in and poked the ball away. Scrambling for it around centre court, Lowry forced a jump ball with the Suns 5-foot-9 super sub. Toronto was barely hanging onto a fleeting two-point lead when Lowry made the single biggest play of the night, ultimately sealing the Raptors 12th victory in 14 tries to begin the campaign. It was huge, Dwane Casey said following Mondays 104-100 win, Torontos fifth straight. That last play, where he dived on the ball and poked it away and caught [Thomas] sleeping was huge. He has the instincts to do that. As long as Casey is in charge, the Raptors will continue to hang their hats on defence. Thats what wins in this league, as hell tell you. Its what won on this night. However, its their suddenly red-hot offence that has helped propel them to their best start in team history. Mondays game featured two of the leagues highest scoring teams. The Raptors entered their meeting with Phoenix ranked second in points per game (first in the East), just ahead of the fourth-ranked Suns. Its hardly unusual to see the Suns at the top of the NBAs offensive hierarchy. With Steve Nash at the helm of a prolific and revolutionary offence, the Suns paced the NBA in scoring for six straight seasons earlier in the decade. Last year, their first under head coach Jeff Hornacek, they tailored their attack around a pair of dynamic point guards, reestablishing themselves as a nightly threat to run you out of the gym. But its a relatively new look for the defensive-minded Raptors. Their rise to the top of the scoring ladder has been gradual. Its been more subtle. In Caseys first year with the team, the 2011-12 lockout shortened campaign, the Raptors made strides in changing their culture by prioritizing defence, mostly at the expense of scoring. They were second to last in the league that season in offensive efficiency (scoring 100.8 points per 100 possessions). The next year, they improved to 13th in that category (105.9) before jumping to 10th last season (108.8). Through 14 games to begin the new year, the Raptors are the leagues second best team, scoring 114.1 points per 100 possessions, trailing only the Dallas Mavericks. There doesnt seem to be one easy explanation to justify the improvement. Firstly, internal growth has played a significant role. Lowry, by far the teams most valuable commodity and decision maker, has been unleashed, DeMar DeRozan has become more disciplined and Terrence Ross has blossomed into a reliable three-point shooter, stretching the floor and freeing up the two guards. The addition of Lou Williams, the Easts reigning Player of the Week, has added a new dimension off the bench. He, along with Lowry and DeRozan are among the best in the league at drawing and then selling contact on long jumpers, something that has helped the Raptors get to the line at an impressive rate. The Raptors attempted another 32 free throws Monday, hitting 26, which turned out to be a major advantage over the Suns, who made eight of their 11 shots from the line. Next, and perhaps most importantly, theyre getting back to sharing the ball. After being held under the 20-assist mark in seven of their first 10 games, the Raptors have exceeded 20 dimes in each of their last four contests. Lowry led Toronto with eight of its 21 assists against the Suns, but everyone was making a conscious effort to dish out the extra pass, from the teams guards all the way to Chuck Hayes, who dropped a nifty behind-the-back dime to Ross for a reverse slam in the second quarter. Its natural for our guys because theyve seen the fruits of it, of moving the ball, sharing the ball, Casey said. You wouldnt think it the first week, we were 27th in assists or something like that but now the ball is moving, its not sticking. I think once guys get comfortable within the offence, with the rhythm of the game, they do share the ball when they trust that the ball is going to go back to them. Then theres Jonas Valanciunas, the teams X-factor when utilized on offence. Hes never been better on that end than he was Monday. Valanciunas needed just 11 shots, missing only one, to score a career-best 27 points. The high-scoring tempo of the game didnt seem like one that would be conducive to a seven-footer with his skill set, but the Raptors third-year centre used that to his advantage, punishing the Suns smaller front line. To their credit, the Raptors - primarily Lowry - made a conscious effort to get Valanciunas the ball in the low post, which isnt always the case. He was dominant tonight, Lowry said. He was really aggressive, he asserted himself, he really attacked the basket. He really went out there and played like a true, dominant 7-foot centre. When all these pieces are clicking the way they have been, the Raptors offence has proven to be a handful. They have now scored 100 or more points in 12 of their first 14 games. But most importantly, for Casey, it hasnt come at the expense of their defence. Entering the game against Phoenix, the Raptors were still ranked fifth in defensive efficiency. Last year they were the only Eastern Conference team with a top 10 offensive and defensive rating. So far, Toronto and Memphis are the only NBA clubs ranked in the top five in both categories. We have a lot of scorers now, Valanciunas said. We have Lou, he can shoot from everywhere. Hes given us a lot. DeMar can shoot, Kyle Lowry can score, I can [list] names of every player who can score. Clearance NCAA Jerseys . Sections of the British media reported Friday that Brooklyn Beckham, the son of United great David, was invited to a training session at the club on Thursday. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . According to USA Today the Finns have tapped forwards Jarkko Immonen and Sakari Salminen to replace injured forwards Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula at the Sochi Games. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/. Like a magic trick, the puck popped out behind Stalock in the San Jose net. While Sharks coach Todd McLellan decried the legality of the tiebreaking goal, the Los Angeles Kings celebrated their latest, greatest escape yet. Custom NCAA Jerseys . After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half.What is going on with our starting quarterbacks? Over the last two weeks, four starters have gone down, and two are probably lost for the season. Two weeks ago, the Lions lost Travis Lulay in Ottawa when he suffered the fourth injury of his career on the same shoulder late in the game. In the Banjo Bowl between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, the Riders Darian Durant took a legal hit from Bryant Turner and is gone for the season with an elbow injury. A week later, Drew Willy of the Bombers was running the ball and he was rolled on by a Lions D-linmen when tackled and suffered a shoulder injury, the severity of which has not yet been released by the Bombers. And finally in Calgary, Bo Levi Mitchell was hit by Shea Emry and has ankle and knee injuries, and according to the latest reports, will be week-to-week. Four starters, four stars gone and in the case of two of them, likely for the season. Now the question is, are all these injuries to star quarterbacks just a case of bad luck/coincidence or is there a reason for them? There is no question that defences are winning this year and the strength of the defences has been the front sevens which has to be factored in to the QB injury discussion. However, Lulay has a history of the shoulder issues, and was involved in a strange play where the ball slipped out of his hand as he was trying to throw. When he scrambled to recover the fumble, the shoulder buckled again. Durant was in the act of throwing when he was hit, and like Lulay, it was a strange play but for a different reason. On Durants injury, the official tried to blow the play dead but no one heard it and the play continued. More on that later. Drew Willy was injured in BC when he was tackled trying to run the ball, which is a very different situation to that of Lulay or Durant, but similar to how Mitchell was hurt. Mitchell was scrambling for a first down and was trying to go down in a crouch position when he was hit by Shea Emry. Two QBs hit in the act of trying to throw, and two in the act of running, which means there is no specific trend or reason that connects all four. Lulay and Durant were situations that could happen on any passing play; they were vulnerable in the pocket, got hit legally and were injured. It happens. However, Willy and Mitchell are injuries that could have been avoided. It is certainly not the quarterbacks fault, because they are caught in the middle between being tough, team-first guys that will do anyything for the first down, and being smart and picking up what they can and then protecting themselves.dddddddddddd Everyone admires and raves about the QB that puts it all on the line for the first down, but what is the cost? Coaches have said that they cant take the fight in the dog out of their leaders who want to do what ever it takes, but maybe its time they try and tame that dog just a bit. The quarterback is the player that gives the entire team hope; if he isnt capable, hope is lost. Now all wins are important, and football players are wired to give it all on every play but if Calgary or Winnipeg dont get the first down in Week 10 of the regular season, are their seasons lost? Obviously not, the franchise players are taking too many risks in the game today. Maybe its time that coaches start saying to their star QBs run if you want but NEVER take a hit you dont have to take! Lets be clear, this is not a critique on Willy or Mitchell. Everyone admires their courage and leadership abilities, but the risk when a quarterback elects to take a hit rather than hook slide for an extra yard or two outweighs the reward in the regular season. Coaches hold players out of the lineup when they are injured and begging to go back before they are ready. Its time those same coaches start instructing their franchise players to avoid taking unnecessary hits! Now to the Durant hit. According to the head of officials Glen Johnson, the correct protocol was carried out by the crew in the Banjo Bowl. One ref tried to blow the play dead by blasting his whistle four times. However no one, including the other officials on the field and all 24 players, heard it due to the unbelievable crowd noise in Winnipegs new Investors Group Field. Johnson has since reminded all the officials to be as animated as they can when trying to stop the play once the ball has been snapped and to make sure that one officials whistle is backed up by the rest of the crew. However, there will be no discipline handed out to any of the officiating crew because there was really no mistake made, which is the right decision. Also, good for Riders offensive guard Dan Clark who was beat on the play but didnt try to use the whistle issue as an excuse. Right after the game in front of a sea of cameras and microphones, he said he didnt hear any whistle and he just got beat. That couldnt have been easy when an excuse was on the tee for him. That is a sign of true character. ' ' '