MINNEAPOLIS - Less than 15 minutes after the final buzzer sounded, Kyle Lowry, originally surprised to learn he had recorded his fifth career triple-double and second of the season, lamented his recent shooting slump. Vapormax Plus Clearance . "Lately my shot has been off," said Lowry, fresh off a 20-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist performance in the Raptors 111-104 victory over the Timberwolves. "Ive been in a crazy slump for me. Imma find my way out of it." Demanding the best from himself and his team has become the norm for a player that led Toronto in more ways than one on Sunday. Lowry shot just 5-of-13 from the field but it didnt seem to matter much because he did almost everything else. The Raptors point guard knocked down nine of his 10 free throws, netted a couple of steals, found teammates for big shots throughout the evening and helped change the game with his rebounding. As a team, it was their hot shooting that kept the Raptors afloat in the first half, even leading by one at intermission. However, that lead seemed unsustainable at the rate in which Minnesota dominated the trenches. Late in the third quarter, as Lowry wrestled the ball from Nikola Pekovic - a ferocious rebounder with 80 pounds and nearly a foot on the Raptors guard - to give his team another possession, it was clear the momentum had swung. "He did a good job of getting in there, penetrating, finding people," Dwane Casey said of Lowry. "We needed all of his rebounds, especially with the way they crash the boards. He just had an all-around game." After giving up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half - it was the 12th time theyve surrendered at least 10 offensive boards in the last 17 games - the Raptors allowed just six in the seconds half, doubling Minnesotas efforts on the boards, 28-14. Lowry, who had nine rebounds in the final 24 minutes, and his nose for the ball seemed to rub off and inspire his teammates. "Its crazy," DeMar DeRozan said of Lowrys effort. "We all look at one another and realize, what can I do to help him out?" "Just seeing him going there, sometimes he comes out of nowhere and you see him snatch a ball out of a bigs hand, or coming over the top like he has a 42-inch vertical or something. Thats just Kyle, man. Hes hungry for the ball every time the ball goes up." His passion, like his tenacity, has been contagious and his backcourt partner appears to have caught the bug. With just over a minute to go and the shot clock ticking down, up seven, DeRozan took a pass from Lowry. Situated in the left corner, with the Wolves Corey Brewer in his face, he drained the dagger, a three-pointer to put the Raptors up 10. On his way to the Raptors huddle, Minnesota having just called a timeout, a fired-up DeRozan turned to the Wolves bench and shouted a couple of R-rated words that did not sit well with coach Rick Adelman. "They got a little hyped when they made a couple of buckets," said DeRozan, who finished with 25 points. "I kind of got it from Greivis (Vasquez). When he hits a big shot, he always shows off a little bit. Its the competitive level thats in all of us when you hit a big shot." "I like the passion," Casey added. "I think all of our guys are playing with passion, we have to channel it and get it going in the right direction, at the other team. I do like that." It was a rare showing of on-court emotion for the quiet all-star guard but something weve seen a lot more of over the last few weeks. Lowry, who is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, approves. "When youre an all-star, youre growing up, your true self starts to come out a little bit," he said of his teammate. "Hes a quiet guy but when youre winning and youre a leader, youve got to do it." Listed at a generous 6-feet, Lowry is averaging just under five rebounds per game, good for fourth among NBA point guards, behind only Russell Westbrook, Michael Carter-Williams and Rajon Rondo. Lowry is shooting just 32 per cent from the field, 29 per cent from three-point range - down from 39 per cent on the season - over his last eight games. Its barely affected his overall value to the team and it certainly hasnt hurt the bottom line. Toronto has won six of those eight games and nine of its last 11 contests, surpassing last seasons win total with its 35th victory on Sunday. Without sixth-man Patrick Patterson in the lineup - the Raptors learned he will miss at least 7-10 days with a ligament injury in his right elbow before the game - Steve Novak and Chuck Hayes stepped in and filled that role seamlessly. Hayes strength and on-the-ball defence came in handy against all-star forward Kevin Love - who just missed out on a triple-double, with 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists - and Novak knocked down five of his six shots from beyond the arch, contributing 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench. As a team, the Raptors shot 14-of-24 from long distance, with Terrence Ross hitting three of four attempts and DeRozan, as well as Vasquez each drilling a couple threes. The victory was Torontos 18th in its previous 19 meetings with the Wolves, sweeping the season-series for the eighth time in the last 10 years. Now nine games above the .500 mark for the first time this season, the Raptors will travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets - who sit four games back for top spot in the Atlantic Division - in the second night of a back-to-back, for both teams, on Monday. Nike Vapormax Wholesale . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. Wholesale Air Max Plus Tn Ultra . Hes even holding a bat on one of his 2014 baseball cards. So far, hes playing like his picture. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/cheap-kevin-durant-shoes.html . Footballs governing body said Tuesday that of the 2,577,662 tickets allocated for this years tournament, 1,041,418 have gone to people in Brazil. The U.CALGARY -- When the buzzword "opportunity" is thrown around at an NHL training camp, it usually applies to rookies trying to crack the big teams roster. But for the Calgary Flames it also applies to a guy like six-year NHL veteran TJ Galiardi, who is looking to take his career to another level at a new position. The Calgary native was converted from wing to centre just a week ago when camp opened, and he has settled into his new responsibilities quite nicely. He had a goal and an assist and was the best player on the ice Tuesday as a Flames split squad scored four times in the second period on its way to a 5-3 victory over a New York Islanders split squad in NHL pre-season action. "I played centre growing up, I played centre in college, in the WHL and in my first year in the NHL when (current flames assistant) Jacques Cloutier was my assistant coach," said Galiardi, who centred Lee Stempniak and Curtis Glencross. "I think he was the one that suggested it to (Flames coach) Bob (Hartley) when they traded for me." Despite having played the wing the last four years, including the last year and a half spent with San Jose, Cloutier knew Galiardi could perform well as a centre. "I felt he could help us in the middle and its the perfect time of the year to try him because you need repetition," said Cloutier, who ran the bench with Hartley in Regina with the other half of the Flames split squad. "He needs to play down low and needs some forechecking and I think tonight was probably his best game. He was moving well and hopefully he can keep it up and we can keep him in the middle." Galiardis work included a strong play along the boards to help set up the first of two goals for Dennis Wideman, a couple other nifty set-ups including one to Tim Jackman and a nice toe drag move that he almost turned into a beautiful goal. On his goal, which made it 4-1 late in the second, he patiently waited for Islanders goalie Anders Nilsson to commit then stepped around him and rifled a shot under the crossbar. He hasnt hit the 10-goal mark since scoring 15 in 2009-10. But its something hes been workiing at as he knows hes capable or producing more and the Flames, who are very thin at centre ice are going to need it. Cheap Kobe Shoes For Sale. "Thats something I wanted to work on for sure. The last couple years, I feel like I could have had 10 more goals each year if I just beared down a little," said Galiardi, who was acquired from the Sharks for a fourth round draft pick. "There was even that chance early in the game that I probably should have scored. Those are things you learn from watching guys that are very consistent scorers." Thats players like Joe Thornton, who he ended up on a line with during last years playoffs. "If you look at the way he finished last year and played in the playoffs on the big line with Thornton and (Brent) Burns, he played some pretty important minutes and I think that maybe helped him recapture a little bit of his confidence. Now hes got a little bit of a different role. Especially playing in the middle. Its a big difference," Cloutier said. So far, so good for the 25-year-old. "I think thats part of the reason why they brought me in here. They saw that I could step up offensively but you have to prove it, right, or else its not going to happen," Galiardi said. "Ive been getting a lot of great opportunities, the coaching staff has been great to me and I want to take advantage of it." Also scoring for Calgary was Lance Bouma and Glencross into an open net. The Islanders got goals from Michael Grabner, Griffin Reinhart and Riley Wetmore. "It was exciting. My Moms family grew up here, My Dad (Paul) played here, Max is with the Flames franchise now so it was a cool opportunity to get into my first game here," said Reinhart, the Islanders fourth overall pick in 2012. Notes: Galiardi went 11-11 in 22 faceoffs ... Clutterbuck left the game early in the third period favouring his leg. He was shaken up after delivering a heavy hit on Paul Byron ... Joey MacDonald went the distance in net for Calgary, finishing with 18 saves ... Kevin Poulin finished with 14 saves on 16 shots while Anders Nilsson turned aside 11 of the 13 shots he faced. ' ' '