Biete Kristall » Rollins stretched his longest hitting streak sinc

HOUSTON - Coming off a dominant performance at home, the Raptors will have their starting point guard in uniform when they face a stiffer test in Houston Monday. Kyle Lowry, who sat out the entire second half of Saturdays 115-91 rout over Utah with a sprained right ankle, will give it a go against his former team as Toronto opens a two-game Western road swing against Dwight Howard, James Harden and the Rockets. "Im not 100 per cent but Im okay," Lowry said following his teams shoot around Monday afternoon. "No complaints. I wont favour it, it wont be a hindrance to me. Its just another game." The Raptors point guard came down awkwardly on the foot of Enes Kanter in the final possession of the first half Saturday and was removed from the game as a precaution. "I knew at halftime it wasnt serious," Dwane Casey said. "I think if it was a close game, he would have been able to play. Hes a tough kid and I had all the faith in the world [that he would be okay]." Although the Raptors set season highs in points, field goals (40), field goal percentage (.484), three-pointers (10) and assists (23) against the winless Jazz Saturday, they will have the odds stacked against them when the visit Houstons Toyota Center, a building they havent won in since 2007. Toronto has lost six straight road contests to the Rockets and is 15-3 all-time in Houston. However, this may be the best time for the Raptors, in search of their second straight win, to pay Houston a visit as the Rockets are struggling to find themselves early in the season. Houston won its first three games in the Howard era but has dropped three of four since, most recently falling to the Clippers, 107-94 on Saturday. The Rockets led by nine at the half in that game but were outscored 61-39 over the final 24 minutes. Howard is averaging 17.6 points and 13.6 rebounds - third in the NBA - in seven games with his new club and has been a handful for the Raptors dating back to his time in Los Angeles and Orlando, scoring 24.7 points on 62 per cent shooting in his last 18 games against Toronto. However, the Rockets centre is shooting just 49 per cent from the free throw line this season and Casey indicated hes not opposed to taking advantage of that. "Usually our philosophy is if you get in a bad way against a guy whos not a great free throw shooter, you want to wrap him up," Casey said Monday, asked about the hack-a-Howard method. "Dwight is no different. Its within the rules and well have to look at it." Lowry played 218 games for the Rockets over three-plus seasons, improving his scoring numbers each year. He averaged a career-high 14.3 points for Houston in 2011-12 before Toronto acquired him in a trade that summer. "It has a special place in my heart," Lowry said of Houston. "I love coming back here. This is a great city, the fans were great for me the organization was great for me. I always get a good kick out of coming back here." Trends and Tidbits The Raptors second unit had totalled 133 points in the teams first six games, outscored by the opponents bench in each contest, before exploding for 56 in Saturdays win. Tyler Hansbrough led the way with 23 points, matching a career best 11 made free throws on a career-high 13 attempts. Houston limited opponents to just 93.7 points on 39 per cent shooting in its first three games of the season, all wins, but has allowed 111.0 points on 45 per cent shooting in four games since, losing three. Mondays game in Houston is the Raptors first on the road against a Western Conference opponent this season. They were 3-12 when visiting teams in the West last year. Toronto will face the Grizzlies in Memphis on Wednesday before returning home for six of seven games at the Air Canada Centre. What to Watch For Two of the leagues best on the boards Both the Raptors and the Rockets have been two of the NBAs most dominant teams on the boards to begin this season. Averaging 46.3 rebounds per game, Houston ranks second in the league in that category while Toronto ranks ninth grabbing 44.3 boards per contest. The Raptors have out-rebounded their opponent in each of the first seven games, with a plus-52 differential on the glass overall. They rank third in offensive rebounds (14.1) and first in second-chance points per game (21.0), which has accounted for 22 per cent of their total offence thus far. Toronto faces its toughest test on the boards with the Rockets front line of Howard - who has led the league in rebounding in five of the last six seasons - and Omer Asik, who was third last year. "Its a challenge," Casey admitted. "Everyone from that standpoint has their work cut out for them as far as keeping them off the boards and winning the rebounding game." Pressure the home team With the front-court pairing of Howard and Asik, along with sophomore point guard Patrick Beverley stepping into the starting lineup for Jeremy Lin, the Rockets are still working out the kinks offensively. Although theyre still scoring at a torrid pace - ranked fourth, averaging 105.6 points per game - they have had some difficulty taking care of the ball. The Rockets have turned the ball over at least 18 times in five of their last six games. Overall, they allowed an average of 21.2 points of 19.0 turnovers in the six games since their opener. Who to Watch For DeMar DeRozan After a strong preseason, DeRozan has struggled to begin the campaign, specifically with his jump shot. The Raptors guard has hit just 12 of his 45 field goal attempts (27 per cent) over the last three games. Although hell have his hands full defensively with Harden, the Raptors need DeRozan to get back on track on the other end of the floor as well. DeRozan averaged 15.5 points in two games against the Rockets last year, as the two teams split the season series, and has scored 21.6 per over his last five meetings with Houston. James Harden Harden - the NBAs fourth leading scorer, averaging 24.7 points per game - is coming off his worst outing of the season, scoring just 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting against the Clippers while playing with two sore feet. He is also under the weather, battling a flu bug that is going around Houstons locker room. Although hell be playing at less than 100 per cent, Casey and the Raptors have still keyed in on the Rockets wounded star. "Hardens the head of the snake and weve got to do everything we can to control him," said Casey, who plans to throw multiple defenders at Harden, including DeRozan, Rudy Gay and possibly even Julyan Stone. Injury Report Lowry (sprained right ankle) will play for the Raptors. Harden, who is under the weather and has been playing with a series of foot ailments, is expected to give it a go. Omri Casspi (strained left knee) and Chandler Parsons (back spasms) are also expected to play but will be game-time decisions for Houston. Max Scharping Jersey . Spezza scored a power-play goal with 5 minutes left and Stephane Da Costa had the other two goals to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Tytus Howard Jersey . Although Olivetti, a qualifier, had 13 aces, he failed to force a single break-point chance on Gasquets serve and lost his own three times. Gasquet next plays third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who won had 18 aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win against seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. http://www.cheaptexansjerseysauthentic.c...n-jersey.Brazil midfielder Ricardo Goulart scored the winner in the 50th minute to give the defending champion a four-point advantage in the standings over second-place Sao Paulo, which beat rival Palmeiras 2-0. Cullen Gillaspia Jersey . Bayern led second-place Leverkusen by 10 points with a game in hand, while Dortmund was another four points off the pace. Freiburg midfielder Felix Klaus scored in the last minute as his side twice came from behind to climb provisionally out of the relegation zone. Cheap Texans Jerseys Authentic . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun the international tournament will likely return in September 2016 rather than 2015. ST. LOUIS -- A.J. Burnett had a special fan watching him pitch for the first time Friday night and he wanted to impress. He did. Burnett scattered seven hits for his first complete game of the year and the Philadelphia Phillies won their season-high fifth in a row, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. "It the first time in my career my grandmother has seen me pitch," Burnett said. "It was extra special. She came up from Little Rock, Arkansas, with my mom and brother. It was awesome. She saw a good game." "Im giving her the game ball," he said. The Phillies winning streak has come on the road. They have won nine of 11 overall. "Everybody is feeding off one another and its clicking," Burnett said. "Were having fun." St. Louis has dropped three in a row after winning five straight. "Were trying real hard," said Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who had two hits. "But were facing good pitchers. A.J. threw a good game, kept us off balance." Burnett (5-6) threw 111 pitches to earn his 24th complete game. He struck out three, walked one and hit two batters. "Complete games dont happen very often," Burnett said. "I got quick outs, groundball outs. I threw my changeup a lot. I bet I threw 20-plus tonight. It was one of the days when the hook wasnt there. Normally, we keep pounding the hook trying to get it, but the changeup was effective. That pitch helped more than anything." That was the key, Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He had command of three pitches and he seemed to really pound the zone," Sandberg said. "When we gave him the lead, he really held his stuff. He still had good stuff in the ninth inning. He did a lot of things to help himself win the game." That included his bat. Burnett, who came into the season as a career .110 hitter, contributed an RBI double and scored. The ball bounced on the track in front of the 400-foot mark. "With the infield in, Ive got hit it in the air, right?" Burnett said with a laugh. "I put a pretty good swing on it thought. Thats all I got, though. If that ball doesnt leave, its not going to leave at all." Marlon Byrd homered and John Mayberry Jr. added two hits and scored twice. Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs and extended his hitting streak to 14 games with two hits.dddddddddddd Jaime Garcia (3-1) pitched into the sixth inning, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks. He lost his third start in a row to the Phillies. "He pitched close enough to give us a chance," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "He had good movement, he just got hit a couple of times." The game began after a 50-minute rain delay. St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the third when Matt Carpenter was hit by a pitch with two outs and later scored on a single by Matt Holliday. The Phillies scored twice in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Mayberry, Burnett and Rollins doubled in the fifth. Burnett drove in his first run of the season and Rollins stretched his longest hitting streak since a 14-game run in 2007. "Any way I can help," Burnett said. "Whatever it takes." The Phillies chased Garcia in the sixth. Byrd led off with a homer. After Domonic Brown doubled, Seth Maness relieved. Mayberry hit an RBI single and scored on Rollins sacrifice fly. NOTES: The Cardinals did not take batting practice before the game. ... The Phillies activated 3B Cody Asche (left hamstring) from the 15-day disabled list and put 3B Reid Brignac on the DL with a sprained left ankle. Brignac hurt his ankle in a play at first base Thursday when he tried to beat pitcher Shelby Miller to the bag. Asche grew up in nearby St. Charles County and played for the first time at Busch Stadium. ... Cardinals P Kevin Siegrist (strained left forearm) played long toss from 120 feet. He has not pitched since May 23. He said he might throw bullpen session Sunday. ... Cards GM John Mozeliak said P Trevor Megill, the Cardinals third-round pick in the amateur draft, has opted to return to Loyola Marymount for his senior season. Mozeliak said the team no longer will scout Megill, adding that Megill wanted more than the designated slot value of $504,400. ... Mozeliak said P Joe Kelly will have a "rigorous bullpen" Sunday and then a "baseball decision" will made about when Kelly might begin a rehab assignment. ... Rosemary Depler, of Peoria, Illinois, celebrated her 101st birthday by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. 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