fighting off a cold and a sore back most of the game. "We just came u

TORONTO - As Kyle Lowry was tended to, lying motionless on the floor after being kneed in the head, not once but twice, the Raptors fate hung in the balance alongside him. It turned out to be the longest minute of the season for a team that has come to rely so heavily on the resolve of its tough-as-nails point guard. Lowry, sixth in the NBA in win shares (an estimated number of wins a player produces for his team), has been the Raptors most indispensable player. What would they do without him? Luckily, thats a quandary they need not concern themselves with. Although Lowry was a spectator in practice Monday, less than 15 hours after getting inadvertently trampled by P.J. Tucker, scrambling for a loose ball late in Sundays loss to the Phoenix Suns, he was relieved to deliver promising news. "It was a really powerful blow, but Im okay," said Lowry, who was cleared by team doctors earlier that morning, showing no signs or symptoms of a concussion or serious head injury. "Luckily, we have great doctors and a great staff and they checked everything out and everything came back clear, so Im fine." Sitting out of practice with flu-like symptoms that had been bothering him before Sundays game, Lowry said he was still feeling ill, but the headaches he complained about the night prior had dissipated. The Raptors did their due diligence in clearing Lowry and carefully made that apparent to those that had questioned their process after the point guard remained in Sundays game. "Its a huge issue and it should be," Casey said, speaking on the severity of head injuries in professional sport. "Teams are very sensitive to that, when theyre questioned whether they are going by protocol because its a huge deal." Scott McCullough, head athletic trainer, first tested Lowry for signs of a concussion while he was lying on the floor and then again after he was helped up and over to the bench during the timeout. Had he showed symptoms - such as disorientation, lack of coordination or nausea - the Raptors would have been compelled to pull him from the game and take him to the "quiet room", per league concussion policy. "Our guys went through the protocol, they checked his eyes," Casey continued. "He was deemed okay to go back into the game." Down nine with 96 seconds to go, Lowry - a fierce, and in some cases hardheaded competitor - was determined to power through. "I put myself back into that game," he said. "They werent going to take me out of that game. [McCullough] did his protocol on the bench and he checked me out and I was good to go, so thats all that matters." Lowry was tested twice more by team doctor Howard Petroff following the game and then again Monday morning, given a clean bill of health. Averaging career-highs of 17.2 points and 7.9 assists per game, Lowry has not missed a game this season and intends on playing Tuesday in Atlanta. What would it take for Lowry to sit out? "Being dead," he joked. "Not being able to walk." "I mean, Im always going to try to go out there and fight for my teammates and try to win the game, no matter what the situation is. At that point I felt like we still had a chance to win. Me, Im never going to sit out because of a little bump to the head." Clinging to a half game lead over Chicago for the Easts third seed and a three-and-a-half game cushion on Brooklyn for top spot in the division with 17 contests to go, the Raptors need all hands on deck. Despite the improved play of backup point guard Greivis Vasquez, Lowrys all-around contributions would be the toughest the replace. "Im happy as heck that hes okay," Casey said. "Its huge because were already down an important piece in our second unit with Patrick (Patterson) and to lose Kyle would be tough." Patterson was absent from practice Monday afternoon, having his sprained right elbow re-evaluated at the time. He is expected to accompany the team on their upcoming two-game road trip, a back-to-back in Atlanta and New Orleans, though his status is uncertain. Cheap Early Wynn Jersey . Consider it received. Attacking on offence early and often, the Penguins topped the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night as Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to help give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series. Cheap White Sox Jerseys . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. http://www.cheapwhitesoxjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-harold-baines-jersey . -- Jerome Williams glanced at Philadelphias schedule and realized he would be facing the Oakland Athletics yet again, with another new team. Cheap Bobby Jenks Jersey . Nwaneri, who was born in Dallas and attended Naaman Forest High School in nearby Garland, Texas, tweeted, "Its official! Im coming home, Im coming home. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle.DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets have played pretty well against the NBAs best teams. Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. It almost cost them again against the Milwaukee Bucks. A late charge and a fortunate bounce saved Denver from another disappointing ending. Wilson Chandler scored seven of his 24 points in the final 1:52 and the Nuggets held on for a 110-100 victory over the Bucks 110-100 on Wednesday night. Ty Lawson had 18 points and 13 assists and Randy Foye scored 20 points for the Nuggets, who avoided another embarrassing home loss to a sub-.500 team. "It would have been a sad day had we lost this one, especially when Milwaukee was down and on the road," Lawson said. Denver has stepped up against good teams this season and played some of its worst games against losing clubs, especially at home. The Nuggets, who were 38-3 at Pepsi Center last season, watched Utah, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Charlotte leave Denver with unlikely victories. Coming off a buzzer-beating 116-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, Denver coach Brian Shaws fears of a letdown were realized when Milwaukee scored the first seven points of the game. "For whatever reason, not bringing the same energy," he said. "We dont look forward to the matchups when those marquee names out there. We are not going to meet the challenge. We have to find a way to bring it consistently regardless who our opponent is." Larry Sanders had career-high 25 points and a season-best 15 rebounds for short-handed Milwaukee, and Khris Middleton also scored 25. The Bucks had nine available players and then lost guard Luke Ridnour to back tightness in the second quarter. Ersan Ilyasova played a little more than four minutes in the second half and guard Nate Wolters played 27 minutes despite fighting off a cold and a sore back most of the game. "We just came up short," Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said. "Finally just ran out of bodies." Milwaukee was trrying for its first two-game winning streak of the season after Mondays thrilling win over New York.dddddddddddd Brandon Knights three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left gave the Bucks the win, and they brought the momentum into Wednesdays game. "We had it. We were pretty high to start the game and we battled well," Sanders said. "They just made some good plays down the stretch to get them over the hump. They were real aggressive attacking the basket and it worked in their favour." Even with the short bench, Milwaukee stayed right with Denver for much of the game. Sanders tipped in a missed shot to give the Bucks a 57-53 lead early in the third quarter. The Nuggets then buckled down. Five straight points by Lawson sparked a 14-3 run that lifted Denver to a seven-point lead. Kenneth Faried and J.J. Hickson combined for the Nuggets next 10 points as the lead grew to 77-65 midway through the third. Hickson finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Foye hit a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to give the Nuggets an 82-70 after three. Quincy Miller scored five quick points at the start the fourth, helping increase the lead to 18. Milwaukee went on a 17-5 run to get within 99-96 with 2:13 remaining but Chandler scored four straight to make a seven-point game with 1:28 left. Chandlers basket that made it 103-96 bounced off the front of the rim and off the top of the backboard before falling in. "I just shot it short," he said. "I thought when I released it I was good, it was just short." Milwaukee couldnt answer the late run. "You figure a team like that would give up, but give them credit, they kept fighting and made it a game," Chandler said. NOTES: Foye had a career-high four blocked shots. ... Milwaukee G Gary Neal (back spasms) did not play. ... The Nuggets did not hold a shootaround Wednesday morning because of extremely cold temperatures and an extended team event Tuesday. ... Milwaukee F Caron Butler (sprained left ankle) did not make the trip to Denver. 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