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SALT LAKE CITY - Terrence Ross is earning his pay cheque this week. Stepping out of DeMar DeRozans shadow on the wing, Ross has been featured more in Torontos attack while being tasked with three daunting defensive assignments. The third-year swingman opened this stretch with a matchup against one of the leagues all-time greatest scorers in Kobe Bryant. On Tuesday he squared off against Rudy Gay, a former teammate, before seeing Utahs breakout forward Gordon Hayward less than 24 hours later. Oh, and before the week is out hell try his luck at stopping the unstoppable LeBron James. Ross is no longer fazed by life in the NBA. Its become a nightly reality. Thats what he do, man, Kyle Lowry said of Ross after the two led Toronto to a convincing 124-104 win over the Jazz Wednesday night. T-Ross is a good player. Hes come in as an athlete but hes learned how to play defence. I think he really takes pride in being able to guard those guys. Thats how its going to be every night, Ross said. Im always going to get the best player every night. Thats just how it goes. For most of the Lakers game Ross did an admirable job on Bryant, 13 years his elder, although it hardly mattered. The future Hall of Famer was locked in and torched the Raptors for a triple-double in a winning effort. Gay, another player with a size, strength and experience advantage over Ross, was the focal point of Sacramentos offence with DeMarcus Cousins out of the lineup. He finished with 20 points and a career-best 10 assists. For the second time this season, Hayward was barely noticeable against Ross and the Raptors. Utahs leading scorer, averaging a career-best 19.6 on the campaign, was held to 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Ross was draped all over him for most of the evening. We made Hayward work, which was our focus going in, said Dwane Casey, his team taking two of three games, after stealing one in Sacramento Tuesday, to close out a mini road trip. I thought T-Ross and James Johnson came in and gave us a great effort against him. This challenge is not a new one for Ross, who has been asked to chase around the oppositions best perimeter player since he stepped into Torontos starting lineup following the trade of Gay a year ago. Facing off with the leagues best on a nightly basis, Casey is not expecting him to neutralize these great players, most of them older and wiser than the young Ross. Instead, the goal is to make life difficult for them, make them work, something Ross has been doing a better job of on both ends of the floor. It takes a lot of energy, a lot of focus on his part on the defensive end, Casey said. Hes done okay. He and James kind of tag team together on guys like that so well see how that goes. But hes been a good defender on guys, making guys work. Lowry and DeRozan both blossomed into All-Star calibre players once Gay was shipped out of town, but Ross has been the biggest beneficiary of last Decembers trade. Going from a reserve with sporadic playing time to a reliable starter and fixture in Caseys rotation, Ross minutes increased by over 10 a night post-trade while his scoring average nearly doubled and he went from a 34 to 40 per cent three-point shooter. Now, Ross is taking full advantage of an opportunity to handle greater responsibility with DeRozan on the shelf. I would say its the same type of jump [as when Gay was traded], Ross said. I just have more responsibility. Somebody is out, part of your team is gone so I got to do more. We all do. [Hes] probably playing more freely as far as not worrying about DeMar, Casey said ahead of Wednesdays contest. Usually we try to get DeMar going, now its him. Some of the sets are now called for him, where before he was kind of playing off DeMar. So thats part of it but none of it is forced, its kind of in the flow of the game. Hes done an excellent job offensively. After scoring 20 points in each of the first two games without DeRozan - reaching that plateau in back-to-back contests for the first time in his career - Ross registered an efficient 11 points, shooting 4-for-8 in Wednesdays win over the Jazz. The experience hes gaining and will continue to gain for as long as DeRozan is out should go a long way in the 23-year-olds development. If nothing else, having his number called more often should be a confidence booster moving forward. Hes someone, like most young players, that has battled inconsistency and is usually at his best when hes feeling good about himself - when he sees the ball go through the net or when hes getting stops on the other end. Its a big part of what he does, is him having the confidence, him having the rhythm, Casey said. Hes a rhythm player. With that rhythm, it can go out too so his key is being consistent and letting the game come to him for four quarters and not just be in streaks. Hes got to have that confidence but hes getting that now with DeMar being out. Hes kind of the wing focal point. LOWRYS CAREER NIGHT Whether hell admit it or not - he didnt and he wont - the NBAs decision to award Bulls guard Jimmy Butler Eastern Conference Player of the Month honours Wednesday afternoon was on Lowrys mind as he poured in what seemed like a quiet 39 points, his career-high. I didnt know either, Casey said after the game. He was efficient, 13-for-22. As he did on Tuesday in Sacramento, Lowry eased into things offensively, looking to get his teammates involved early in the game. The starting point guard hit six of the eight shots he launched in the first half before taking over in the second, where scored 24, including 15 in the fourth quarter. Lowry has attempted 20 or more shots in four straight games, dating back to the night DeRozan sustained his injury. He had taken 19 or fewer in each of the teams first 15 contests. Hes taking what the game is giving him, said Casey. Even with the 28 [shots] in overtime [against the Lakers], I dont know if he forced the shots, he was taking what the defence was giving him but hes finding a balance. Hes helping quarterback from the two-one position. Im just going out there and doing my job, said Lowry, who has scored at least 25 points in each of his last four games. I know I have to score a little bit more and be more aggressive. I can do it with DeMar but as a point guard I like to get my teammates involved. Right now I have to be a little more assertive. UNLIKELY OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUTS You wouldnt know it from watching them, but the Raptors are playing without their leading scorer. The absence of DeRozan, who has now missed the last three games with a torn groin muscle that will keep him sidelined indefinitely, has barely put a dent into the Easts most efficient offensive attack. By the end of the first half, Toronto had dropped 69 points on the hosting Jazz, shooting an impressive 64 per cent from the field and 8-of-11 from beyond the arc. Oddly they recorded just eight assists on 28 buckets but it hardly mattered given the rate in which their jump shots were falling. Of the nine Raptors to step on the floor in the opening half, only Jonas Valanciunas, 3-for-7, shot under 50 per cent. The starting backcourt of Lowry and Greivis Vasquez combined to shoot 12-of-17 for 29 point, the bench was 8-of-10 for 23 points. The Raptors have now reached 120 points in five of 19 contests to begin the season, a feat they accomplished just once all of last year (and it came in a triple-overtime game). However, defence - a long-time staple for Casey - has been the ongoing concern for the Raptors coach and his team over this recent stretch, surrendering 100 or more points in six straight contests. All the phases of our defensively approach has taken a step back, Casey said. Our offence has taken off and is flowing like water but weve got to have a balance between the two. Utah opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run, prompting Casey to burn a quick timeout, one he spent reaming his team out in the huddle. Their 16-point halftime lead had been shaved to nine in less than three minutes and Casey was as animated as ever. Even with the Jazz hitting 13 of its 25 shots in the frame, they were only able to knock one point off their halftime deficit. The Raptors red-hot offence would not relent, but Casey knows thats not a recipe for sustainable success in the NBA, not unless the defence follows suit. Well, I worked for George Karl for many years so Ive seen that side, said Casey, referring to his time as an assistant with some high-scoring teams in Seattle. But I also do know that being a free-flowing offensive team doesnt win in the NBA. Youll win some games but when its important, when youre talking about winning championships youre not going to do it if you dont have defence as your backbone, as your substance of who you are. And I know that and thats why Im going to continue to preach. Caris LeVert Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. DAngelo Russell Jersey . Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. http://www.cheapnetsjerseys.com/?tag=che...avis-jersey.com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Cheap NBA Jerseys . Rob Klinkhammer and Mikkel Boedker scored 63 seconds apart in the first period for the Coyotes, who handed the Kings their third straight loss and took over sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. Mike Smith made 36 saves. Drazen Petrovic Jersey . The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot.Eddie Jones wants England to be even sharper after their impressive 37-21 win over South Africa on Saturday. Tries from Jonny May, Courtney Lawes, George Ford and Owen Farrell, who finished with 19 points, saw England comfortably defeat South Africa at Twickenham and end their 10-year, 12-Test winless run against the Springboks. Highlights of Englands opening Autumn International against South Africa at Twickenham England have won all 10 games since Jones replaced Stuart Lancaster as head coach but the Australian believes there is still more to come from his side. It was far from perfect but satisfactory, Jones told Sky Sports.We have two weeks preparation and basically are a new team - we have 10 of the 30 guys who went to Australia not here. We have had to work hard to bring the team together - the players have been outstanding in their attitude and application.We were rewarded by a good result - not a great performance but a good result. We are moving in the right direction - we are still not sharp and if we want to be the number one team in the world then we have to be sharper. Joe Launchbury reacts to his man of the match performance against the Springboks at Twickenham South Africa had a promising opening quarter as their big men looked to bully England and went into an early 6-0 lead.dddddddddddd However Jones said that was to be expected and was happy with the way his players reacted.We knew the first 20 minutes were going to be the best period of the game for South Africa, added Jones.They are in a lot of pressure at home so they are always going to play with a lot of passion and aggression and they are big men. They forced us into a few penalties and we gave away a few silly penalties - attributed to us being on the back foot. But we fought our way out of that and came away very well at half time.Joe Launchbury was the official man of the match while Ben Youngs was the fans pick for the award but there were plenty of other eye-catching performances. Dylan Hartley thinks England still have a lot to work on after beating South Africa at Twickenham Joe was good, I though Courtney Lawes was also good in his 50th Test, said Jones.Chris Robshaw and Dan Coles work rate was absolutely exceptional. Billy Vunipola keeps on getting better and better. Ben Youngs and George Ford controlled the game well and Owen Farrell had his usual high standard game.Next up for England will be Fiji who were beaten 40-7 by the Barbarians on Friday night. However Jones is expecting a different challenge from the Fijians.Jones said: Fiji is a completely different game - they want to play an unstructured game. We have got to change our game considerably. We want to put in a performance next week. Also See: England outclass Springboks Match highlights Hartley: Plenty to work on Coetzee: Boks still have aura ' ' '