{allcanada} Ingram scores season-high 38, Raptors move closer to playoff berth by beating slumping Heat

--
Puppybear.tv - Rakuten.ca - Amazon.com - Swagbucks - MyPoints - DailyRewards

 

TORONTO (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 38 points, RJ Barrett had 22 and the Toronto Raptors moved closer to clinching their first playoff berth since 2022 by beating the slumping Miami Heat 128-114 on Thursday night.

Collin Murray-Boyles scored 17 points, Scottie Barnes had 13 and Immanuel Quickley 11 as Toronto moved past Atlanta into fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors and Hawks are both 45-35, but Toronto swept the season series.

Bam Adebayo had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Heat lost for the 10th time in 13 games. Already destined for the play-in tournament, Miami’s hopes of improving its seeding took another hit.

Miami’s Davion Mitchell finished with 15 points and 11 assists. Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each scored 15 points.

With their second home win over the Heat in three days, the Raptors swept the season series against the Heat for the third time. They also did it in 2007-08 and 2018-19.

Ingram matched his season high with seven assists. He had 13 points as Toronto outscored Miami 24-6 over the final 5:46 of the first half to lead 69-50 at the break.

Ingram shot 10 for 11 at the free throw line in the first half. The entire Heat team went 3 for 7 at the line in that time.

Toronto scored seven straight points to begin the third Miami answered with nine 3-pointers in the quarter. Ingram had 13 points in the third to keep Toronto in front, and the Raptors took a 102-90 lead to the fourth.

Toronto finished 14-4 against Southeast Division teams. They went 14-3 against the Central.

The Raptors are 4-11 against Atlantic foes with two games remaining. Toronto has lost 12 straight against the Knicks, who they visit Friday night.

Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. watched from a baseline seat.

Up next

Heat: At Washington on Friday.

Raptors: At New York on Friday.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com

Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html

Virus-free.www.avast.com

{allcanada} Knicks beat Raptors for 13th straight time, prevent Toronto from clinching playoff spot

--
Puppybear.tv - Rakuten.ca - Amazon.com - Swagbucks - MyPoints - DailyRewards

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat Toronto 112-95 stopping the Raptors from clinching a playoff spot Friday night.

Toronto entered the game needing to win Friday, or Sunday in its regular-season finale against Brooklyn, to clinch its first playoff berth in four years and avoid the play-in tournament.

Instead, New York earned its 13th straight win over the Raptors and clinched the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks improved to 53-28 with the victory in what could be a preview of a first-round playoff series. New York lost its chance to climb to No. 2 when Boston beat the lottery-bound New Orleans Pelicans, while Toronto (45-36) is currently sixth in the East after having its two-game winning streak snapped.

Brunson shot 12 for 18 from the field while Towns was just as effective, shooting 8 for 12 for the Knicks, who extended their winning streak to five games.

New York forward OG Anunoby injured his left ankle midway through the second quarter and did not return to the game.

Brandon Ingram scored 16 points and Ja’Kobe Walter and Scottie Barnes each had 15 for the Raptors, who have not beaten New York since Jan. 22, 2023. The Knicks won all five meetings this season, once in the NBA Cup tournament.

A night after beating the Celtics, the Knicks jumped out to a 14-3 lead with 7:11 left to play in the first quarter and led 22-21 at the end of the period.

New York outscored the Raptors 29-15 in the second to head into halftime with a 51-36 advantage.

The Raptors managed to cut the deficit to 66-57 on a dunk from Ingram with 4:19 remaining in the third quarter, but Brunson sparked a 9-0 run with a 9-foot fadeaway jumper and a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 75-57.

The Knicks outscored Toronto 58-48 in the paint.

Up Next

Raptors: Host Brooklyn on Sunday to end the regular season.

Knicks: Close out the regular season at home against Charlotte on Sunday.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com

Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html

Virus-free.www.avast.com

{allcanada} Valenzuela, Blue Jays light up Twins in comeback victory

--
Puppybear.tv - Rakuten.ca - Amazon.com - Swagbucks - MyPoints - DailyRewards

 

TORONTO — Rookie Brandon Valenzuela belted his first career homer, a two-run shot that concluded a five-run fourth inning to help the Toronto Blue Jays overcome a four-run deficit and defeat the Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Friday.

The 25-year-old Valenzuela’s blast to right field off Minnesota starter Simeon Woods Richardson (0-2) came in his 10th career at-bat. Valenzuela scored Andres Gimenez, who pulled the home side to within 4-3 after a hard-hit single to left field that scored Davis Schneider.

The Blue Jays (6-7) have now won back-to-back games after six straight losses. The Twins (7-7) saw their four-game win streak snapped before 40,721 at Rogers Centre.

Daulton Varsho slammed a solo shot in the fifth, and Ernie Clement’s double scored Schneider in the sixth inning. Clement scored the eighth run on George Springer’s double to left.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits and an RBI, while Schneider went 2 for 3 with two RBI in Toronto’s 14-hit attack.

Lefty Patrick Corbin, 36, went four innings in his Blue Jays debut. He hit two batters, gave up four runs on six hits with three strikeouts, a walk and homers to Ryan Jeffers in the first inning and Brooks Lee in the fourth.

Woods Richardson, who was traded by the Blue Jays five years ago in the deal that landed Jose Berrios, was good for four innings. He gave up five runs on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Takeaways

Blue Jays: Relievers Tommy Nance, Joe Mantiply (1-0), Louis Varland and Braydon Fisher combined for five shutout innings and nine strikeouts.

Twins: Catcher Ryan Jeffers managed a 3 for 3 game, including a three-run blast into the left-field seats for his first homer in 2026. He reached base a fourth time when he was hit by Fisher in the eighth.

Key moment

Valenzuela’s two-out, two-run game-winning homer in the fourth inning.

Key stat

Corbin was the eighth left-handed starter the Twins have faced in 14 outings this season. They have dropped five of those games.

Up next

Toronto lefty Eric Lauer (1-1) will face Minnesota’s Joe Ryan (1-1) in the middle outing of the series.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com

Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html

Virus-free.www.avast.com

{allcanada} 2025-26 King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominees announced

--
Puppybear.tv - Rakuten.ca - Amazon.com - Swagbucks - MyPoints - DailyRewards

 

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League today announced the 32 team nominees for the 2025-26 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

The nominees were selected by their respective NHL teams. The winner will be chosen by a selection committee consisting of Commissioner Gary Bettman as well as former winners of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the historic NHL Foundation Player Award.

In determining the winner, the selection committee will consider the criteria of a nominee’s inspiration, involvement, and impact to positively benefit his community.

The nominee with the most votes will be named the winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The winner will also be eligible to elect that his Club receive a grant from the NHL, up to $20,000, to help organize a special activation related to his humanitarian cause.

The 2025-26 King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominees are:

Anaheim Ducks: Lukas Dostal

Boston Bruins: Jordan Harris

Buffalo Sabres: Alex Tuch

Calgary Flames: Jonathan Huberdeau

Carolina Hurricanes: Jaccob Slavin

Chicago Blackhawks: Alex Vlasic

Colorado Avalanche: Sam Malinski

Columbus Blue Jackets: Boone Jenner

Dallas Stars: Jake Oettinger

Detroit Red Wings: Dylan Larkin

Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Florida Panthers: Sam Bennett

Los Angeles Kings: Kevin Fiala

Minnesota Wild: Marcus Foligno

Montreal Canadiens: Nick Suzuki

Nashville Predators: Ryan O'Reilly

New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes

New York Islanders: Kyle Palmieri

New York Rangers: Adam Fox

Ottawa Senators: Linus Ullmark

Philadelphia Flyers: Garnet Hathaway

Pittsburgh Penguins: Bryan Rust

San Jose Sharks: Alexander Wennberg

Seattle Kraken: Joey Daccord

St. Louis Blues: Colton Parayko

Tampa Bay Lightning: Ryan McDonagh

Toronto Maple Leafs: John Tavares

Utah Mammoth: Alex Kerfoot

Vancouver Canucks: Brock Boeser

Vegas Golden Knights: Jack Eichel

Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin

Winnipeg Jets: Gabriel Vilardi

History

The King Clancy Memorial Trophy was presented in 1988 by the NHL’s Board of Governors in honor of Frank “King” Clancy, a beloved figure in the League for decades as a player, referee, coach, manager and goodwill ambassador. A three-time Stanley Cup champion and 1958 inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Clancy was voted as one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players during the League’s Centennial Celebration in 2017.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com

Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html

Virus-free.www.avast.com