Lowry stars as Raptors beat Heat, move to Eastern finals

The Toronto Raptors are going somewhere they’ve never been before: the Eastern Conference finals.
Kyle Lowry erupted for 35 points and DeMar DeRozan had 28, leading the Raptors to a 116-89 blowout win over the visiting Miami Heat on Sunday in Game 7 of their semifinal series.
“Playing against a team like that, they pushed us to the limit,” Lowry said. “But we played our game and didn’t let anything bother us.”
The Raptors relied on their leaders to win the biggest game in franchise history.
“We never doubted Kyle and DeMar, they’re our guys,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “They both stepped up and carried us in the moment at the right time and the right place.”
Toronto opens the conference finals Tuesday against the playoff perfect (8-0) Cleveland Cavaliers, who are coming off a nine-day layoff.
“They enjoyed their rest but at the end of the day we have to go out and do our job,” Lowry said. “We’re not satisfied. Our goal is to get four more wins and get to the Finals.”
The Raptors have played 14 games in the last 30 days, but the second seeds think that will be an advantage against the LeBron James-led team.
“We’re accustomed to playing every other day now,” said DeRozan. “So, just go out there, playing with the rhythm we’ve been playing with the last couple of weeks and jump on them.”  
Toronto took three of four regular-season meetings against the top seeds.
“They’ve been chasing us all year,” James said. “We look forward to the challenge.”
Bismack Biyombo had 17 points with 16 rebounds, DeMarre Carroll scored 14 and Patrick Patterson contributed 11 for the Raptors, who dominated the second half 63-42 and controlled the boards 50-30.
“We didn’t play big in our last game and they won the battle but tonight we did,” Casey said. “You got to make them pay if they’re going to play small. Bismack and Patrick played big in the paint.”
Slovenian Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade netted 16 points apiece for the third-seeded Heat, who again played without injured big men Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside.
“We use no excuses, tonight the better team won,” Wade said. “We fought and did everything possible to get into the Eastern Conference final but Toronto was greater.”
The Raptors led 53-47 at halftime behind 16 points from Lowry and 15 from DeRozan.
Lowry went off for 12 more in the third quarter as the lead swelled to 17. A late Heat run cut it to six, and Miami entered the fourth frame trailing 86-78.  
“Once we got it to six I thought we had a chance,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But Toronto kept on coming. They just wore us down.”
The Raptors quickly dashed any thoughts of a Heat comeback, opening the fourth quarter on a 16-4 tear, wrapping up the victory in front of a wildly cheering sold-out crowd at Air Canada Centre.
“We’ve done everything we’ve set out to do but we’re not done yet,” said Casey, eyeing an NBA crown. “This group is hungry. Never say never.”

Philadelphia 76ers become first NBA team to sell jersey space

By Chuck Schilken/Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Fans rooting for players wearing the team name Philadelphia 76ers on their jerseys also will soon be rooting for players wearing the StubHub logo on their jerseys.
Last month the NBA approved the sale of jersey sponsorships in a three-year pilot programme starting with the 2017-18 season. On Monday the 76ers announced the first such deal, which will place a small, rectangular StubHub patch on the upper left portion of the front side of the jerseys.
“I’ve always been jealous of the English Premier League teams. NASCAR figured it out a long time ago,” 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil said. “For some reason, the big four sports in North America have not. I think it’s an unbelievable opportunity.”
The patch will appear on players’ jerseys as well as those sold at 76ers home games. Nike, which takes over as the league’s official outfitter also in 2017-18, also will place its logo on players’ jerseys, on the upper right side.
StubHub is already the 76ers’ official ticketing partner, and the two organizations are launching a new platform on which primary and secondary tickets will be available at one online location.
“We’re so tightly associated with the event-going experience that it was natural for us to move aggressively and chase this opportunity,” StubHub President Scott Cutler said.