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VANCOUVER - DeMar DeRozan dribbled around opponents and drove to the basket with grace and ease Sunday night.If the Toronto Raptors hope to head into this season riding the momentum built during last seasons playoff run, it appears DeRozan already is.The Raptors all-star scored 21 points in 21 minutes to lead the Raptors to a 99-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings in their pre-season opener as the NBA returned to Vancouver for one day. Efficient, said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. Hes smart, under control, he really did a good job just being efficient with his play. DeRozan, who spent a good chunk of his summer helping the United States to gold at the FIBA World Cup, wasnt quite as kind in his self-assessment.I felt rusty, man, said DeRozan a€” although there was no discernable rust.Ive been playing different type of international rules for a month and a half. . . A lot of my moves that I usually do, especially now that I added so many counters to a lot of the moves that I did, I was second-guessing, he explained. It probably didnt look like it, but I was out there second-guessing a lot of things, I could have made it a little bit easier.Its something Ill get more comfortable with as I continue playing.Jonas Valanciunas and newcomer Lou Williams, a nine-year veteran acquired by Toronto in June, added 12 points apiece. Terrence Ross and Tyler Hansbrough finished with 11 points each in front of a sellout Rogers Arena crowd of 18,630 that included former Canucks star Trevor Linden and B.C. premier Christy Clark.Ramon Sessions led the Kings with 14 points, while DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison had 13 points each, and Canadian Nik Stauskas had 12 in his NBA debut. The Raptors trailed the Kings 75-68 heading into the fourth quarter, but an unlikely three-pointer by Tyler Hansbrough a€” that brought the Toronto players off the bench in celebration a€”a€” tied the game 75-75.He been working on it, DeRozan said of Hansbroughs three. I called him (former Raptors three-point specialist) Steve Novak the other day.We really value the corner three, Hansbrough explained of his decision to add the long-range shot to his game. To be honest with you, it was a long process, especially for a guy who didnt shoot threes. Im definitely not a three-point shooter. I worked with a shooting coach (Mike Hollis in North Carolina) all summer. It was almost like we kind of changed a lot of what I was doing. A lot of it is just having the confidence to be able to do it.Hansbrough connected on a pair of free throws with 1:40 to play to put Toronto up by one, then Williams converted a three-point play and Toronto led by four with just over a minute to go, as the Raptors romped to victory.The Raptors went a franchise-best 48-34 and made their first post-season appearance in six seasons. Their thrilling series against the Brooklyn Nets ended in a heartbreak a€” a one-point loss in Game 7.The Raptors hope to go into this season riding the wave of momentum established last season, and coach Casey said the goal Sunday was to establish a habit of playing hard, especially on the defensive end.Whether we win lose or draw is not important in these types of games, Casey said. What is important is our defensive approach and I thought we didnt come out in the third quarter with our starters with that defensive intensity, that zeal that you have to have.The Kings outrebounded the Raptors 45-30, with former Raptor Reggie Evans leading the way with 13.The Raptors are trying to firmly entrench the squad as Canadas team, and there was a real sense the team was in town this week with Raptors billboards overlooking downtown Vancouver streets and ads playing on TV screens.We The North T-shirts and flags dotted Rogers Arena a€” normally home to the Vancouver Canucks a€” along with numerous teal Vancouver Grizzlies jerseys from the citys old team that moved to Memphis in 2001.It was amazing, DeRozan said. I was on the bench with Amir (Johnson) and Amir said This is crazy, it sounds like a playoff game, and it really did. The energy in here tonight for a pre-season game was definitely amazing, and we are very appreciative of it because we are Canadas team. To come to the other side of Canada and get this kind of reception is amazing.One row of fans held a big Vancouver Wants NBA banner.The game marked a decent debut for Stauskas. The 20-year-old shooting guard from Mississauga, Ont., picked No. 8 by the Kings in last summers NBA draft, played 26 minutes, connecting on his first shot attempt, a three-pointer.Sim Bhullar, a seven-foot-five centre from Toronto, is in camp with the Kings, becoming the first player of Indian descent to sign an NBA contract. Bhullar subbed in for the final 19 seconds of the game.The game capped the Raptors west coast training camp. The team had spent the better part of the week training at Fortius Sport & Health in Burnaby, B.C.Casey went with last years starters a€” Lowry, Ross, DeRozan, Amir Johnson and Valanciunas a€” and the Raptors led 20-17 to end the first quarter.Ross came off the bench to score eight points in the second a€” treating the crowd to a thunderous dunk a€” and the Raptors took a 47-42 into the halftime break.Raptors rookies Bruno Caboclo, picked 20th overall in the draft last June, and Lucas Nogueira, didnt play. Theyll head to Sacramento to face the Kings again on Tuesday. They host the Boston Celtics at the Air Canada Centre on Friday. Theyll host Atlanta in their regular-season opener on Oct. 29. Byron Murphy Jersey . Damyean Dotson, 19, Dominic Artis, 19 and Brandon Austin, 18, were suspended after the school received a police report concerning allegations made by a student who said she was assaulted by the players in early March. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . -- Billy Donovans bench came up big, bailing out top-seeded Florida in a tight game against what was supposed to be an overmatched opponent. http://www.cheaparizonacardinalsjerseysa...t-warner-jersey. PETERSBURG, Fla. Andy Isabella Jersey . -- Ryan Gropp scored in overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds shut out the Spokane Chiefs 1-0 in Western Hockey League play Tuesday. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys China . Cammalleri suffered a concussion in the Flames 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The 31-year-old forward did not travel with the team to Carolina. BOSTON -- Jacoby Ellsbury went to the New York Yankees. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is gone, too. The Boston Red Sox began rebuilding for their World Series title defence Wednesday when they signed free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year contract. "Its not every day you get a chance to play for the defending World Series champions. Looking at what they have coming back, theres definitely a chance to do it again," Pierzynski said in a conference call with reporters. "It was a place that you always want to go to because they win and they try to win every year. When they called, it was hard to say no." A two-time All-Star, Pierzynski will take over for the switch-hitting Saltalamacchia, who agreed to a three-year, $21 million deal with the Miami Marlins on Tuesday at about the same time the Yankees pried Ellsbury away from their rivals with a seven-year, $153 million contract. "We wish Jacoby well," general manager Ben Cherington said. "He was obviously a real good player here. He was a big part of two World Series teams and we would have loved to keep him. But we felt that there was an area or range that we were willing to go to, and the market just went past that." The best candidate to replace Ellsbury in the Red Sox system is Jackie Bradley Jr., who batted .189 in 37 games in the majors last year and .275 with 10 homers in 80 games at Triple-A Pawtucket. Cherington said it was too early to say whether there would be other candidates brought in through free agency or trade. "We feel good about some of the in-house alternatives, and one of those is certainly Jackie Bradley," Cherington said. "We feel fortunate that Jackie is in our organization, and we will feel good that he is playing centre field, if thats the way it works out." Pierzynski, who has played for four teams over parts of 16 seasons, said he talked to several former teammates who were on the Red Sox this year, including David Ortiz, Matt Thornton and Jake Peavy. He also bumped into Mark Kotsay while on vacation in Hawaii. "They all said, If you get an opportunity to come, youve got to take it," Pierzynski said. "Every person I talked to has had a positive experience there. I was grateful that Ben reached out and gave me an opportunity." Saltalamacchia had been a solid catcher in Boston. But his last play in a Red Sox uniform was the ill-advised throw to third base that led to the obstruction call against Will Middlebrooks, which gave the St. LLouis Cardinals a victory in Game 3 of the World Series.dddddddddddd David Ross took over, and the Red Sox went on to win the Series in six games -- their third title in 10 years. Both catchers were also a big part of the clubhouse chemistry that was helped erase the stigma of the fried chicken and beer collapse of 2011. Pierzynski has a mixed reputation in baseball -- including a conflict with Peavy that the two say is long behind them -- but his own teammates usually defend him. "(He has) the reputation across the field of not being the best guy," Boston manager John Farrell said on WEEI-AM. "But there are guys you get that feel from across the field and then when they get in your dugout, you love him. He was on board with everything. The bottom line is he wants to do nothing more than one thing: win." Pierzynski, a left-handed hitter, and Ross, a righty, will both be 37 next season. The Red Sox have two catching prospects in the minor leagues, Christian Vazquez in Triple-A and Blake Swihart in Single-A. "What were looking at is a short-term situation that really points toward Vazquez and Swihart, that are coming," Farrell said. "That doesnt mean that in 2015 Vazquez is a starter, but it gives us the flexibility that if he makes another good step in the minors the next year, its the potential that a guy could step in." Cherington also said his goal was to make the 2014 team stronger without hindering flexibility in the future, an outlook that made a one-year deal for a veteran catcher more attractive than the three years Saltalamacchia got. "We really appreciate everything he did," Cherington said. "If reports are accurate, were happy for him that he gets a good deal. We wish him well, but we feel like A.J. is the right fit for us right now." Pierzynski batted .272 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs last season with Texas -- the 13th season in a row in which hes caught at least 110 games. In his career with the Twins, Giants, White Sox and Rangers, Pierzynski is a .283 hitter with 172 homers and 800 RBIs, with a .322 average in 33 games at Fenway Park. "The combination of A.J. and Ross will allow that to be a position of strength for us, as it was this year," Cherington said. Pierzynski has caught two no-hitters, including Philip Humbers perfect game April 21, 2012. He made the All-Star Game in 2002 and 06 and won the World Series with the White Sox in 2005. He has a .300 career average with five homers and 17 RBIs in the post-season. 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