nd struck out Dirks. Walker singled off Joaquin Benoit in

TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors and the Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off losses to two of the NBAs powerhouses.The Raptors lost 116-112 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday and the Timberwolves lost 105-91 to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.Minnesota and Toronto play Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre.The Raptors (14-7) hope to finish a six-game homestand with a win, which would give them a 5-1 record during that span as well as seven wins in their past eight games overall.The Wolves (6-15) will try to prevent the kind of second-half fade they had against the Spurs.The Timberwolves led after the first half against the Spurs but were outscored 29-18 in the third quarter as they failed to carry their first-half defense into the second half.Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau approved of the way his team played in the first half. The Timberwolves held the Spurs to a season-low 19 points in the first quarter.I thought our shell was tight, I thought we challenged shots well, I thought we got back in transition well, Thibodeau said. (In the third quarter) we just got outplayed in every aspect. ...In the second half, you have to have discipline. You have to stick with your team, you have to understand what your job is, then you have to do your job. When you randomly make it up, the results arent going to be good. Thats where we need to grow and improve.One bright spot from Tuesday for Minnesota was the play of rookie point guard Kris Dunn, who came off the bench to score 15 points in 17 minutes on 6-for-7 shooting.Kris is playing really well, Thibodeau said. Its a good sign.The Raptors had their six-game winning streak stopped by the Cavaliers, who have defeated Toronto in their three games this season. The NBA champions defeated the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals last season.Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry took an elbow to the face during the first quarter on Monday and required treatment but returned before the opening stanza had been completed and scored 24 points and had nine assists.Raptors coach Dwane Casey talked about the mental part of the game after the loss.I thought our guys competed, Casey said. But now we have to put the mental part within the game.Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas scored four points and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Cavaliers but struggled enough that he did not play the fourth quarter with his backup, Lucas Nogueira, playing only four minutes and Patrick Patterson and Terrene Ross each playing the full 12 minutes.Starting power forward Pascal Siakam also did not play in the fourth quarter.In the past five games, Valanciunas has averaged six points and 7.4 rebounds.Jonas is fine, Casey said. Its a matchup league.I thought Lucas did a little bit better job of guarding (Channing) Frye, which is a hard matchup for any (center) in the league, not just Jonas and Lucas. Hes really a four playing the five and thats why we decided to go small, that kind of got us going a little bit toward the end but, again, you give up something.The Raptors are 8-4 at home. The Timberwolves are 3-8 on the road. Air Max 90 Herren Schweiz . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Air Max 90 Outlet Schweiz . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.airmax90schweiz.ch/ . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Air Max 90 Günstig Kaufen . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Air Max 90 Günstig Herren . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand.DETROIT -- Jason Grilli has picked up a lot of saves in his years as a closer, but none tougher than what he had to do against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. Grilli came into the game in the bottom of the 11th inning with the Pittsburgh Pirates clinging to a 1-0 lead and the heart of Detroits order -- Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder -- awaiting him. "Thats as good as it gets in any lineup in the game," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Thats why you have a closer." For Grilli, it also meant trying to finish a game at Comerica Park -- a stadium where he had been booed relentlessly at the end of his four-season stint with the Tigers. "I have nothing but great memories of this place," Grilli said. "This is where Jim (Leyland) turned me into a reliever, and despite what the media might think I love coming back here." If the situation or the setting bothered Grilli, it certainly didnt show. He struck out Hunter, Cabrera and Fielder in order, ending the game as the clock approached 11:30 p.m. "Thats a great offence, and Miguel Cabrera is probably the best hitter in baseball right now," Grilli said. "So I was trying to not make a big mistake, but you cant spend much time thinking about that. You just go out there and win the game." Grilli certainly impressed the first of his victims while posting his 21st save in as many chances. "I faced him when I was in Minnesota and he was here in Detroit, and hes a different pitcher now," Hunter said. "Hes smart and hes got a little deception going. He jumps out at you, and before you know it, the ball is gone." Leyland knows just how far Grilli has come since moving to the bullpen in 2006. "Hes found a home and hes found a role and hes been terrific," he said. "Thats 21-for-21, and to do that against the heart of our order -- thats impressive." Grilli finished what Jeanmar Gomez had started. Gomez matched a career best with seven shutout innings in a duel with Detroits Rick Porcello, who worked eight. "I was just feeling really good today," said Gomez, who threw only 73 pitches. "Every one of my pitches was working, so I was working ahead in the count and down in the zone. Thats what made it good." The game was scoreless until Neil Walker -- the brother-in-law of Tigers centre fielder Don Kelly -- homered off Jose Ortega (0-2) with one out in the top of the 11th. "Ive been swinging the bat really well on this road trip, and Ive been getting the barrel on the ball just about every night," Walker said.dddddddddddd. "That kid throws hard, but he kind of floated a slider into the strike zone and I was able to drive it." Mark Melanson (1-0) picked up the win with a scoreless 10th inning for Pittsburgh. Porcello also matched a career best with his eight innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters. Porcello isnt the first Tigers pitcher to dominate Pittsburgh at Comerica Park. Last season, Justin Verlander took a no-hitter into the ninth against the Pirates, two days before Max Scherzer struck out 15 batters in a 4-3 victory. "Someone said to me today that we seem to strike out a lot in this ballpark," Hurdle said. "I told them to look at Detroits pitching staff. Everyone strikes out a lot against those guys." Gomez got some help from centre fielder Andrew McCutchen, who made a running catch to rob Andy Dirks of extra bases in the third inning and another to steal a double from Fielder in the seventh. Pedro Alvarez led off the eighth with a single and took second when Travis Snider walked -- the first time either team had put a runner into scoring position -- but Porcello got Clint Barmes to ground into an inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the inning, Omar Infante got to second on a one-out throwing error by Barmes at shortstop. Reliever Justin Wilson retired pinch-hitter Brayan Pena on a ground ball, and struck out Dirks. Walker singled off Joaquin Benoit in the ninth, stole second and took third on Penas throwing error, but Garrett Jones flew out to end the threat. Victor Martinez almost ended the deadlock in the bottom of the ninth, but Starling Marte made a running catch of his liner at the fence in left. Both teams put runners into scoring position in the 10th, but couldnt get a run across until Walkers no-doubt homer in the 11th. "We had chances in the eighth, ninth and 10th, but we couldnt get the big hit," Hurdle said. "We finally got that in the 11th." NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 1:13 by rain. ... The Pirates placed Jose Contreras (low back inflammation) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled reliever Bryan Morris from Triple-A Indianapolis. ... The Tigers have struck out 10 or more batters 28 times -- the second-highest total in franchise history behind last seasons 50. Detroit is currently on pace for 91 double-digit games. ... Porcello pitched into the ninth on July 21, 2012 against the White Sox, but didnt record an out. ' ' '