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Toronto Raptors beat Washington Wizards 125-98 in Montreal to open pre-season

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MONTREAL – On a night Toronto Raptors stars Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley didn’t suit up, hometown favourite Chris Boucher took the spotlight in Montreal.

Boucher produced 13 points and six rebounds off the bench as the Raptors trounced the Washington Wizards 125-98 in their pre-season opener at the Bell Centre on Sunday.

The longest-serving Raptor went 5-for-9 from the floor in 17 minutes in front of “too many” friends and family in the sellout crowd of 21,900 after the team conducted training camp at the Université du Québec à Montréal all week.

“The fans support us, they embrace us when we’re in town, and you can feel the love,” Boucher said of his second NBA pre-season game in the city. “It’s hard for me to not give it back when they support me all the way. So I’m glad that we had the win. I’m glad that we played well and to our standards and that we were able to give them a good show.”

RJ Barrett led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 14 minutes — all in the first half — before exiting the game with a bruised right shoulder after running into a screen by Wizards big man Jonas Valanciunas.

Head coach Darko Rajaković said Barrett would undergo further evaluation on Monday.

Gradey Dick, Kelly Olynyk, Jamal Shead, Jahmi’us Ramsey and Jamison Battle added 10 points each for the Raptors. Shead and Davion Mitchell combined for nine assists and one turnover with starting point guard Quickley absent.

Jordan Poole led Washington with 16 points and six assists. Swiss-Canadian Wizards forward Kyshawn George, whose father Deon is from Montreal, scored eight points.

The 24th overall pick in this year’s draft got his first taste of NBA action in front of a pack of family in the stands — including his grandparents.

“Just as amazing as I imagined it, it was just a blessing to be able to spend my first game in front of my family,” he said. “It’s their first time seeing me play in real life, too. So it’s just a blessing overall, and seeing them after on the court is just amazing.”

The rowdy spectators included newlyweds Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey of the PWHL’s Montreal Victoire, four-time Canadian Olympian Natalie Achonwa and former Raptors great Vince Carter.

Carter, who will become the first player in Raptors franchise history to have his number retired on Nov. 2, received the loudest ovation of the night.

“The arena over here is very big. Somebody told me that it’s 21,000 seats. They’re very steep, so you can really feel the crowd being all over the team,” Rajaković said. “Being here in Montreal for a couple of days was great.”

Barnes missed the start of camp for personal reasons and rejoined the team Saturday, while starting point guard Quickley is nursing a sprained thumb.

Boucher — who grew up in the Montréal Nord borough — also took the Bell Centre floor to a hero’s welcome when the Raptors played an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Nets in October 2018.

The Raptors last played a pre-season game in Montreal against the Boston Celtics in 2022, but Boucher was out with a hamstring injury.

Boucher and George addressed the crowd from centre court to tip things off before the Raptors went on a roll.

Led by Barrett and Dick, the Raptors opened on a 13-2 run less than four minutes into the game before Boucher and George checked in six minutes into the first quarter to more ovations.

Boucher’s dunk with 1:49 left helped the Raptors jump out to a 34-16 lead after the first quarter.

“We didn’t love our start,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “Second quarter was much better, much better defensive mindset. The game got a little bit up and down in the third for both teams, but we were more competitive. But the start really hurt us. A lot to learn from this game.”

In the second quarter, Boucher hit a three while Barrett hit two layups and a shot from beyond the arc as Toronto kept running up the score. The Raptors led 56-38 at halftime.

Boucher scored eight points in the third quarter, but the Wizards cut the Raptors lead to 15 with multiple baskets from Alexandre Sarr and George.

Both teams went deep down their benches in the fourth quarter. Toronto’s Battle scored eight points in a hurry with two threes and a layup as the Raptors cruised to the resounding win.

UP NEXT

The Raptors visit the Wizards in a rematch on Friday before a home-and-home series with the Boston Celtics on Oct. 13 and Oct. 15. They’ll wrap up the pre-season against the Nets in Brooklyn on Oct. 18.

Toronto tips off its 30th anniversary season at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 23.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2024.

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Canada’s Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Routliffe pick up second win at WTA Finals

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.

The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.

The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.

Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.

The final is scheduled for Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.

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Allen nets shutout as Devils burn Oilers 3-0

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EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.

The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.

Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.

TAKEAWAYS

Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.

Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.

KEY MOMENT

New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.

KEY RETURN?

Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.

OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN

The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.

The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.

UP NEXT

Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Mahomes throws 3 TD passes, unbeaten Chiefs beat Buccaneers 30-24 in OT

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.

Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.

Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.

Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.

It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.

The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.

Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.

Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.

The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”

Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.

The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.

Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.

UP NEXT

Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Chiefs: Host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

AP NFL:

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