Forennews » he didnt score, but he played great defence

East Rutherford, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) - It wasnt pretty, but the New England Patriots secured a first-round bye with a 17-16 win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Tom Brady completed 23-of-35 passes for 182 yards with one touchdown for New England (12-3), which will clinch the AFCs top seed if Denver loses at Cincinnati on Monday night. With the Patriots clinging to a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Brady threw an interception while under pressure, a theme throughout the game. Cornerback Marcus Williams picked off the pass that deflected off wide receiver Brandon LaFells hands at the New England 31-yard line. The Patriots defense stiffened as a third-down sack by linebacker Donta Hightower forced a 52-yard Nick Folk field goal attempt that was tipped by lineman Vince Wilfork and landed short. New England ran out the remaining 5:16, converting a pair of third downs. Danny Amendola, filling in for Julian Edelman on both offense and special teams, was tackled near the marker at the New York 48-yard line after a screen pass on 3rd-and-7. Some confusion ensued as the ball appeared to be inches shy of a first down based upon a measurement. However, the official signaled a first down, leading to a unsuccessful challenge by the Jets. Brandon Bolden then ran around the right edge for 17 yards on 3rd-and-1 to seal the win. Geno Smith passed for 210 yards on 17-of-27 efficiency with a touchdown and one interception for the Jets (3-12). The New York defense hounded Brady right from the start, registering three first-quarter sacks. New England began the second quarter in New York territory after a 39-yard punt return by Amendola, who had eight catches on 11 targets for 63 yards in place of Edelman. The Patriots leading receiver missed the game with a concussion and a thigh injury. Brady capped the six-play, 36-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski. The tight end lined up wide left and hauled in a back-shoulder fade from three yards out. The Jets tied the game at 7-7 when tight end Jeff Cumberland beat safety Patrick Chung on a seam route for a 25-yard touchdown catch. Center Nick Mangold was carted off the field with a left ankle injury during the 12-play, 87-yard drive. Folk kicked a 26-yard field goal to put New York up 10-7 late in a first half that saw New England limited to 52 yards. The Jets reached the red zone on their opening possession of the third quarter, but settled for a 23-yard Folk field goal. New England then changed its tempo on offense, going no-huddle, and had success moving the ball. The drive ultimately stalled at the New York 6-yard line and Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 24-yard field goal. Smith was then picked off by linebacker Jamie Collins on an underthrown pass to tight end Jace Amaro. The Patriots moved in front off the turnover as Jonas Gray ran for a 1-yard touchdown 1:09 into the fourth quarter. Folk made a 37-yard field goal with 7:53 remaining to cap the ensuing New York drive. Game Notes New England head coach Bill Belichick earned his 230th career win, surpassing Curly Lambeau for sole possession of fourth place in NFL history .... New York wide receiver Percy Harvin (ribs) left the game and didnt return ... The Jets outgained the Patriots 307-231 ... Brady was sacked four times overall. NBA Jerseys Outlet . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. Nike NBA Jerseys China . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ .com) - Matt Duchene picked up the deciding goal early in the third period and added an assist, as Colorado escaped with a 4-3 victory over Dallas at Pepsi Center. NBA Jerseys China . And thats good news for Canada. Kelly, who plays No. 8 at the back of the scrum, is captain of the Canadian womens team. Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys . Sweeting scored two in the first and three in the second before Strong (4-4) got two back in the fourth. Sweeting then scored three in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh to grab a commanding 9-2 lead.TORONTO - Stewing in the frustration of a Game 1 loss, DeMar DeRozan imprisoned himself in his room following a disappointing playoff debut on Saturday. His first postseason experience was something he had been dreaming about, something he had been preparing for, but it didnt go as he had planed. Reflecting on what went wrong, DeRozan spent the duration of the evening in solitude. He didnt turn on the television and he didnt speak to any of his friends around the league. He thought about returning to the Air Canada Centre at 1am to get up some shots, but decided against it. He needed to regroup, to recalibrate. The next day he went back to work. "Im a student of the game," said the Raptors All-Star. "I went back, watched the whole game two or three times." Fast forward to Tuesday nights sequel. DeRozan, finally getting into a rhythm, picked up his fifth foul with just over seven minutes remaining the final quarter. After pleading with coach Dwane Casey to keep him in the game, he was wisely subbed out, finding himself on the bench as his team clutched onto an evaporating lead. They had been up by as many as 11, but the Nets were closing in and the sell-out crowd, electric again, was getting deja vu. The Raptors were wilting under the pressure, succumbing to the veteran savvy of a Brooklyn team that owned the fourth quarter three days prior, or so we thought. There was DeRozan, in solitude once again on the bench, head down while his teammates and coaches convened during a timeout. "It was just my competitive spirit," he said. "I was a little frustrated, just calming myself down. I was a little frustrated that I couldnt be out there with my team, especially at that critical moment. Just staying focused." Two minutes later, he re-entered, the game tied at 83. Almost immediately, he drained a 20-foot jumper to put Toronto on top. Moments later, he knocked down a fadeaway, padding the lead. He never looked back. "It was just me taking advantage of the mistakes I made in the first game and not doing the same thing in this game," said DeRozan after leading the Raptors to a 100-95 win, evening their series with Brooklyn at one game apiece. "Its everything that you dream about, especially when you become a professional athlete, [play] at the highest level." After being held to 14 points - failing to make a shot until the third quarter - in the series premiere, the fifth-year guard scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the final frame Tuesday, hitting four of his five field goal attempts and nine of his 11 free throws. "Im just happy for him because a lot of people said he had a bad game [Saturday]," said Kyle Lowry, who scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2. "Every one has a bad game once in awhile. Tonight, he just showed what he can do. He did an unbelievable job of attacking, being aggressive and he got his rhythm going. Once he gets his rhythm going, he is a hard guard." The playoffs, as we know, are about adjustments from one game to the next and, despite another patchy performance through the first 36 minutes, DeRozan gave the Raptors new life in this series, one that few are expecting them to win. DeRozan was far from perfect and neither were the Raptors. After committing 19 turnovers Saturday, Toronto threw the ball away 21 times. They hit just two of 16 attempts from three-point range and had to overcome quiet outings from both Lowry and Terrence Ross, who shot 1-for-8. Perhaps they were fortunate that the Nets looked nothing like the team that thoroughly outplayed them in Game 1. Paul Pierce, Saturdays hero, was just 2-for-11. He didnt make a shot until the fourth quarter, but couldnt recapture last weekends late-game magic, misfiring on a couple wide-open looks from beyond the arc in the final 30 seconds. The win wasnt pretty, but it was one they needed - a hard-fought game resembling the style of basketball Casey expects to see from his team. "Earlier in the year, we wanted to be the Freddy Krueger of the NBA," said Casey. &quuot;Not give up, not give in.ddddddddddddI think our guys have done that. We won against a very veteran team like Brooklyn and that is very difficult to do because they seem to find a way to challenge you and keep you on your toes. I thought our guys did a good job of making sure they kept the pedal to the metal." "We werent going down 0-2," stated Amir Johnson, who also enjoyed a bounce-back performance, scoring 16 points to go along with nine boards. "We were the desperate team and we had to play desperate. There was no way we were going to lose that game. It was a must-win for us." Now, its a brand new series, a best of five that will shift to Brooklyns Barclays Center for Fridays Game 3 and Sundays Game 4. Despite the statement win, the Raptors are still expecting be overlooked as they head on the road. "For us to go through the struggles and start from the bottom," DeRozan said, sounding awfully like Drake, the teams global ambassador, seated courtside Tuesday, "and work our way up and still dont get the respect we deserve, we understand we still have a long way to go." "We dont want no attention, at all," added Greivis Vasquez, who scored 11 off Torontos bench. "Were fine with that. We let the people talk, but we do the talking on the court and thats just who we are, really. We lost the first game and everyone was talking. Everyone was killing DeMar because he couldnt do anything, now theyre going to love him for a couple more days. Its just basketball, man." "Everyone is doubting us, which is great," Casey said. "We look at their minutes in playoff play, they have a couple Hall of Famers on the team. We are the underdog, but the way our guys competed and fought tonight, I was proud. Now the series starts." Quiet contribution from Fields As practice was letting out on Monday, Vasquez inadvertently let the cat out of the bag; Landry Fields had been involved in the teams preparation for Game 2 and could be used to try and slow down Pierce or Joe Johnson. Sure enough, Fields entered the game in place of John Salmons late in the first quarter. Although 12 Raptors saw the floor in Game 1, Fields was relegated to the bench, where hes spent most of the season. However, the fourth-year forward has stayed ready and has been a reliable source of energy when called upon. Tuesday was no different. Without attempting a single shot, Fields, an active player on both ends of the floor, made an impact with his defence. After Johnson scored 12 points in the third quarter - mostly against DeRozan - Fields held him to just two points in the final period. "Its just human nature, we always talk about who scored the most points, who carried the team," Vasquez pointed out. "Credit to Landry, because he wasnt playing at all and look at what he does. He was the MVP tonight. It wasnt anyone else but him because he didnt score, but he played great defence and that was contagious." Casey tightened his rotation, using just eight players, splitting minutes in the frontcourt amongst Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas and Patrick Patterson The stat(s) - Toronto had a 52-30 advantage on the boards, including a 19-11 edge on the offensive glass. Their 52 rebounds was the most the Raptors have ever tallied in a playoff game. - Valanciunas recorded his second straight double-double in the series - 15 points and 14 rebounds - becoming the first NBA player to total at least 30 points and 30 boards in his first two career playoff games since Ralph Sampson and Sam Perkins in 1985. - DeRozan became the fourth player in Raptors history to score 30 points in a playoff game, joining Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and Antonio Davis. The quote "Weve been here when people just thought you could come to Toronto and get a win," DeRozan said. "Weve been though all that, frustrating seasons and we want everyone to know that when you play against the Toronto Raptors, youre going to have to fight, youre going to have to bring your game." ' ' '