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HOUSTON - It was a long night at the office for the Raptors, who went home empty handed Monday night. It was long, it was ugly and it ended in disappointment. It was not the first time theyve endured such a night. "[There are] no moral victories in this league," Kyle Lowry said, as if he had been practicing the cliche that has become more of a slogan for this team over the years. Its the second time hes used it in 10 days. And hes absolutely right. The Raptors played 58 minutes of basketball, at least 40 of which were hard fought, in a game that elapsed three hours and 17 minutes. They clawed back from 17 down after an atrocious second quarter, overcame injuries and foul trouble while hanging in with a more talented team on the road. Ultimately, a loss is a loss. Toronto now has five of them in eight games. The question is, what can they learn from this one? "I am proud of the way they fought and scrapped and got back in the game," Dwane Casey said after his teams 110-104 double-overtime defeat at the hands of the Houston Rockets. "They could have laid down two or three times and they didnt." "Theres no moral victories in this game but, I see our team growing, fighting through things. Its a totally different feel from last year." Their resiliency was notable. Torontos 87-86 lead, following an Amir Johnson put-back with 40 seconds remaining, was its first since early in the opening frame. They scored just 13 points and shot an abysmal 18 per cent in the second. The defensive effort was equally as impressive, holding the Rockets to 44 per cent and neutralizing Dwight Howard and James Harden - for most of the game - as well as you can hope to. Offensively, they were treading water at the best of times. "We had so many opportunities to score," Casey said, "but we have to convert them." They didnt, not often enough to win. In fact, they were fortunate to come so close. Rudy Gay made just 11 of his career-high and franchise-most 37 field goal attempts, while DeMar DeRozan hit just six of 25. Together the pair shot 27 per cent on 62 attempts. Overall the team registered just 10 assists, a season low despite the extra time, on 38 made field goals. "We cant let us not making shots get us frustrated at all," said DeRozan, who had 22 points, second to Gays team-leading 29. "Were going to make shots, theyre going to come but we know we can stay in games with our defence and thats what we did." Those two missed a handful of jumpers they generally tend to hit with some consistency, as they pointed out, but poor shot selection continues to plague the Raptors high-volume duo early in the season. Both players are shooting below 37 per cent through eight games and DeRozan is now 18-for-70 (26 per cent) over his last four. "We being the go-to players on this team, we have to [keep shooting]," DeRozan maintained. "We cant get frustrated if the shots not going. It would be a whole different story if we didnt take the shots, if we were out there being passive and not taking the shots we normally take." "It sucks that were missing a lot of easy shots but were going to continue to fight it out no matter what. We could be out there playing with a bowling ball and were going to continue to shoot it." Gay drew most of the ire from fans for his 37 attempts. With 34 seconds remaining in regulation - knotted up at 87 - Gay, isolated on the wing, winded down the shot clock and launched a 22-footer that clanked off the side of the rim. "We prefer for him to go to the basket," Casey said of that specific play. "Thats what we wanted, to attack the rim. I dont know if it was fatigue or good defence but the play was drawn for him to attack the rim." Fast forward, down three in overtime, Gay knocked down the triple that bought the Raptors an extra five minutes. The true Rudy Gay experience. You take the good with the bad. On this particular night, there was far more of the latter. "Were fighting," Lowry said. "Thats all we can do is keep fighting. Like I said, no moral victories in this league, none of that." "But as long as we fight and play as hard as we can possibly play and do the things we know how to do the basketball gods will help us out a little bit. Well win some games like this." Aches and pains Lowry sat in the locker room after the game, both feet soaking in buckets of ice water. The Raptors point guard sustained a sprained right ankle in Saturdays lopsided win over Utah but said he never had any doubt about playing against his former team in Houston. He struggled early, going 2-of-8 from the floor through three quarters but helped ignite Torontos run in the fourth. Lowry shot 4-for-8 and scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods before eventually fouling out. "Guys are tired," he said after the game. "But guys are spirited, guys are still up. Were not going to put our heads down, were going to learn from the game and weve got another tough test on Wednesday." The point guard admitted his ankle was sore after playing 47 minutes but doesnt plan to miss any time, with another former team on deck in the Grizzlies. Gay was also icing down a sore ankle that he tweaked during the game. Up next Gay will make his first return to Memphis following last seasons three-team trade when the Raptors visit the Grizzlies Wednesday night. Catch it live on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 8:00pm et. Gareth Bale Wales Jersey . Bryant underwent an operation in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. His season ended with four games left because of a rapid heartbeat, a condition he has known about for several years and had been treated for in the past. Joe Allen Jersey . Fielder ended 4-for-5 with a solo homer, while Avila was 4-for-4 with two runs scored for the Tigers, who put the brakes on a three-game skid and rebounded from a loss in Mondays opener. Victor Martinez and Austin Jackson both contributed two hits, an RBI and a run scored as Detroit maintained its healthy lead atop the AL Central. http://www.soccerwalesstore.com/gareth-bale-wales-UEFA-EURO-jersey/ . Lupul injured the hand in a fall at practice on Thursday. He will wear a cast for a minimum of 10 days before he can put a glove back on it and get some mobility back, said Carlyle, who added the winger wont go on the teams upcoming road trip. Custom Wales Soccer Jerseys . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City. Joe Allen Wales Jersey . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night.MIAMI -- Anxious to end a five-week swoon, the San Francisco Giants are hitting again, which is why theyre back in first place in the NL West. Brandon Crawford and Pablo Sandoval homered Friday, and the Giants totalled 13 hits to beat the Miami Marlins 9-1. All-Star Madison Bumgarner (11-7), relishing the support, allowed one run in six innings. "Good to see everybody playing like that," Bumgarner said. "I guess everybody had a good All-Star break." With the victory, San Francisco overtook the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the division and leads by one percentage point. The Giants began the night averaging less than three runs per game in July, worst in the majors, but theyve totalled 17 runs in their past two games. Those wins came after an 11-22 stretch that cost them first place in the NL West. "This is who we were the first 60-plus games," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Then we turned into a different team." The Marlins lost their fifth game in a row and have dropped 21 of their past 31 to fall seven games under .500 for the first time. "It wasnt what we had drawn up coming back from the break," third baseman Casey McGehee said. "We need to pick it up really quick." San Francisco led 9-0 before Miamis Giancarlo Stanton hit his 22nd home run, most in the NL. His drive passed the home-run sculpture and caromed off the backdrop beyond the centre-field wall. "It was a pretty good pitch, I thought," Bumgarner said. "But everyone knows how far he can hit the ball." Crawford set the tone for the Giants, hitting the 11th pitch he saw for a two-run homer in the second inning off Nathan Eovaldi (5-5). "To have a good at-bat early in the game and get us on the board felt really good," he said. Sandoval hit a three-run homer, his 12th, to end Eovaldis night in the Giants five-run fifth. Sandoval improveed to 8 for 11 lifetime against Eovaldi with nine RBIs.dddddddddddd. Buster Posey and Michael Morse each had three of San Franciscos 13 hits. The Giants scored their first four runs with two outs and went 6 for 11 with runners in scoring position. Bumgarner lowered his ERA to 3.38, but also struck out three times to drop his batting average to .256. "Ill trade the not hitting very good for pitching good any day," he said. Eovaldi gave up a season-high eight runs in his shortest outing of the year, lasting just four-plus innings. He came into the game with a career ERA of 12.27 against the Giants, and it went up -- to 13.30 in five starts. "Theyve been able to hit his fastball," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "They take advantage of any mistake that he seems to make. I dont know if theyve got something on him, but theyve been able to do quite a bit of damage." Crawfords eighth homer put the Giants ahead 2-0. They added two more runs in the third on two-out RBI singles by Posey and Morse. Hunter Pence and Morse each doubled and scored in the fifth. Notes: Giants RHP Matt Cain has been bothered by his elbow at times this season but is expected to make his next start as scheduled Tuesday at Philadelphia, manager Bruce Bochy said. ... Giants INF Marco Scutaro (stiff neck) was held out of the starting lineup but was available to pinch-hit. ... Before the game, the Marlins placed RHP Kevin Gregg on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Monday with right elbow inflammation. RHP A.J. Ramos (right shoulder) was reinstated from the disabled list. ... RHP Jacob Turner will rejoin the Marlins rotation and start Tuesday at Atlanta. Hes 2-6 with a 6.22 ERA in 17 games. ... RHP Tim Hudson (7-6, 2.87), who has lost his past four decisions, is scheduled to start Saturday for the Giants against RHP Henderson Alvarez (6-4, 2.63). ' ' '