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TORONTO - Kyle Lowry laid flat in the centre of the key, hands on his head as he stared straight up at the top of the Air Canada Centre, likely seeing nothing at all, having just missed the biggest shot of his eight-year career. Although, technically it was not a shot. With their season on the line, the ball was in Lowrys hands, deservedly so. The clock showed 6.2 seconds as the Raptors inbounded, trailing by only one in the dying moments of a deciding Game 7. Jason Kidd and his Nets team had little doubt the ball would find Lowry. The star point guard caught the pass, with Deron Williams draped all over him, and went straight toward the rim as Kevin Garnett came over to trap. Lowry split the two defenders and floated a shot up at the basket just as Paul Pierce entered the fray in time to block it. As the buzzer sounded, putting an end to Torontos magical season, Lowry - the teams heart and soul - fell to the court. What was going through his head? "Whats not?" he shot back. DeMar DeRozan was the first one to come over. Crouching over the sprawled out Lowry, DeRozan offered up some words of encouragement. "He said, If anyone is taking that shot, Im living and dying with you taking it and trying to get that shot off," Lowry recounted after the Raptors heartbreaking 104-103 Game 7 loss. "It was one of those things, a brotherly moment." DeRozan helped the point guard up and the Raptors two best players walked off the court - Lowry with his jersey over his face - to a rousing ovation from their appreciative fans. "It was big time," Amir Johnson said of the scene. "Just them showing their appreciation, how well we did this season and how hard we worked. So it was a sad moment but bittersweet, I guess." The Raptors couldnt hide their disappointment after falling just short of advancing to the Conference Semifinals Sunday afternoon, it was written all over their faces, but they have no reason to hang their heads. The sellout ACC crowd stood and chanted in salute of their team, the game - however frustrating - served as a good reminder of why. With five minutes left, the Raptors appeared dead in the water. Frustrated and coming undone in the moment, down 10, their season was on life support but, like hes done so many times before, Dr. Lowry refused to let them die. Lowry scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the final quarter and the Raptors came storming back. That resiliency has been their most admirable quality all year. They had led the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring differential, earning 11 comeback wins, eight more than the season prior. "Were going to fight until our last breath," said DeRozan after scoring 18 points, playing with the flu, as Casey revealed following the game. "Were going to leave it out there, every single thing we have there on the court." "We battled," added Johnson, who recorded his first playoff double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. "I would go to war with these guys any day and they showed a lot of pride and a lot of heart tonight. We just ran out of time." Lowry and his unwavering resolve have a lot to do with the teams late-game tenacity and so, with their season in the balance, they had no qualms with letting him decide their fate. "That young man did everything he could to get to the basket," Casey said of Lowry on the final possession. It was what they had drew up, Lowry going to the rim, though it was a slight variation of what was intended, with poor spacing that ultimately led to the blocked shot. "He tried to will his way to get that extra point." One point separated the teams Sunday and after 11 meetings - in the regular season and playoffs - Toronto and Brooklyn each scored 1,070 points. The series was as close as they come. "We were right there," Casey pointed out, and if a few calls from another highly critiqued officiating crew went their way they may have pulled it out. But in the end, the Nets were the better team Sunday and that was the case, more often than not, throughout the series. Joe Johnson - the best player on either side over the seven-game span - proved un-guardable again, scoring half of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, while the Raptors youth and inexperience continued to rear its head. Although Terrence Ross turned in his best game of the series, securing the steal that made Torontos final possession possible, the bar had been set low. Fellow sophomore Jonas Valanciunas scored just three points to go along with five rebounds in one of the quietest outings of his brief career. As a team, the Raptors wanted to go further, they believed they were ready and came just one play short of proving it. Even after the loss, with their season now over, the progress theyve made does not go to waste. Three of their starters had never appeared in a playoff game. Only four players on their roster had ever experienced a Game 7, no one has emerged victorious from one. This experience is invaluable and can only serve them well, both individually and as a collective, going forward. "Im proud of our guys," Casey said. "Nobody gave them a snowballs chance in you know where to be here. They competed all year. This group has a lot of stuff in front of them, a lot of basketball in front of them. The organization is in a great spot." "This playoff run is nothing but positive for these young men and anyone that thinks any different doesnt know basketball." Ashley Williams Wales Jersey . The Mets made the announcement Sunday night. Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament. Joe Ledley Jersey . The Toronto Maple Leafs were holding a news conference, so they got curious. It didnt take long for them to find out via social media that coach Randy Carlyle was coming back — with a two-year extension — and assistants Greg Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish were being let go. http://www.soccerwalesstore.com/joe-allen-wales-UEFA-EURO-jersey/ . Granada goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez saved Morenos first two headers from corner kicks taken by Sergio Garcia, but the defender beat him on his third try after Garcia found Moreno unmarked at the near post in the 78th minute. Aaron Ramsey Wales Jersey . This week, topics cover the World Series champion Red Sox, John Farrell and what to look forward to this off-season. Gareth Bale Wales Jersey . Not that he was complaining. Davis had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocks, and the New Orleans Pelicans emphatically snapped a three-game skid with a 135-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. VICTORIA -- Brittany MacLean of Toronto smashed the second longest-standing national womens record with her victory in the 800-metre freestyle on the last night of competition at the Canadian swimming trials on Saturday. MacLean clocked 8:24.91 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 8:27.59 set by Brittany Reimer of Victoria at the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal. MacLean and Tabitha Baumann of Ottawa -- second in 8:32.37 -- both went under the qualifying standard to be nominated to the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific teams. "Ive done a lot of racing this year and I wasnt sure how much my body would hold up," said MacLean, 20, a triple champion this week. "Im glad it did. To get the record is a huge accomplishment." Two-time Olympic medallist Ryan Cochrane of Victoria collected a third gold as well, winning the mens 1,500 freestyle -- his main event -- in 15:01.72, well under the qualifying standard. "I wanted to come here and put up a fast time," said Cochrane. "Its not where I want to be yet." Cochrane, who is one of 36 who will represent Canada at the Pan Pacifics in Australia in August, and one of 30 nominated to swim for Canada at Commonwealth Games in Scotland in July, says he wont settle for less than gold this summer. "Im looking forward to the Commonwealth Games because it was a dream of mine to compete at those Games since I was five," he said. "The Pan Pacs is a big event for the swimmers and the competition will be tough." In addition to 19 swimmers with national team experience, 18 newcomers will be representing Canada at the senior level for the first time thhis summer.dddddddddddd The Pan Pacs team features 21 female swimmers and 15 males, while 20 females and 10 males are nominated to the Commonwealth Games. Three Canadian women went under the qualifying standard in the 200 individual medley. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson of Ottawa completed a golden individual medley sweep clocking a personal best 2:12.26, Marni Oldershaw of Oakville, Ont., followed in 2:13.72 and Sydney Pickrem of Halifax was third in 2:13.78. "Im pretty pumped," said 18-year-old Seltenreich-Hodgson. "To get two titles this week is really exciting. To have three girls go under the standard is something. We are an IM country." Evan White of Oakville just missed notching a Canadian record in the mens 200 IM but still went under the qualifying standard with a personal best 1:59.84. The 18-year-old was 0.3 seconds under the Canadian record before heading into the final freestyle length. "I was trying to break the record and I could hear the crowd," White said. "It was a good swim." Katerine Savard won the womens 200 fly in 2:07.61, while Audrey Lacroix followed in 2:08.84. Both Pont-Rouge, Que., racers went under the qualifying standard as they did in the 100 butterfly on Friday, which featured a national record for Savard. "I dont really believe I did that time," said the 20-year-old Savard. "Its really good for me." Victoria Poon of Montreal was first in the 50 freestyle for her second win of the competition. Yuri Kisil took the mens 50 freestyle in a personal best 22.53 for his second title this week, and Zack Chetrat of Oakville, won the mens 200 butterfly. ' ' '