TORONTO - With a mischievous look glued to his face, Kyle Lowry listened intently from the neighbouring locker as DeMar DeRozan spoke with the media after Sunday nights win. Making faces in the background and chiming in with the occasional one-liner, Lowry attempted to distract his teammate, to little success. DeRozan was coming off another remarkable performance, scoring an efficient 32 points in Torontos impressive 104-98 bounce-back victory over the Warriors. As the Raptors all-star guard was informed that he had just exceeded 30 points for the fourth time in the last six games, Lowry expressed his admiration, shouting "damn". "Whatever I say about Kyle is an understatement," said DeRozan. "We go off him to be honest, man. Thats a hell of a player right there. Hes the reason why Im getting 30 points." Lowry, still lurking next to the scrum, let out a high-pitched and playful "awwww". This exchange was not unusual. Often following a win, the Raptors backcourt duo can be found sharing a laugh in the locker room but the bond theyve developed is especially beneficial after a loss. Once Dwane Casey has finished addressing his team and the players return to their respective lockers, DeRozan and Lowry will usually break off to discuss the game, what went wrong and how to correct it. Their friendship is not put on and the chemistry that has been built this season, on and off the floor, has a lot to do with their individual and collective success. Lowrys fingerprints are all over DeRozans career year, and vice-versa. Together, they are the leaders of a team that genuinely enjoys going to battle for one another and it showed again on Sunday, as the Raptors toppled a formidable foe in the Warriors. Golden State was responsible for the Raptors lowest point of the season, a 27-point collapse in Oakland at the beginning of December. Toronto has lost only two games all year when leading after three quarters. They blew an 18-point fourth quarter advantage that night. "The way that we lost was definitely tough, we understood that coming into tonight," DeRozan said. "I think all the guys that were here [for it remembers that loss] because it sucks to lose like that." This time, at home and coming off a disappointing triple-overtime defeat, Toronto returned the favour. Trailing by three going into the final frame, the Raptors got 12 points from DeRozan as they outscored Golden State by nine in the fourth and earned their first win over the Warriors in eight tries with Stephen Curry in uniform. The Warriors guards - Curry and Klay Thompson - are the highest scoring backcourt pair in the NBA, with DeRozan and Lowry just behind them. Curry continued to give the Raptors fits, scoring a game-high 34 but Thompson was held to just 12. Playing some of the best basketball of his career over the last couple of weeks, DeRozan needed just 16 shots - hitting 10 - to collect his 32 points, facing an elite wing defender in Andre Iguodala. For the third straight game, the fifth-year guard made at least 12 trips to the free throw line, knocking down 11. Hes also recorded six assists in three consecutive contests, the first time hes done that in his career. "Coming in, I knew he was a good player," said John Salmons, one of DeRozans newest teammates. "I knew he could really score the ball. I knew he was athletic, but from afar, you never know how tough a guy is. He gets the best defensive guy guarding him every night. Guys that are known just for their defence. He still plays at a very high level, so I give him a lot of credit because he does it night in and night out. Thats not easy to do." "Hes growing every single game," said Lowry, who added 13 points and eight assists Sunday. "This season has been a remarkable one for him, hes an all-star. Anything I say about him, vice-versa, its an understatement." More than half of DeRozans 25 career 30-plus point games have come this season (13). Marquise Brown Youth Jersey . -- Dee Ford prefers to keep things simple: Play hard and fast, and let others worry about his NFL draft stock. Ray Lewis Jersey . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Youth-Mark-Andrews-Ravens-Jersey/ . It has been eleven years, eight months, and 261 days since I played my last CFL game. Marquise Brown Ravens Jersey . 1 player in the world. So Duval gutted it out Thursday at the Byron Nelson Championship despite the pain from a muscle issue in his right elbow, a day after his stepson had to drive him because he couldnt even use that arm. Trace McSorley Youth Jersey . Anor had not scored since getting his first two goals of the season vs. Philadelphia on March 22 but struck with laser precision from distance in the 56th and 75th minutes. Montreal (3-10-5) lost its third straight and Impact coach Frank Klopas said it literally was a case of his players not stepping up.If I ever needed a brain transplant, Id choose a sportswriter because Id want a brain that had never been used.- Norm Van Brocklin When I was 13, I transferred to a new school for the first time. I had spent ten years from junior kindergarten through Grade 8 at the northwest corner of Bathurst Street and Viewmount Avenue in midtown Toronto. It was my home court advantage. I knew the roll of the rims and the carom of the walls and which teachers were lax at taking attendance. It couldnt last forever. At some point a promotion was coming, and my record setting minor league career wouldnt matter once new maths and makeup-laden girls challenged all that I had honed. I was heading to St. Andrews Junior High. Grade 9. The Show. Embarking on my first day in the wilds of the public school system, I knew I had to make my mark early. Mr. Pelech, my clever English teacher, noticed my t-shirt just minutes into the first class. It was a tattered, ink-drenched Grateful Dead concert tee. He remarked that "Grateful Dead" was an example of a contradiction. Contra what now? Coach tapped my shoulder and I hopped the boards. I proceeded to argue with a shellshocked Mr. Pelech for several minutes. My arguments were lithe, varied and completely illogical, but I had been trained to stand my ground no matter how ridiculous my position. Eventually, a hapless Mr. Pelech scanned the class and sputtered, "Just who is this guy?" Each one of my classmates shook their heads sheepishly as if to say uh, dont look at me. Mark made. Within two weeks I owned that school. They didnt realize the repressed explosiveness that ten years of private school Yiddish lessons would unleash. It is in this brazen spirit I introduce myself to you now, Dear Reader, as your new weekly columnist for Bardown. Why was I chosen as The One to guide you through the international sports landscape, particularly with so many scribes vying for your sports-saturated eyeballs? Commence the elucidation (AKA bring da noize): Basketball. This is my wheelhouse. I know all the lyrics to Kurtis Blows Basketball and I have for decades. I own a Sweet Georgia Brown-humming Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine from 1979. I still play pickup every week at a local high school against stiff competition in their very extremely late twenties. Also, I was an associate producer for the Toronto Towers of the NBA for nearly 500 games, post-games, pre-games and exactly five playoff games. Ooh, another thing, I call the Toronto Raptors the Toronto Towers because I have some self-respect. Baseball. I spent five teenage summers selling peanuts outside the Dome under the alias Mike Simmons. Despite a promising career as a sidearm Eephus pitch-throwing specialist, the leagues advanced scouts were never able to unravel the mysteries of my potential, because apparently throwing over the plate was a "prerequisite for success". Racists. I submit that using the All Star Game to decide home field advantage in the World Series is akin to the winner of the submission portion of Americas Funniest Home Videos determining the nominees for The Oscars Best Picture award. Also, you can thank me for getting the old Blue Jays logo back, as days after writing this piiece, the marketing director for the Jays was following me on Twitter, and months later a new logo was born.dddddddddddd Also, my therapist says I have something called a narcissistic personality disorder. Football. In 1998, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue the dream of being rich and famous which is why you know me so well today. That same year I became a fan of an upstart outfit known as the Baltimore Ravens because I thought Ray Lewis was almost definitely innocent of murder and I am obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Fifteen glorious seasons later I have two championship rings (made of foil and buttons) as my testament. I have correctly predicted, in pre-season, the Super Bowl participants for 13 consecutive years and I defy you to prove otherwise. (Note: Please dont reference my Twitter feed. Just be cool. This claim is all I have.) Hockey. I worked camera on the 2003 documentary A Day in the Life of the Maple Leafs so I know a thing or two about hockey. Well, exactly two things. One, when I was eight years old, my teenage neighbour convinced me his Mats Naslund rookie card could be mine for the extremely low price of my 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gurtski rookie card. (Note: I have forgotten how to spell that particular Edmonton Oilers name. At least my night terrors have subsided.) Two, I have developed an algorithm demonstrating the NHL to be the worst run league in the history of Industry. It involves a complicated geometric measurement involving my eyes and common sense. (A fact I will gladly prove over and over again until they, oh I dont know, realign the conferences to have an equal amount of teams. Lets start there.) Fantasy Sports. I Am Legend. In its heyday of 2001, my sprawling website, mikegallay.com, was a sports fantasy powerhouse boasting 16 writers covering all sports, catering to an audience of nearly 16 unique daily readers (and fans of ravines who misspelled mygulley.com). Chances are, if you were a Canadian sports fan in the early 2000s, you were reading articles about topics we also covered on mikegallay.com. The Professor And Mary Ann. I will happily cover all the secondary sports every time a participant either murders someone, is attacked by a spouse using the tools of their own sport, has sex on camera on TMZ, or breaks an important racial, cultural or gender barrier while also keeping our interest for more than eight minutes. Thats my pledge. Am I the precisely correct author to bring you whimsical, satirical, deadly accurate analysis of the sports that matter to you? Absolutely. And can I say that with total sincerity because part of my contract stipulates I have no editor? Two for two. Have I earned your attention to read my column next week? Lets put it this way. My topic will be 23 Ways to Make Over 7K a Week Working Part Time From Your Couch. My third column will be Bardown Seeks New Columnist, No Experience Required. Gallays Poll #1 What would you like to see Gallay write about in his next column? a) A 20,000-word essay conclusively proving Mike is the third Williams sister. b) Doug Gilmours Secret Recipes for 3am Snacks. c) My Weekend In The Hamptons With Barry Bonds. d) No column, just use this space to expand Badminton coverage. ' ' '