then closed off the near post as Nash broke up the left wing

TORONTO - As Kyle Lowry was tended to, lying motionless on the floor after being kneed in the head, not once but twice, the Raptors fate hung in the balance alongside him. Alex Gonzalez Blue Jays Jersey . It turned out to be the longest minute of the season for a team that has come to rely so heavily on the resolve of its tough-as-nails point guard. Lowry, sixth in the NBA in win shares (an estimated number of wins a player produces for his team), has been the Raptors most indispensable player. What would they do without him? Luckily, thats a quandary they need not concern themselves with. Although Lowry was a spectator in practice Monday, less than 15 hours after getting inadvertently trampled by P.J. Tucker, scrambling for a loose ball late in Sundays loss to the Phoenix Suns, he was relieved to deliver promising news. "It was a really powerful blow, but Im okay," said Lowry, who was cleared by team doctors earlier that morning, showing no signs or symptoms of a concussion or serious head injury. "Luckily, we have great doctors and a great staff and they checked everything out and everything came back clear, so Im fine." Sitting out of practice with flu-like symptoms that had been bothering him before Sundays game, Lowry said he was still feeling ill, but the headaches he complained about the night prior had dissipated. The Raptors did their due diligence in clearing Lowry and carefully made that apparent to those that had questioned their process after the point guard remained in Sundays game. "Its a huge issue and it should be," Casey said, speaking on the severity of head injuries in professional sport. "Teams are very sensitive to that, when theyre questioned whether they are going by protocol because its a huge deal." Scott McCullough, head athletic trainer, first tested Lowry for signs of a concussion while he was lying on the floor and then again after he was helped up and over to the bench during the timeout. Had he showed symptoms - such as disorientation, lack of coordination or nausea - the Raptors would have been compelled to pull him from the game and take him to the "quiet room", per league concussion policy. "Our guys went through the protocol, they checked his eyes," Casey continued. "He was deemed okay to go back into the game." Down nine with 96 seconds to go, Lowry - a fierce, and in some cases hardheaded competitor - was determined to power through. "I put myself back into that game," he said. "They werent going to take me out of that game. [McCullough] did his protocol on the bench and he checked me out and I was good to go, so thats all that matters." Lowry was tested twice more by team doctor Howard Petroff following the game and then again Monday morning, given a clean bill of health. Averaging career-highs of 17.2 points and 7.9 assists per game, Lowry has not missed a game this season and intends on playing Tuesday in Atlanta. What would it take for Lowry to sit out? "Being dead," he joked. "Not being able to walk." "I mean, Im always going to try to go out there and fight for my teammates and try to win the game, no matter what the situation is. At that point I felt like we still had a chance to win. Me, Im never going to sit out because of a little bump to the head." Clinging to a half game lead over Chicago for the Easts third seed and a three-and-a-half game cushion on Brooklyn for top spot in the division with 17 contests to go, the Raptors need all hands on deck. Despite the improved play of backup point guard Greivis Vasquez, Lowrys all-around contributions would be the toughest the replace. "Im happy as heck that hes okay," Casey said. "Its huge because were already down an important piece in our second unit with Patrick (Patterson) and to lose Kyle would be tough." Patterson was absent from practice Monday afternoon, having his sprained right elbow re-evaluated at the time. He is expected to accompany the team on their upcoming two-game road trip, a back-to-back in Atlanta and New Orleans, though his status is uncertain. Roy Halladay Blue Jays Jersey . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons. Cecil Fielder Blue Jays Jersey . - Urijah (The California Kid) Faber finds himself in an unaccustomed position Saturday night at UFC 175 — on the preliminary card. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/1836h-dave-winfield-jersey-blue-jays.html . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Cam Talbot stopped all 31 shots faced for his first shutout of the season, and the New York Rangers claimed a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden. The guys did a good job of keeping a lot of shots to the outside to start the game and let me feel the puck, which is very beneficial for a goalie that doesnt get to play that often, Talbot said of his fifth appearance and first win of the year. So when you get to feel some shots early in the first period and get yourself comfortable and engaged in the game, its big for me. Kevin Klein and Rick Nash supplied the necessary offense for the Rangers, who have won eight consecutive regular-season games over their division rivals. Steve Mason was largely solid, making 32 saves for the Flyers, who have dropped three in a row after winning three straight. The visitors failed to be buoyed by the last-minute addition of captain Claude Giroux, who was originally ruled out with a lower-body injury suffered in practice on Monday. Giroux felt well enough in warmups to gain a slot in the lineup but couldnt coax any scoring from his club. The trainers did a great job of getting me ready for the game. But I can play better, Giroux admitted. I have to find a way to get our game going. Anytime you lose three in a row theres concern. Talbot wasnt tested much for most of the third, but had to endure some stressful final minutes. He escaped trouble while prone in his crease inside 4 1/2 minutes remaining when Giroux kept digging at a loose puck off a Brayden Schenn shot, but the whistle blew just as Mark Streit dislodged the puck from the scrum. In a desperate bid, Mason was pulled for an extra skater with 3:32 on the clock and though the visitors buzzed, Talbot remained firm. He made saves on Vinny Lecavalier and Streit in the first minute of the 6-on-5, then turned away a Schenn tip with 1:20 to go. Derick Brassard missed a chance towards the empty cage inside of a minute left, and Mats Zuccarello was called for tripping with 44.9 left so the visitors wennt 6-on-4. Mike Matheny Blue Jays Jersey. Giroux and Streit were denied on successive shots and Talbot needed to make just one more save, on Jakub Voracek, to complete the whitewash. From the start of the game [we] didnt skate, didnt compete, Flyers head coach Craig Berube said. It was not a good game. Early on, it was evident Mason was going to have to keep his team in the contest. After he was forced to make a pad stop to foil a 3-on-1 rush, Klein slipped into coverage and scored from the high slot at the 5:10 mark of the first. Mason stopped Martin St. Louis in close and had the left post rescue him when faced with Chris Kreider alone in front in the middle portion of the period, then closed off the near post as Nash broke up the left wing on a short-handed break with seconds to go. Nash finally gave the hosts a 2-0 lead on a power play at 7:43 of the second, tapping in a dish from St. Louis from the left side to cap quick puck movement down low starting with Derek Stepan. I think everybody wanted the puck tonight, St. Louis said. Everybody wanted to be part of the solution and it reflected on the way we played. Tonight was one of those nights where everyone really wanted to make a play and wanted to have an impact on the game. Mason, who stopped several more quality chances in the ensuing minutes, eventually sprung Lecavalier on a break with a two-zone clearing pass inside of three minutes remaining, but the 405-goal scorer flubbed the shot into Talbots pads. On the next shift, Talbot flashed his right pad to stone a Wayne Simmonds chance which resulted in a Bellemare centering feed. Game Notes Philadelphia hasnt won a regular-season game in Manhattan since Feb. 20, 2011, and their eight straight losses are three off the franchise record ... Steve Valiquette was the last New York goaltender not named Henrik Lundqvist to blank the Flyers, claiming a 31-save, 2-0 shutout on the road Feb. 9, 2008 ... Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto left the game in the second period and did not return due to an undisclosed injury. ' ' '