SACRAMENTO - When Kyle Lowry, the Raptors highest-paid player, re-upped in Toronto this summer he knew he was signing on to be the face of the franchise, even if the spotlight would be a shared one. Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, a tenacious tandem on the floor and good friends off it, have blossomed into one of the NBAs premier backcourt duos but with the latter sidelined for an indefinite period of time, the starting point guard has been thrust into the lead role. Its a gig hes more than capable of filling and thriving in but its been something of an adjustment, understandably so. Since inheriting the bulk of the offensive responsibility, along with DeRozan, following last years trade of Rudy Gay, Lowry has settled in as the quarterback, the straw that stirs the drink, the head of the snake. Now, with their leading scorer out, hes tasked with being the head as well as most of its body. Im always going to be comfortable, Lowry said after scoring a game-high 27 points and matching a season-best 13 assists in Torontos 117-109 victory over the Kings, snapping the teams two-game losing streak and winning in Sacramento for the first time since December of 2008. At the end of the day, I still gotta go out there and do my job, he continued. There might be a little bit more of a scoring load on me but Imma go out there and play my game. Of course we miss DeMar and wish him to get back as soon as possible but until then Ive gotta do a job. As the game was on the line late in the fourth quarter, Lowry was relentless, darting to the rim with reckless abandon and carrying his team down the stretch, scoring 10 in the final frame. The dagger came with just under a minute left, Raptors up four. Knowing where Lowry wanted to get to, the Kings clogged the lane and forced the fiery guard out of their paint. Channeling his inner DeRozan, Lowry stepped back and drilled a 20-foot, mid-range jumper. He made the right reads, Dwane Casey said. He kicked it out when he was supposed to kick it out and took what the defence gave him. With DeRozan to lean on, Lowrys instincts had become tremendous, reading game situations and determining whether his team needed him to facilitate or take over at various stages each night. I mean its my partner, Lowry said of DeRozan, who missed his second straight game with a torn groin tendon Tuesday. Thats my teammate. I think we all found ourselves looking for him but we know hes not there and hes not coming through the door right now so weve got to do our job. Finding that balance between leading the team and doing too much will continue to be a work in progress, its a challenge that he had early in his Raptors tenure. DeRozan went down early in the second half of Fridays loss to the Mavericks, a night in which Lowry attempted 22 shots, his third highest total as a Raptor. On Sunday in Los Angeles he shot the ball 28 times, a career-high. Its probably a little bit too many, Casey said Tuesday morning. And hed be the first to tell [you that], but thats an overtime game. Its nowhere near from a selfish standpoint, not even one iota from a selfish standpoint. Just from being in that position from a point [guard] to a scorer, theres a happy medium there and he understands that. I think youll see a difference in his approach. Although he put up 21 shots on Tuesday, 11 of them came in the fourth quarter and most of them were hoisted around the rim. He was more efficient, hitting 10 of those shots on the night, while also finding teammates and taking care of the ball. Theyre corralling him, staying with him longer, Casey said of the added attention hes seeing from opposition defences. Him getting into the paint, the kick outs are going to be there. Thats one decision hes gotta see and make, hes a smart player so hell do that. Because he is going to get attention, more so now than he has. Im just going to be aggressive, Lowry added. Im going to take shots that are there for me. Sometimes when I know Ive got DeMar he might shoot 22 times and Im passing up shots. But I cant afford to pass up shots in this situation. Imma make the right play for my team. Mutually beneficial trade Nearly a full 12 months after the Raptors and Kings pulled the trigger on last seasons seven-player trade - the one-year anniversary is on Monday - both teams are reaping the benefits. For Toronto, the franchises turnaround, while unexpected, was almost immediate. The Raptors are 56-25 since acquiring four key reserves - three of which remain on the team - from the Kings on Dec. 8, 2013, good for the best record in the East. But Sacramento has also started to make strides in the right direction, doing so in the more difficult conference. Despite finishing the season 23-41 after picking up maligned forward Rudy Gay from Toronto - in addition to Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray, who have since moved on - the Kings have shown some promise to begin the new year, with Gay and DeMarcus Cousins at the forefront. After winning five of their first six games, the Kings - recently riddled with injury and illness - have cooled off a bit, losing eight of their last 12. Still, theyve seen enough from the duo of Gay and Cousins to confidently invest in keeping that core together for the foreseeable future. Gay - who had opted into the final year of his deal over the summer, paying him $19.3 million this season - agreed to a three-year $40 million extension with Sacramento last month. Among other factors - namely the repetition alongside a similar high-volume wing player in DeRozan - Gays ambiguous contract situation was one of the primary causes that prompted his trade out of Toronto. Playing off Cousins, a dominate interior presence, the 28-year-old has rediscovered his game in Sacramento. Thats a mark of a good trade, for both teams, said Casey. [Gays] come in here and established himself as one of the stars, one of the key hubs. He fits with this team. Theyve got an inside presence, he fits the wing that they needed, that kind of gives them a post-up, ball hander type guy. After shooting 39 per cent, a career-low, in 18 games with the Raptors to begin last season, he shot the ball at a career-best 48 per cent clip as a member of the Kings over the duration of the campaign. This year, hes taking fewer shots than he has since his rookie season (15.7), while averaging more points than he ever has (21.1). His 4.0 assists and 6.7 free throw attempts per game are also career-highs. I think giving him a guy like Cousins to really dominate a game [has helped], said Lowry, a close friend of Gays. I think [Valanciunas] was still trying to learn and for me and DeMar it was just kind of a learning process and we didnt really have a lot of time to learn. Without Cousins in the lineup Tuesday, he missed his third straight game with a virus, Gay thrived with the offence going through him. Scoring 20 points on 16 shots, the former Raptor forward also recorded a career-high 10 assists. Meanwhile, Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes were all victorious in Sacramento for the first time since being dealt last December. It means a lot to us, Vasquez admitted after the game. We wanted to come out here and give it to them. Thats how it is, you get traded from a team and you try to do your best and kill it. Both parties should be happy, Casey said. I know Rudys happy and were very happy with the guys we got last year. Unhappy returns James Johnsons brief tenure as a member of the Kings is one hed like to forget. Sacramento acquired Johnson from Toronto, following a turbulent first stint with the Raptors, back in the summer of 2012. Thats where his career would hit rock bottom. Appearing in 52 games and logging just over 16 minutes per night that season, Johnson shot a career-low 41 per cent from the field, 60 per cent from the line, while hitting just two of his 21 attempts form long range. Off the court, he hardly endeared himself to the Kings loyal fan base. He was said to be overweight at the time and reportedly wore a Sonics hat into the locker room as the city was fighting to keep their team and block a move to Seattle. I just think it was tough for me to play here, Johnson admitted. I wont put all the onus on Sacramento either. It had a lot to do with me being immature. I was playing bad. I had a bad year that year. I have to own up to it. The rest is history. As a result, Johnson fell out of the NBA completely, signing with Atlanta the following fall, only to be waived a month later and end up in the D-League before redeeming himself in Memphis last season. Now, hes making the most of his second opportunity in Toronto, excelling in a role he was once hesitant to accept and hes not looking back. [Its a] fresh start, Johnson, who was greeted with a few boos as he checked in to begin the second quarter. [I] try to forget about stuff like that, try to move on. Like I said before, the old James Johnson dont exist no more. The only thing that Sacramento has that has anything to do with me or that holds any value to me is my son was born here. We all go through something that makes us better people, Casey said. We all fall down and how we get back up is important. James has gotten back up and hes on the path of going the right way. So hes got to continue to do that and put everything else in the rearview mirror and grow from it and learn from and forget about it. I think thats the lesson hes probably learned. In 28 minutes coming off the bench Tuesday, Johnson scored a season-high 19 points, shooting 9-of-13 and grabbing seven boards. I think it means more that we didnt lose three in a row than it does coming back to your former team and trying to win, said the 27-year-old forward. It was a team win and we played like it was any other team, any other game. Theres no revenge or no grudges in this league. You never know when youre going to come back, like how Im back with the Raptors. Air Max 96 Noir et Blanche . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Officiel Air Max Pas Cher . -- New York Yankees centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury was sent for an MRI Thursday of his ailing right calf, which was negative. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/basket-air-max-97-outlet.html . The Mercedes duo of three-time Canadian Grand Prix champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has won all six races to start the season, finishing one-two in the last five. Air Max 270 Femme Moins Cher . -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. Air Max 90 Pas Cher Chine . And by all indications, the team is expected to select phenom Connor McDavid with their selection. The Buffalo Sabres, who were knocked down to the second overall pick after finishing with the worst regular season record, are expected to take the other generational player in Jack Eichel. DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche are back in the post-season. But they may have to move on without Matt Duchene. If Semyon Varlamov continues his breakout season, the Avalanche might not miss their leading scorer. Varlamov had a season-high 47 saves and Colorado clinched its first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Center John Mitchell had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who moved past Chicago into second place in the Central Division with 100 points in what might have been a costly victory. Duchene suffered a left knee injury on the opening shift Saturday when he collided with teammate Jamie McGinn near the Sharks blue line. He fell to the ice and then gingerly skated to the bench. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday. "Well know more after that," coach Patrick Roy said. "Its not good news for him and its not good news for us. Its the way its been all year." Despite the injuries -- Colorado has lost top-six forwards Alex Tanguay and P.A. Parenteau -- the constant has been Varlamov. He came through again against the relentless Sharks, who threw 74 shots at him. Colorado blocked 25. "Im guessing he was the first star," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said of Varlamov. "He should be." Down a player, Varlamov made up for it with an outstanding performance. He stopped 20 shots in the third period, many during the final minutes when the Sharks were trying to get the equalizer. His 37 wins are the most in the NHL and a big reason the Avalanche reached 100 points for the first time in 10 years. "Hes been tremendous," captain Gabe Landeskog said. "I think its safe to say we wouldnt be here without him." Colorado was a mainstay in the playoffs when the franchise moved to Denver in 1995. After winning the Stanley Cup for a second time in 2001, the Avalanche reached the Western Conference finals the following season before heading into lean times. Now they have a chance to return to the glory years with a young, eager group. "Were certainly not satisfied with just squeaking into the playoffs, we want to do damage," Landeskog said. Mitchell moved upp to centre Colorados top line, and came through with a big power-play goal to give Colorado a 3-1 lead at 6:32 of the second period.dddddddddddd "It came right to me slow enough so I could get a forehand shot and I just one-timed it into the back of the net," Mitchell said. "I was just at the right place at the right time." Paul Stastny and Cody McLeod also scored for Colorado. Varlamovs strong play beforehand helped Colorado maintain a 2-1 lead. The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 11-3 in the second, many of those coming early when they were trying to tie it. Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle scored for the Sharks, who are 1-2-2 in their past five games but still hold a slim lead for first place in the Pacific over Anaheim. Goalie Alex Stalock had 19 saves for San Jose before being pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute. "I thought we played extremely well, thought we generated a lot of chances," Joe Thornton said. "Its just sometimes you dont win those types of games." Boyle cut the lead to 3-2 when he took a pass from James Sheppard and scored off Varlamovs left shoulder 2:03 after Mitchell. It was his 10th goal of the season. The Sharks got a chance to tie on a 4-on-3 power play after Ryan OReilly took his first penalty of the season, a minor for playing with a broken stick. Stastnys 26th goal 1:33 into the game gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. Pavelski tied it on the power play less than two minutes later with his 38th. The Sharks had another power-play chance midway through the first, but McLeod sneaked behind the defence, took a long pass from Nick Holden off Boyles glove and beat Stalock to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. "I took my eye off the puck for a fraction of a second to make sure I wasnt going to get drilled," Boyle said. "I just caught a piece of it and missed it. Thats an unfortunate bounce." NOTES: Mitchell returned to the lineup after missing four games with a back injury. ... The Sharks reassigned F Freddie Hamilton to Worcester of the AHL on Friday. ... McGinn played after skipping practice Friday. He took a shot off his foot in Thursdays win over Vancouver. ' ' '