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BROOKLYN - If you subscribe to the concept of momentum, theres reason to be concerned about the Raptors chances going into Sundays series deciding Game 7. The shift began amid Wednesdays fourth-quarter meltdown, a 44-point browbeating, and carried over to Fridays Game 6. Facing elimination on their home court, a desperate Nets team jumped out to a 34-19 lead after 12 minutes and the Raptors - dazed and confused - never recovered, trailing for the duration. So how crucial is momentum at this time of year? "If you look at the series, the way its gone, its been like a roller coaster the whole time," Dwane Casey said following his teams 97-83 loss in Brooklyn, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday afternoon, tipping off at 1:00 PM from the Air Canada Centre. "Every game has been different." And that was the extent of Caseys post-game assembly. Questions about momentum, clearly favouring their surging opponents. Questions regarding experience, also favouring the veteran Nets. The Raptors were being written off before departing Brooklyn. "To listen to some of this, we may as well not play Game 7," said an agitated Casey. "Every game is different and I know our team will bounce back." For a brief, fleeting moment, Caseys team played the unfamiliar role of favourites, up 3-2 in the series, and it wasnt a good look for them. From the moment Rudy Gay was traded theyve fancied themselves underdogs. Its what brought them together, its what motivates them. Without that built-in adversity, they were unrecognizable. The Nets opened the game with the fight you would expect from a team on the ropes and for whatever reason, Toronto was unable to match it. The Raptors were flat offensively and showed little-to-no resistance on defence. Brooklyn outscored the Raptors 22-4 in the paint, out-rebounded them 14-4 and shot an impressive 68 per cent from the field. They moved the ball, got in the lane at will and controlled the tempo of the game from the jump, while the Raptors could barely get into their offensive sets. "It just comes down to who wants it more," DeMar DeRozan had said the day prior. On Friday it was all Brooklyn. "We didnt really realize we had Brooklyn against the wall and we didnt take advantage of it like we should," said DeRozan after leading the team with 28 points, no one else scored more than Kyle Lowrys 11. "We should have known they were going to come out throwing haymakers and we werent ready for it until the second half." "We just didnt come out with the competitive nature that we needed tonight," Lowry added. "They did an unbelievable job of forcing their will on the game tonight, but we have to find a way to match that intensity." In taking control of the series, Toronto had finally dodged the dreaded inexperience narrative that theyve been trying to shake since they drew the Nets but here it is, rearing its head once again. This was a scenario Casey had considered, one he feared. "I was concerned about what would happen tonight," the Raptors coach admitted. "[In] any Game 6, a team is going to come out with a desperate mindset. With this team, they built to win a championship this year, and theyre going to come out and give you their best shot. [I] knew that coming in and tried to warn our team. Guys who havent been in Game 6 before, its one of the toughest things to do." "Again, experience is the best teacher. Now were going into Game 7, its our first time at that. Luckily we have it at home." Yes, they will play Sundays elimination game in the friendly confines of their home gym, in front of a fan base that has been exceptionally supportive throughout their playoff run. That may be the only tangible reason to like their odds. As a franchise, the Raptors have only participated in one Game 7, the infamous day of Vince Carters graduation and missed fadeaway back in 2001. They have never hosted a deciding playoff game at the Air Canada Centre. With Portlands win over Houston, the Raptors now have the NBAs longest active streak without a playoff series victory. None of Torontos starters have played in a Game 7 while Paul Pierce alone has appeared in eight, Kevin Garnett in six and Joe Johnson in four. And then theres the momentum, if you believe in such things. The Raptors say they dont buy into momentum. The Nets, however, are counting on it. "I think we just need to take this momentum from this game into the next," said Nets forward Andray Blatche, who guaranteed a victory on Wednesday and did the same for Game 7. "I think our momentum will carry over. I think we found a recipe in getting a win on defence and offence and controlling the paint." So here they are. After all this time - two weeks, six games, broken shot clocks, a lint-free global ambassador and an F-bomb dropping general manager - the division-winning Toronto Raptors are right back where they started. Theyre a young, inexperienced team in over their heads, right? Maybe. But if nothing else, theyre back in their comfort zone. Theyre going to be overlooked, theyre going to be the underdogs. So, count them out at your own risk. "We believe in ourselves," Patrick Patterson insisted. "Everyone in this locker room believes in ourselves. Weve believed in ourselves all year long. For us to have any doubt in our minds right now is unacceptable. Its not like we cant beat them. Weve beat them before. Weve done it in the regular season [and] weve done it in the playoffs." "Now we know its win or go home," DeRozan said. "Everything is on the line now. Either we step up and we play with a force from the jump ball to the end of the game, or well be going home the next day." 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On July 27 cyclings best-known race will host "La Course by Le Tour de France" -- a one-day womens competition staged hours before Tour riders race on the same circuit to finish the three-week event on Paris Champs-Elysees.MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Sam Reinhart spent plenty of time growing up in Vancouver playing hockey in an upstairs playroom with brothers Max and Griffin. The sons of longtime NHL defenceman Paul Reinhart broke a few windows, but it was worth it as they grew up in the game. Max was a third-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2010, but it took Sam seeing Griffin put on a New York Islanders jersey as the fourth overall pick in 2012 to start to visualize what his draft-day moment could be like. Thatll come June 27 in Philadelphia as Sam Reinhart is expected to be one of the top three picks. Once that sinks in and Reinhart goes about preparing for his first NHL training camp, he will draw from the experience he had in early May with Canadas world hockey championship team. The Kootenay Ice forward thinks hes ready for the pros because he joined Team Canada for its training camp and exhibition game against Switzerland in Zurich. "I got a little taste of it at the international level for a couple days in Switzerland," he said Friday at the NHLs annual scouting combine. "It was pretty amazing to see how I handled practice one compared to practice three and really picked up the pace and felt comfortable pretty quick out there." Reinhart had to think quick well before he ever stepped onto the ice. He got the call from Hockey Canada on Friday night and needed to decide whether to get on a plane to Europe Saturday afternoon. "It was a pretty quick turnaround to kind of drop everything and go over there," the 18-year-old centre said. "It was a tough decision at the time but really turned out to be a positive experience. Its really paying off right now." Reinhart didnt have much more to prove. He had represented Canada the under-18 world championships twice, winning gold in 2013, and then was on this past years world-junior team. Named WHL player of the year for putting up 105 points in 60 games with the Ice, Reinhart is third among North American skaters in NHL Central Scoutings final rankings. But it didnt hurt Reinhart to show what he could do surrounded by players who will soon be his peers. He already knew Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly, Flames centre Sean Monahan and Canucks defenceman Jason Garrison, but being on the ice with them in that environment was a different story. "He didnt look out of place,"t; Team Canada coach Dave Tippett said in a phone interview Friday afternoon.dddddddddddd "He carried himself like a pro player. He picked up the things we were trying to do in the drills very well. The biggest thing you could tell, and its probably a little bit because of his upbringing -- he wasnt intimidated by the situation at all and just jumped in there and played." Even though Reinhart was an extra forward for the exhibition game, Tippett liked how he made the most out of his eight or nine minutes of ice time. Had an injury occurred before the team left Zurich, there was some discussion about adding Reinhart to the team, which wouldve made him the youngest by two months over Nathan MacKinnon. Reinhart worked to show what he could do if that happened. "Youre not going in with the mind-set that youre coming home in a couple days," he said. "You know obviously the odds are you will. But you never know what happens at that point." Ultimately, Reinhart got sent home while the Canadian team went on to Minsk. But not before he made a positive impression on Tippett and his staff. "Hes a mature kid," Tippett said. "Obviously I think being from a family that has grown up around pro hockey, that helps the situation. You could tell that he wasnt in awe of the situation at all. He just got in there and got to work and fit in well with the group." Reinhart is part of a bigger group at this weeks combine outside Toronto as one of 117 of the top prospects going through interviews and then fitness testing Saturday. Along with Kingston centre Sam Bennett and Barrie defenceman Aaron Ekblad, though, Reinhart is part of the small faction of potential No. 1 selections, whether the Florida Panthers keep or trade the pick. The six-foot-one, 186-pound playmaker is known for his hockey sense and vision. Of course there are things he feels like he needs to get better at, including lower-body strength. "It just doesnt happen over a summer, Ive been focusing on it for a long time now and I feel confident with it," Reinhart said. Another question is his speed, but if Reinhart himself was at all worried, Zurich made him feel better. "I felt with the pace over there I kept up pretty well," he said. "I felt really confident with it, leading into the next day and it was amazing how much you improved." ' ' '