TORONTO -- Embarrassed by the Toronto Raptors 13 days ago, the Atlanta Hawks made up for that poor performance in the rematch.Dwight Howard had 27 points and 15 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the season to lead the Hawks to a 125-121 victory over the Raptors on Friday night.Toronto had a franchise-record 44-point victory over its Eastern Conference rival on Dec. 3. In this one, Atlanta responded with a season-high scoring effort and shot a season-best 53.5 percent from the field.I thought our energy was better tonight, Howard said. We locked in on defense and we forced some of their guys to take tough shots. I thought last game they just got any shot they wanted.The Raptors made the game close down the stretch with 39 points in the fourth quarter, closing to within three on DeMar DeRozans layup with 10.6 seconds left. However, Dennis Schroder converted a free throw with 6.7 seconds to re-establish a four-point Atlanta edge, and Kyle Lowrys miss on a 3 with 1.9 seconds left ended Torontos comeback effort.Despite the frantic finish, overall Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer was pleased with his teams defensive effort.The first half I thought the defense was very good, theres maybe some slippage in the second but anytime you can come in here and get a win, you are doing something on both ends of the court, he said.Kyle Korver did his best to help on the offensive end with a season-high 19 points, including a season-high six 3-pointers, while Schroder added 24 points.For the Raptors, DeRozan had 34 points, his third straight 30-point outing and 14th of the season to tie a career high, with Lowry adding another 24, including a season-high-equaling six 3-pointers, as Toronto saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. The defeat to Atlanta was Torontos fourth against an Eastern Conference club, but its first to someone other than Cleveland.After allowing an opponent season-high 69 points in the first half, and getting outrebounded 44-26, Toronto coach Dwane Casey was less than impressed with his teams defensive effort. Thats something he has preached even as his team has scored 100 points in 13 consecutive games, the second longest streak in team history and the longest active one in the NBA.We scored enough points, 121 points, shooting 54 percent, 47 percent from the 3, Casey said. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out where our problem is.While Lowry agreed with his coachs assessment, he was also happy to give credit to Atlanta, particularly given the 128-84 score the last time the two teams met.They played aggressive and they played like they wanted to win, he said. Tip our hats to them, its one game for us and they beat us fair and square. We will look at the film; they beat us tonight, they really beat us.TIP-INSHawks: G Tim Hardaway remained in the starting lineup for the third straight game even as usual starter G Kent Bazemore returned after missing the last two games with right knee soreness.Raptors: C Lucas Nogueira returned to the starting lineup after missing Wednesdays game with a sore right knee. ... The crowd at Air Canada Centre observed a moments silence in memory of late TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager. ... In defeat, the Raptors scored at least 120 points for the eighth time this season, one shy of the franchise record of nine, set in the 2014-15 and 2005-06 seasons.SWEET 16With his second of two free throws with 1:15 to go in the first half, Howard became the NBAs newest member of the 16,000-point club. The shot gave him a first-half high 18 points.UP NEXTHawks: Host Charlotte on Saturday with Atlanta looking for a fifth straight home win against the Hornets.Raptors: At Orlando on Sunday for the first of four meetings between the teams this season. Hydro Flask Straw Lid 32 Oz . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Water Bottle Hydro Flask Coffee 12 oz Coffee Lemon . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. http://www.hydroflaskaustralia.com/straw-lid.html . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Water Bottle Hydro Flask 18 oz Wide Mouth Flamingo . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Water Bottle Hydro Flask 24 oz Standard Mouth Pacific . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. The barnyard and zoo animals cant make it Friday night. Theyre shipping up to Boston for hockey. No way around it; their scholarships require it.True story: The dozen or so students who turn out for University of Minnesota womens volleyball matches as cows, pigs, penguins, Super Mario Brothers and a gorilla arent just goofy students. Theyre actually athletes themselves, and outstanding ones at that -- the two-time defending NCAA champion Minnesota womens hockey team.Eight live in off-campus housing diagonally across the street from volleyball seniors Sarah Wilhite, Hannah and Paige Tapp, and Katie Schau. The volleyball Gophers are 2-0 when the hockey Gophers show up in costume, and Wilhite and Co. would love to see their pals cheering in the student section at this weekends NCAA regional in Minneapolis.Unfortunately, Friday night is out. The hockey team will be finishing its game at Boston University while, back home, Minnesota meets Missouri in the Sweet 16. But if the volleyball team advances to Saturdays regional final, the hockey team might be back in time to catch some of the match. Hockey starts at 3 p.m. EST and charters home afterward; volleyball tips at 10 p.m.Thats a game-changer, said junior forward Kelly Pannek, the leading scorer in Division I. It would be fun if we could swing by.Gophers volleyball is the hottest ticket on campus these days, reflecting the groundswell of support for Hugh McCutcheons dynamic squad that ranks No. 1 in one national poll and No. 2 in the other.The 27-4 Gophers sold out their last four Big Ten Conference matches at the 5,200-capacity Sports Pavilion -- the Pav for short -- as well as the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. Tickets were so tight for the second round against Hawaii that scalpers worked the perimeter of the Pav, rare for a Minnesota womens game.Athletes claim some of the 200 day-of-the-match student tickets, cramming into small bleachers behind each end line.Showing up in costume isnt unusual at Minnesota. The student section at basketballs Williams Arena, a.k.a. The Barn, is known as The Barnyard, and many dress the part. Basketball coach Richard Pitinos brother Ryan once came to a game in a chicken suit and sat next to their father, Louisville coach Rick Pitino. The photos of them went viral.The hockey dress-up gag began with volleyballs Oct. 29 match against Penn State. Senior defenseman Kelsey Cline said everyone already had their Halloween costumes, so as a goof they decided to wear them to the match. We said, What the heck? Cline said. The Gophers won in straight setts before a raucous crowd of 5,391.ddddddddddddAfter the match we went over to the volleyball girls house, Cline said. They told us how much they loved it and how much it helped them. They said, Youve got to come to the rest of our home games.Conflicting schedules prevented that until Nov. 23, the night before Thanksgiving, when Minnesota faced top-ranked and reigning national champion Nebraska. Hockey coach Brad Frost keeps a stash of costumes in his office for an annual Halloween-themed practice, and the players raided the closet before heading over. Cline dressed as a penguin and Pannek a leprechaun.An even bigger sellout of 5,401 saw Minnesota drop the first two sets and trail 23-20 in the third before rallying to win, 28-26, 25-17, 17-15. The Big Ten Network televised the match and featured the players in crowd shots.It was something funny to do, like high school days, having a theme for the football game, Pannek said. We were just doing something a little bit different and standing out.The atmosphere at the Pav, a converted hockey arena, rocks. Thats not a recent development. Minnesota ranked among the top 10 in NCAA attendance in the final decade of former coach Mike Herberts 15 seasons (he retired in 2010), and the Pav attendance record of 5,840 dates to 1999.But the next four largest crowds all happened since McCutcheon, the two-time U.S. Olympic coach, arrived in 2012. This season, only Nebraska (8,199), Hawaii (6,579) and Wisconsin (5,915) topped the Gophers (4,766) in average home attendance.Because NCAA tournament regulations prohibit the host team from egging on their crowd, the customary public address call-and-response to Minnesota points -- Point U! -- is out for postseason play. But last Saturday night, by the end of Minnesotas three-set victory over Hawaii, some in the crowd yelled Point U! without prompting.Its loud, and the fans are supercrazy, Rainbow Wahine senior middle hitter Annie Mitchem said. It was hard to come back after we were down.McCutcheon appreciates the assist.If people are feeling connected to what were doing, thats great, he said. The reason for that would be, our athletes are authentic. They work hard. Theyre out there competing. Theyre trying to win the next point. And we happen to play in the best league in the country. If you like volleyball, its probably pretty good to watch. 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