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(SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Lowry scored a new four-year, $48 million dollar contract with the Toronto Raptors after his breakout season last year, but many people wondered if the leap in Lowrys game was due in large part to his impending free agency. Well, wonder no more, because the 28-year old point guard has been even better this season. Lowry is averaging a career-high 20.1 points, along with 7.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds, but most importantly, hes been the best player on the team that has the top record in the East at 16-6. Give the guy unbelievable credit, said Raptors GM Masai Ujiri last Thursday. He stepped up as a person, he stepped up as a player. Everyone said if you give this guy this contract hes going to come back fat, hes going to do this, do that. Its unbelievable. Kyle Lowry is an all-star. I could care less what anyone says - Kyle Lowry is an all-star. A number of other teams reportedly pursued Lowry in free agency, but in the end it seemed like a pretty easy choice to stay with the Raptors. I think the situation was perfect for me, Lowry said. We had 11 guys coming back. The continuity was there. Overall, I think it was the best situation for me to win and (be) a big part of it. Of course, I looked at other places, but at the end of the day, I started something in Toronto and I wanted to finish it in Toronto, added Lowry. I wanted to be a part of it, I wanted to be a part of this organization and franchise. It comes with the continuity of the team, the ownership, management, coaches. Everything blends in together and you want to be part of an up-and-coming organization. To his credit, the eight-year veteran also wanted the responsibility of being the lead guy. In this day and age, (you) think about who youre playing with and who youre going to be playing against, he said. I made my decision on me and me being happy and me wanting to be in the situation that I wanted to be in. Of course I could have went to a few places where I would be third fiddle or fourth fiddle, but I wanted to be in a situation where the pressure was on me. When youre a pro and youre competitive, you want that pressure. You want that opportunity to say, Listen, the balls in my hand, and Ill take the good with the bad and the bad with the good. The decision to remain in Toronto was also fueled by the Raptors fan base, which really got behind them during the teams surprising run last season. We sell out almost every single night, Lowry said. I think the fans in Toronto are some of the best fans in the world. Theyre just passionate. They care about their teams winning games. Every night, the Maple Leafs sell out. We sell out. Its just one of those cities thats underrated. Lowry is turning into one of the best two-way players in the league and shows the kind of leadership, tenacity and intensity that you dont even see from some of the other star players. A perfect example is how he reacted to a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in what was the first game that the Raptors played without DeMar DeRozan after losing their All-Star guard indefinitely due to a torn groin on November 28. Lowry reached out to his GM to let him know there was no need to worry. [Kyle] texted me after the Laker game. [He said] I shot the ball too much. We werent in sync. We will win in Sacramento and I will play better, Ujiri said. Coming from the leader of your team, thats the voice that you want to hear. Thats the confidence you want. Hes not over-confident, but he knows how to carry himself. Lowry backed up his words in a big way by putting up 27 points and 13 assists in the Raptors 117-109 win. And the following night in Utah on back-to-back games, he scored 39 points on 13-of-22 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from downtown as the Raptors routed the Jazz. His play was good enough to earn him Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for the week ending Dec. 7, as he averaged an NBA-best 29.3 points along with 8.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals as Toronto went 2-1. With Lowry playing at such a high level, I dont expect the Raptors to slide too badly during DeRozans absence. Air Jordan China . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier. Clearance Air Jordan Store . The 40-year-old midfielder was put in charge on Tuesday when David Moyes reign ended after 10 months with the defending champions in seventh place in the English Premier League. https://www.jordanchina.us/ .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season. Wholesale Air Jordan . The team made the announcement after Saturdays 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. RHP Kenny Giles will be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Adams spot on the roster. Cheap Jordan From China .m. ET, CBSOPENING LINE — Colts by 5RECORD VS. SPREAD — Cincinnati 8-8, Indianapolis 11-5SERIES RECORD — Colts lead 18-10LAST MEETING — Colts beat Bengals 27-0, Oct.OAKLAND, Calif. - Steve Kerr knows the Golden State Warriors will have tougher days ahead this season, that there are higher hurdles to clear and bigger goals to reach.That doesnt mean he wont enjoy the present.Were 34-6. How can you not love that? a smiling Kerr said after Thursdays practice.The Warriors are off to the best start in franchise history, have the NBAs best record and are winning at such a blistering pace that Kerr and his staff already have secured their spots to coach the talented Western Conference in next months All-Star Game at New Yorks Madison Square Garden.The NBA also announced Thursday night that Stephen Curry (1,513,324) edged LeBron James (1,470,483) for the most All-Star votes. He becomes the first player for Golden State elected to consecutive starts since Hall of Famer Chris Mullin in 1991-92.Indeed, the Warriors have little to complain about as they hit the official midpoint of their season when they host Sacramento on Friday night.The messy divorce that was Mark Jacksons firing last May is well in the past. Players are as healthy as they could hope — minus a sprained left ankle that has sidelined backup centre Festus Ezeli for a month — and they are dominating like no other team.The Warriors lead the league in shooting (48.7 per cent), opponents shooting (42.1 per cent), points per game (110.7), assists per game (27.1), 3-point shooting (39 per cent) and point differential (plus-11.8).Thats the largest margin of victory since Kerrs days playing with Michael Jordan on the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who outscored the opposition by 12.2 points. Yes, the same Bulls team that won an NBA-record 72 games, claimed their fifth title and carved out a place in league lore as one of the greatest teams ever.The Warriors, who are on pace for 70 wins, have a long way to go before being compared to that club or any of the other ones that lifted the Larry OBrien Trophy. Kerr sees little comparison to those Jordan juggernauts — though he has increasingly faced questions about the similarities — other than the way his current team competes hard at both ends.What Kerr is trying to impart on his players from his experience on that team is to strive for perfection each game, stay focused for 48 minutes and dont worry about their standing or their opponents record. Thats the difference bettween the teams people remember, he said, and the ones they dont.dddddddddddd.Its the same challenge for everybody: 82 games. You get worn down. You get tired mentally and physically. So its important for any team to fight through that, Kerr said. Its easier, I think, when youre winning. Its fun. Every day is fun. The focus and the concentration should be something we get better with as the season goes because were building more and more momentum all the time.Keeping players fresh will be the other challenge.Kerr has talked about resting players more often in the second half of the season, as he did last week when he gave centre Andrew Bogut and forward Andre Iguodala the night off at Oklahoma City — the Warriors only loss in their last 12 games. He also expects to lighten the practice load, especially with a lot of road games in February and March.The Warriors will benefit from a deeper bench — anchored by former All-Stars David Lee and Iguodala— than during any of their past two playoff runs, when injuries and heavy minutes wore them down. Theyll also lean on the improved play from Curry — a rising MVP candidate — and backcourt teammate Klay Thompson, who could make his first All-Star team as a reserve.We just want to keep that momentum going throughout the course of the season, Curry said. And that will put us in pretty good position when it comes time to compare ourselves to the rest of the league and the rest of the Western Conference.These current Warriors have something else to strive for in the seasons second half, too.No player or team in franchise history has experienced this pace of winning this deep into the season. Not Rick Barry. Not Wilt Chamberlain. Not Run TMC or We Believe.This already is the latest in the year that the Warriors have had the best record in the league since going a franchise-best 59-23 in the 1975-76 season — a year after winning their only NBA title since moving West.And while a championship remains the goal, players admit setting a few marks along the way would be pretty sweet.We still got to get there, but if we do break it, it will definitely mean something, Thompson said. Theres been some dark times with the Warriors before this little resurrection. So its gonna feel great.___Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP ' ' '