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LOS ANGELES - On a night that seemed destined to belong to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, it was the Toronto Raptors and their first-year general manager that stole the show. Fake Sneakers . With only 11 players in uniform, just eight of which got into the game, the Raptors spoiled Bryants disappointing season debut just hours after Masai Ujiri pulled off a franchise-altering move. "I really applaud our players for the fact they came in and banded together," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said following a 106-94 victory in the aftermath of Sunday evenings trade that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento in a seven-player swap. Set to board the team bus and make his way over to Staples Center, Gay was told to hang back at the hotel. He had been dealt. He was shocked. So too were Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy - who are alsoNew heading to the Kings in the deal - and the rest of their teammates, most of whom found out about the transaction upon arriving at the arena. As Toronto said goodbye to its best, or at least highest paid player, the Lakers welcomed theirs back. Nearly eight months after tearing his left Achilles, Bryant returned to the court, scoring just nine points and committing eight turnovers in 28 minutes of action. Without Gay, along with Gray, Acy and Tyler Hansbrough - who sat out with a sprained left shoulder - the Raptors led wire-to-wire and snapped a five-game losing streak, playing some of their best and most inspired basketball of the season. "Like I told the team," Casey said, "thats the way were going to play, no matter who is in uniform." "Were going to continue to play that way or theyre not going to continue to play. Thats the way its got to be. No disrespect to anyone but we have to play as a unit to be successful." In the absence of Gay - who was taking a career-most 18.6 shots per game while shooting a career-worst 29 per cent - the Raptors offence looked more diverse and cohesive. Toronto registered 19 assists as a team and 13 from the backcourt tandem of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan while California-native Amir Johnson led the way with a career-best 32 points on an efficient 14-of-17 from the field. "Tonights winning helps lift the cloud," Casey insisted, unable to comment directly on the trade until its made official following a conference call with the league on Monday. "Everyones talking about Kobe coming back and the trade but our guys had what you have to have; a discipline." "I told our guys, no matter what happened or whats in the paper or in the media, we have to be disciplined and focused on what weve got to do, our jobs here. We cant control whos in uniform, whos traded." Gray took the news in stride, learning about the deal during his pre-game workout at the arena. The veteran - who turned 27 on Saturday - finished his workout and had a smile on his face as he cracked jokes and bid his teammates farewell in the visitors locker room. Acy, 23, was more emotional after being traded for the first time, by the only team hes known in his professional career. "Big thank you to the Toronto Raptors organization for drafting me and giving me a chance," he tweeted Sunday night. "Imma miss everything about the city and the fans and the organization as a whole, thanks for helping mold me." "It was kind of a bit emotional," Johnson said, comparing it to the day Gay was acquired nearly 10 months prior, when the Raptors said goodbye to Jose Calderon and Ed Davis prior to a game in Atlanta. Johnson spoke with Gay over the phone, thanking him for everything he gave the team and the city during his brief tenure in Toronto. Lowry, his best friend, exchanged texts with him throughout the evening. "It was difficult, especially for me," said Lowry, Gay being the godfather of his son. "At the end of the day its a business and we have to move on. Hes still going to be my boy. Hes still going to be everyone on this teams boy." "We had to block it out and just play." Although the Raptors say goodbye to their most talented player, they may be a better team - in both the short and long term - because of it. Less, sometimes is more, evident in their win on Sunday. Without Gay - an inefficient, high-volume scorer - there are more shots to be distributed amongst more efficient players, the ball doesnt stick nearly as much and the team can focus on the continued development of DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross. The addition of Greivis Vasquez, however temporary it proves to be, should help in the development of those players, specifically Valanciunas. Vasquez, 26, finished second in most improved player voting last season after breaking out in New Orleans and fills a current need at the backup point guard position, also making Lowry expendable in a subsequent trade. John Salmons, 33, will become the oldest player on the Raptors roster. He may or may not report and if he does he may or may not play. Patterson, 24, a stretch-four and Hayes, 30, a hard-nosed rebounder are both serviceable but more than anything else the deal was made to give the Raptors much-needed cap flexibility. In one fell swoop Ujiri turned one gargantuan contract - believed to be untradeable - into four far more manageable deals. Toronto can save roughly $14.5 million for next season. While Hayes will be under contract, making $5.9 million next season, Salmons has a $1.0 million buy-out option on a non-guaranteed $7.0 million deal and Vasquez, along with Patterson could become free agents if the Raptors pull their qualifying offers. "I believe in Masai, hes big time," Casey said after the game. "Hes shown it, hes done some great things. He knows talent, hes a salesman, so I believe in him." Fake Nike Shoes . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Cheap Fake Shoes . On the eve of the 2013-14 NBA season, he can finally take a step back and allow his team to do the talking. https://www.fakeshoes.net/ After game three of the NBA Finals, US expert Alex Ferguson assesses whether the Cleveland Cavaliers can continue their comeback against the Golden State Warriors. Cleveland completed a crushing 120-90 victory in Game 3, trimming Golden States series lead to 2-1 in the NBA Finals, but can the Cavaliers dethrone the reigning champions?Alex Ferguson looks ahead… LeBron James sparked to life after a lacklustre start to the series After being savaged in Oakland by the Golden State Warriors in the first two games of the NBA Finals, Cleveland looked completely and utterly lost.Kyrie Irving couldnt hit a thing, LeBron James was turning the ball over like your dear writer does whenever he plays pick-up games with friends, and the only sound JR Smith heard when hitting a three was clunk as ball hit metal and flew out.On the other side, the Warriors survived without explosive performances from either Steph Curry or Klay Thompson. That was because everyone else was sharp and Cleveland simply could not compete. Steph Curry is yet to display his best form for the Warriors How are Cleveland going to get back into this? people said, shaking their heads.Immediately, they decided to blame LeBron James. After all, he is the best player on the court. He should be taking Golden State apart on his own, right?Although James had not had a great first two games (especially his 11 total turnovers, including a seven turnover performance in Game 2), it was not all about James.Irving and Smith were a shambles, and Kevin Love - who seems to be the king of injuries when it comes to important games - was sidelined with a concussion that limited his play. No one else off Clevelands bench could even come close to Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa and Harrison Barnes.Cleveland might have the best player in the finals, but Golden State has the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. How are they meant to coompete? said one member of the US media. Discount Fake Shoes. But, if you go back to it all, Cleveland really came apart in the third quarter of Game 1.After facing a double-digit deficit, the Cavaliers roared back to lead the game, quietening the voracious Golden State crowd. But as they missed two or three shots in a row, Golden State made theirs - all from three-point range.Suddenly a deficit of one was a deficit of 10 and the rest of the game - and Game 2 - wasnt even a competition. Funny what a few missed shots can do against a great shooting team.Back to Cleveland Klay Thompson has been hampered by a fresh injury Well, Cleveland had to compete in Game 3, and they did so. Actually, it wasnt a competition. That would have been too nice to describe what happened in Game 3. It was a hammering.At the start of the game, Curry had more fouls than he did points, and by the end of the game, his 19 points belied his worst three-point shooting game since Game 4 against Oklahoma City. Thompson, his splash brother, had to come off with a thigh injury which hardly helped matters either. He came back in, but by then it was too late.There was a patch in the second quarter during which Cleveland could not get anything to hit and the Warriors closed to a makeable eight-point deficit at half-time. LeBron and Kyrie went colder than a January night in Newcastle and Harrison Barnes was leading the charge.But in the third quarter, Clevelands energy returned and by the middle of the fourth quarter, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr was putting up the white flag and sending in the reserves.What will happen in Game 4?I have a sneaky suspicion that Cleveland will win Game 4 on Friday night. They have (some) momentum back and they suddenly believe a bit more after an unbelievably bad first two games in Oakland.All they have to do is keep LeBron, Irving and Smith hot and Curry cold. 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