TORONTO -- Jonas Valanciunas was five years old when Kevin Garnett earned his first of 15 NBA all-star selections. Jimmy Wynn Jersey . He was 11 when Garnett was named the league MVP. Valanciunas -- now 21 -- went toe to toe with the 37-year-old Garnett in Torontos loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their playoff series last Saturday. And if there was any sense of awe in the name on the back of the Brooklyn jersey he was guarding, the young Valanciunas didnt show it, laying down a monster game in his post-season debut. "He was not intimidated, he wasnt fazed by the physicality or guarding a legend like KG. Youre talking about a guy who is going to be in the Hall of Fame," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "I told our guys, Youve got to respect them because those guys have accomplished a lot in this league. But you cant fear them. KG would think less of him, knowing him, if it was anything less. Respect him, but you cant fear him. (Valanciunas) did that." The Raptors host Game 2 of the series on Tuesday, then it shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. Valanciunas had 17 points and 18 rebounds in the opener of the seven-game series, while holding Garnett to five points. While many of the Raptors appeared overwhelmed by the enormity of their first playoff appearance in six seasons -- for some players, it was their first playoff appearance, period -- Valanciunas looked especially fired up from the opening tipoff. When asked Monday about guarding Garnett, Valanciunas merely shrugged. "Hes the same Garnett in regular season, so Im playing him the same way. Just maybe adding 10 per cent more effort," Valanciunas said, laughing. On Garnetts infamous trash talking: "I dont understand English. So Im OK." More laughter. On whether Garnett was a player he looked up to growing up in Utena, Lithuania: "His last name is really famous, so I heard about him when I was a kid." Respect, but no fear. What helped Valanciunas keep the nerves at bay, Casey believes, is thats hes accustomed to playing in front of noisy, passionate crowds. "Thats one thing with the Euroleague, hes played in some big games over there for his country," Casey said. "He was not fazed by the crowd, by the moment, by it being the playoffs. I thought he did a good job of fighting the physicality, getting inside, rebounding, using his length against KG and (Nets centre Mason) Plumlee." As the Raptors season continues, so does Valanciunass development. His rebounds Saturday were a Raptors post-season record. His double-double was only the second by a Raptor in their playoff debut (Tracy McGrady recorded the other in 2000). He scored a career-high 26 points earlier this month, less than three days after he was charged with drunk driving. "Its a positive. Him growing over the last month or so has really been a positive for our season," Casey said. "Hes our future. Hes our starting centre for a while to come so its great to see. Plus, hes a great kid. He works at it." Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez, meanwhile, grew up watching the Nets other NBA legend Paul Pierce. He even attended Pierces basketball camp when he was a kid. The 36-year-old Pierce was huge down the stretch in Game 1, scoring nine of his 15 points in the final three minutes. Asked if there was one thing he learned from Pierces camp, Vasquez replied, with a wide grin: "I did. How to be clutch." Vasquez played like he was similarly unfazed by the big names on the opposing team. Vasquez, one of four Raptors acquired in December in the trade that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento, scored 18 points off the bench and doled out eight assists. "You know what, to me, its fun," Vasquez said. "Im an underdog guy, so Ive got to prove myself every day. I wake up with 220,000 pounds on my shoulder, so Ive got to be able to find a way to walk and get to my job. "Its fun when you face Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, KG. I mean, I grew up watching those guys, especially Paul Pierce. Now I got a chance to beat em? To me, I cant ask for anything better than that. Its fun. Its a basketball game, man, at the end of the day weve all got two hands. We all can shoot. Weve got one of the best point guards, too (in Kyle Lowry). Ill take our chances, man." For the players who did look affected by the nerves in Game 1 -- all-star DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross, to name two -- Casey and his players believe Game 2 will be an entirely different story. "Were disappointed but were anxious to get a second chance at it. I think the second time around well get the first game jitters away, out of us," Casey said. Game 2 could be a repeat of Game 1 when it comes to officiating. The Raptors werent on the favourable end of any calls in the fourth quarter on Saturday. They sounded resigned to the fact after Mondays practice. "Weve accepted that all year long as far as not getting recognition or getting respect or even getting calls we think we should get," said Raptors forward Patrick Patterson. "Thats happened all year long, so for us to think its going to change in the playoffs, were fooling ourselves. We have to go out there and not worry about the referees, not worry about the calls and just play basketball." The Raptors are hoping for a repeat performance by the Air Canada Centre crowd. A sellout crowd of 19,800 took in Game 1, clad in white T-shirts and waving white towels, thanks to a pre-game giveaway. Hundreds more fans watched the game on the big screen in Maple Leaf Square outside the arena. "Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Casey marvelled. "We were in Dallas for the (NBA) championship ... but this arena Saturday was unbelievable. I was proud of our fans. They showed the NBA what were about. The white-out, it was unbelievable. The enthusiasm. They not only cheered when we were up, they cheered when we were behind. It was constant. It was like a soccer crowd. "Our players appreciated it. We appreciate it now weve got to go out and reciprocate with our effort." Saturdays game was also a ratings hit for TSN. Overnight data from BBM Canada indicated an average audience of 539,000 viewers watched Game 1. It was the most-watched Raptors game on English television in Canada since 2002, the network said in a release. Yuli Gurriel Jersey . (January 11, 2014) – Once again Kevin Martin proved why he is the all-time TSN skins leader, winning $11,500 in prize money and a spot in the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game presented by Pintys final following a semifinal victory over Brad Jacobs earlier this evening at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alta. Jeff Bagwell Jersey . The Heat centre scored 10 of his 30 points early in the first quarter to silence the Toronto fans as Miami defeated the Raptors 113-101 on Friday night. http://www.astrosteamproshop.com/Astros-Brian-Mccann-Kids-Jersey/ . -- A.J. Burnett was happy to escape from New York.HOUSTON -- Just when it looked as if things couldnt get any worse for the Houston Texans in this dreadful season, it has. The Texans sunk to a new low on Sunday with a 13-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars to extend their franchise-record skid to nine games. A playoff team the past two years, Houston (2-9) was expected to contend for a Super Bowl in the preseason and won its first two games. Soon poor play by quarterback Matt Schaub and a slew of injuries started the losing streak. A change at quarterback to Case Keenum gave the Texans some life, but the losses continued to pile up and they were soon dealing with an illness to coach Gary Kubiak. But as bad as things had gotten, most people assumed that facing the lowly Jaguars (2-9), who picked up their first win just two weeks ago, would be just what Houston needed to break out of its funk. Instead Maurice Jones-Drews touchdown on Jacksonvilles first drive put the Jaguars on top, and they never trailed against an inept and ineffective Texans offence. "I respect the Jaguars, but I just never thought ... that this is something that would happen. Especially in the way it happened," running back Ben Tate said. "I feel very embarrassed and bad for the city." Josh Scobee kicked field goals of 30 and 53 yards to help the Jaguars win for the second time in three games. Keenum had the worst performance in his five starts, throwing for just 169 yards with an interception. Kubiak wouldnt commit to sticking with Keenum, saying he never makes decisions right after games. "Obviously we didnt execute worth a darn offensively," Kubiak said. "Defensively we were on the field pretty much the whole football game." Houston (2-9) was driving late when rookie Ryan Davis grabbed a one-handed interception off a deflection by Keshawn Martin to seal the win. The Jaguars pushed their lead to 13-6 with Scobees 53-yard field goal with about seven minutes remaining. Houston got lucky on its next drive when Keenum threw a ball right into the hands of Jacksonville rookie Johnathan Cyprien, but he couldnt hold on to it. It didnt matter much though as the Texans ended up punting a few plays later anyway. Keenum shouldered the blame for the loss. "Im very frustrated right now," Keenum said. "We had guys open, we hadd the right play calls and I didnt see them I didnt hit them. Dallas Keuchel Jersey. " Jacksonville entered the game averaging an NFL-worst 61.7 yards rushing a game, but finished with 118. Chad Henne was 23 of 32 for 239 yards and Cecil Shorts led the team with eight catches for 71 yards. Kubiak coached from the booth for the second straight week on the advice of his doctors after returning to work last week after recovering from a mini-stroke. After the game he was left to answer questions about his job security and why his team cant get things together. Henne was sacked and fumbled on third down late in the third quarter. The Jaguars recovered and attempted a 49-yard field goal, but J.J. Watt swatted it down and the Texans returned it 25 yards. It was the second time this season that Watt has blocked a field goal. Houston didnt take advantage of the opportunity, and Jacksonville got the ball at its 40 after Dennis Johnson was stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter. Rookie Denard Robinson came in for one play on Jacksonvilles next drive, and launched a long and accurate pass on third-and-5 downfield to Shorts. But Johnathan Joseph was there to break it up and the Jaguars had to punt again. Jones-Drew gave the Jaguars an early lead when he scored on fourth-and-1 from the 1 on the first drive. Jones-Drew had a 41-yard catch and run and Ace Sanders grabbed a 51-yard pass to set up the score. Jones-Drew had a 44-yard run in the second quarter on a drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by Scobee to make it 10-0. Houston hadnt made a first down on four straight possessions and had just 20 total yards before a 29-yard run by Johnson 4 1/2 minutes before halftime. But the offence soon stalled again after Keenum was sacked and the Texans settled for a 49-yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-3 at halftime. Keenum was terrible in the first half, going 5 for 12 with 32 yards. His tough day started early when he was sacked by Andre Branch for a loss of 19 yards on third down on Houstons first series. NOTES: Olympic gold medallist Mary Lou Retton attended the game and served as an honorary team captain. ... Houstons Andre Johnson, who had a career-high 273 yards receiving in his previous game against Jacksonville, managed just 36 yards receiving on Sunday. ' ' '