39.6. Lowry was a full participant in practice Saturd

MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens wasted no time locking up the head coach who has led them to the Eastern Conference final. Montreal re-signed Michel Therrien to a four-year contract extension Saturday, two weeks after the Canadiens were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. "It really shows the stability that (general manager) Marc Bergevin and (owner) Geoff Molson want to establish with the Canadiens," said Therrien on a conference call. "Weve progressed a lot over the past two years and we want to continue to progress. Its a sign of confidence." Therrien, who has coached the Canadiens for the past two seasons, has one year remaining on his contract before the extension kicks in. The 50-year-old led Montreal to the playoffs twice in the last two years, falling to the Ottawa Senators in five games in the first round of the 2012-13 post-season and following that with a six-game East final loss to the New York Rangers this year. Therrien said his team still needs to learn how to be a successful playoff team, and referred to the Chicago Blackhawks and Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings as examples. "We have a good group of young veterans. I really like the chemistry at the core of our team. The players have really bought into the team concept," said Therrien, who offered little on pending free agents Andrei Markov and captain Brian Gionta. "Im really satisfied with the progress we did the last two years. Regarding if theres going to be any changes for the next year, thats the business of the game. And I know one thing for sure, Marc Bergevin is working really hard to improve our hockey team." Therriens new contract wasnt a surprise. Bergevin had previously confirmed that Therrien would be back behind Montreals bench. Therrien coached the Canadiens for parts of the 2000-03 seasons, and was 77-77-22-14 over that span. He was 75-42-13 over the past two years. Prior to his second stint with Montreal, Therrien coached the Pittsburgh Penguins for parts of four seasons, making it to the Stanley Cup final in 2008 before losing to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. Hes hopeful the Canadiens take another step forward next season. "Were constantly adjusting," he said. "We do it from one month to the next, and from one year to the next. Its so important to adjust and make sure youre getting the message across." Georgios Papagiannis Jersey . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Mario Hezonja Blazers Jersey . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. https://www.blazerslockerroom.com/Cj-Mccollum-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell. Skal Labissiere Jersey .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Jaylen Hoard Blazers Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video.TORONTO - If youve played or coached in the NBA long enough, you probably have a tried and tested method for shaking off unsettling losses. A couple days removed from the Raptors most recent defeat, a triple overtime loss to the Washington Wizards, Dwane Casey is still making notes, having reviewed the game tape two or three times since Thursday night. DeMar DeRozan has also watched the tape, hoping to identify areas of weakness in his and the teams performance. However, that form of reflection is not for everybody. Some prefer to look ahead, rather than dwell on the past. "I didnt watch it," Kyle Lowry admitted. "No. We lost. I didnt watch that game." The Raptors overcame a spotty showing on the boards, giving up 18 offensive rebounds, and in the trenches, allowing 80 points in the paint, giving themselves a couple of opportunities to steal a victory in what would eventually become the franchises longest game. In the end, Toronto simply ran out of bullets. By the third overtime period, they were without Lowry, Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson - all having fouled out - as well as Terrence Ross, who left the game with an ankle injury in the first half. "Its definitely tough, just to watch it and understand how close we came to pulling it [out] but it happens," said DeRozan, who scored 34 points - his third 30-plus point outing in the last five games - in 57 minutes of action. "Its the NBA and youve got to learn from it." For Jonas Valanciunas, who struggled in overtime after sitting out the entire fourth quarter, Thursdays loss was another learning experience, one Casey hopes his young centre wont take too personally. "We all make mistakes," Casey said following practice Friday afternoon. "He made some mistakes down the stretch, hes got to learn from them, not get his head down [or] feel like the weight of the world is on his shoulders [and] play basketball." "Hes 21-years-old, not really good looking but a nice looking guy," he joked. "Why be stressed about anything?" "His role is to go in, have fun, learn, get better, improve and try to play the game the right way. If you make a mistake, okay, learn from it. Dont make the same mistake twice." With a rare four-day break looming, the Raptors have an opportunity to redeem themselves when they host the Golden State Warriors Sunday. Its been nearly three full months since they last saw the Warriors but their 112-103 loss in Oakland on Dec. 3 is not one that can easily be forgotten. "Me personally, I remember it," Lowry said of that game, in which the Raptors surrendered a 27-point lead, the largest collapse in franchise history. "At the end of the day, were a different team, theyre a different team so were just going to go out there and play our game." Just six days prior to the trade of Rudy Gay, Toronto led 88-70 after 36 minutes before the Warriors went off for a 42-point quarter.ddddddddddddSince that night, the Raptors have gone 26-15 while solidifying themselves as one of the leagues best fourth quarter teams, holding opponents to 21.9 points in the final frame, first in the NBA. The Raptors have lost only two games when leading going into the fourth quarter this season. "It was tough, man," DeRozan said, looking back on that night. "I think that game really bothered us afterwards because we had them beat and before you know it, they started raining threes. It sucks to lose like that so we definitely understand that and I definitely think everyone remembers that." Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson accounted for 26 points, on 6-of-7 shooting from three-point range, in the fourth, carrying the Warriors to victory. The Raptors are winless in seven games facing Golden State with Curry in the lineup, allowing 119.3 points in those contests. The all-star guard averages 27.3 points and 8.7 assists against Toronto, his highest marks against any opponent in his career. "You have two of the best shooters in Golden State, probably in the league," DeRozan said of Curry and Thompson. "The way Steph can score the ball at an all-time high is definitely amazing and youve got a guy like Klay that can catch and shoot at will. It makes it tough so weve got to come out [Sunday] night and be aggressive on both ends, make it tough on them." Averaging a combined 41.8 points per game, the Warriors duo of Curry and Thompson is the NBAs highest scoring backcourt, just ahead of Lowry and DeRozan, who average 39.6. Lowry was a full participant in practice Saturday and insists he is good to go against the Warriors after coming down on his right ankle at the end of regulation Thursday. Ross was held out of practice as a precaution, though he did get some work in on the stationary bike, and is considered questionable for Sundays contest. The Raptors, who have won 12 of their last 16 at home, havent lost back-to-back games at the Air Canada Centre since Dec. 1 and hope to avoid doing so against the red-hot Warriors. Golden State, in the middle of a season-long six game road trip, has won five of six. After being held to 83 points and losing to the Bulls by 20 on Wednesday, they scored a season-high 126, dismantling the Knicks by 23 Friday night. "We stopped attacking the basket, settled for jump shots, we tried to play their game and theyre better at it," Casey said of his teams collapse in Oakland. "[We] didnt do a good job of handling their pressure offensively. They made some tough shots, now weve got to go down, attack the paint, make them play defence [and] attack the rim if our jump shots are not falling." ' ' '