o be a one-on-one defence contest Ill probably lose and Ill be the first

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Golden State Warriors have always been able to score. Now they are becoming a good defensive team. The Warriors used half-court defensive pressure to beat the Magic 94-81 on Tuesday night. "Defence is not something were known for," said forward David Lee, who led the Warriors with 22 points. "Everyone looks at our team and the ability to shoot the ball and score, but were a Top 10 defensive team too." The Warriors limited Orlando to 38 per cent shooting and led by 12 early in the first quarter and 23 at halftime. They were so comfortable with their defence that when Orlando made its only run of the game late in the third quarter, the reserves stayed on the floor and finished out the game. "Thats the 14th time weve held a team under 40 per cent so weve got to get some recognition as far as the way we defend," Golden State Coach Mark Jackson said. "We defended from the opening jump and were really locked in the whole night." The win was Golden States sixth straight, the first time the Warriors have won that many in a row in six years. Klay Thompson scored 15 points, Kent Bazemore had 12 and Marreese Speights 10 for Golden State, which survived a rash of turnovers (17) to shoot 48.8 per cent for the game. "It starts defensively when we get stops," said Stephen Curry, who had nine points, eight assists and five rebounds, but sat out the fourth quarter along with the rest of the Warriors starters. "That leads to better offensive possessions and its fun. Were enjoying ourselves out there." It was anything but fun for the Magic, who were trying for a season-best third straight victory, but fell well short. Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 15 points, Jameer Nelson had 11 and Glen Davis 10, but the Magic got down early and never made a serious run the entire game. "There has to be accountability everywhere," Davis said. "Thats what has to happen for us to be a team that people take seriously. The Magic lost their leading rebounder, centre Nikola Vucevic, in the middle of the first quarter with a sprained ankle. That was part of the reason Golden State dominated the glass, outrebounding Orlando 56-37. "Hes one of the best centres in the NBA, but he wasnt there so we cant sit and make excuses," said Tobias Harris, who led the team with nine rebounds. "Thats the NBA. Somebody gets hurt, just keep playing. Were better than that and we know were better than that." The Warriors used a 16-2 run in the middle of the first quarter to take a 22-10 lead and never let the advantage get under 10 the rest of the game. Sparked by Nelsons two 3-pointers, the Magic pulled to 74-59 at the end of the third quarter. Harris layup to start the fourth quarter made it a 13-point game, but that was as close as Orlando could come. Golden State shut the Magic down early, trapping Orlando ballhandlers and making the Magic take many attempts late in the shot clock. Orlando shot 38.2 per cent for the game. NOTES: Vucevic injured his left ankle in the first quarter after stepping on Andrew Boguts foot. Vucevic injured the same ankle earlier this season and missed four games. ... Golden State last won six in a row in 2007. ... The Warriors are 5-1 against the East this season. ... The Magic have lost nine straight to West teams. Donnie Shell Jersey . Balotelli was out at dinner with his brother Enoch and came home to discover he had been burgled. The car was later found abandoned. Balotelli wrote Saturday on Twitter: "I feel empty! No emotions . Troy Polamalu Jersey . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-James-Conner-Elite-Jersey/ . According to the sportsbook BoDog, the Stampeders are 8/5 favourites to take home the Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on November 24. Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference. Justin Layne Womens Jersey . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job.TORONTO - Raptors forward Steve Novak doesnt exactly blend into the crowd these days. In support of prostate cancer and the Movember campaign, Novak has been wearing his contribution to the cause on his face. "Everyone who sees me, theyre not sure [whether] to take me seriously," Novak joked prior to Fridays win over Washington, his moustache 22-days-old. A few weeks into his eighth NBA season, Novak is still getting comfortable with a new team but his presence is hard to ignore, on the court and off of it. Acquired from the Knicks in the Andrea Bargnani trade this summer, Novak is one of the most dangerous offensive specialists in the game, something the Raptors are finding out more and more as the 30-year-old works his way back from a series of early-season injuries. Since the start of the 2011-12 campaign, Novak has hit 286 threes - 16th most in the NBA over that span - and his 44 per cent clip from long range is ranked fourth. After sitting out most of training camp nursing a sore thumb and missing six of the first nine games with a bad back, Novaks playing time has increased steadily in each of the last four contests. So too has his impact. Without even touching the ball, the mere presence of Novak on the floor changes the complexion of Torontos offence. Uncharacteristically, the veteran sharpshooter has knocked down just four of his 17 three-point attempts but his true impact - playing 34 minutes in the last two games, both wins - cannot be measured using a box score. "He creates instant spacing," Dwane Casey said on Thursday. "He really made a big impact, opened up the floor," the Raptors coach continued. "Teams in the league respect his ability to shoot the ball. Whether he makes the shot or not he is a threat." As the Raptors offence continues to evolve, Novak will become more valuable to the teams second unit. In back-to-back victories this week, the Raptors have benefited from better spacing, improved ball movement and timely outside shooting. At least some of that is an indirect result of having Novak on the court, where he is a plus-19 - the third best plus/minus on the team - in 61 minutes. The Novak-Terrence Ross pairing has been especially intriguing with their ability to stretch the floor. The two have shared the court for 30 minutes over the last couple games and Ross, a beneficiary of the attention Novak receives, has thrived. The sophomore has averaged 14.0 points in those games, shooting 11-of-18 from the field including 4-of-8 from three-point range. Three-point shooting has long been an area of weakness for Toronto. Through 13 games, the Raptors rank 19th in the NBA shooting 34 per cent from long distance. They havent finished in the top half oof the league in three-point percentage since the 2009-10 season, the last year Chris Bosh was in Toronto preoccupying opposing defences.dddddddddddd "Hes one of the best three-point shooters in the league," Casey said of Novak. "Now that hes healthy we want to make sure we utilize that." Casey and the Raptors are still learning how to utilize Novak as a weapon off the bench, maximizing his strengths offensively while masking his defensive shortcomings. Novaks return to the lineup has forced Caseys hand defensively, where theyve had to be more creative. Although they used their zone defence sparingly Wednesday in Philadelphia, as the Raptors coach pointed out the following day, they leaned on it heavily with Novak on the floor Friday. It helped them regain the lead in the fourth quarter after being outscored by 17 in the third. "We have to do some special things for Steve and the whole league knows that," Casey admitted after the win over Washington. "We had to mix it up, our man [defence] wasnt working. We had to go to something else and it had to be our zone." The Raptors are prepared for opposing teams to go at Novak, looking to exploit the veteran one-on-one. "Teams look to attack him," Casey knows, "which sometimes we invite." For Novak, this is nothing new. Hes made a career out of it, or at least in spite of it. "I think that statistically Ive proven that Ive never been a liability [on defence]," said Novak. "If theres going to be a one-on-one defence contest Ill probably lose and Ill be the first to admit that but as long as I have my teammates out there I know Ill be fine." For his career, Novak has a defensive rating (an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions) of 110, inferior to the league average but not the worst mark on the team. DeMar DeRozan has a rating of 111 through four NBA seasons. "Honestly, defensively basketballs a team game," Novak emphasized. "I think the good teams know that when you get out of your offence and go individual and [start] going at guys it usually hurts them more than it helps them." "So to be honest I think its a good thing for us if they start picking who theyre going to throw the ball to and not running offence. I think it probably works to our advantage." Utilizing Novak to his fullest may take time to master. Its a give and take, as the Knicks learned during his mostly productive two-year tenure in New York. If hes deployed in situations that allow his unique and specific skill set to flourish he can become a lethal weapon off the Raptors bench. "Its my eighth year so I must be doing something right," he said with a smile. ' ' '