TORONTO - When Greivis Vasquez was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, selected with the 28th overall pick in 2010, he joined an emerging Western Conference power. At the time of the selection, the Grizzlies were coming off a promising campaign, the first for frontcourt duo Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph together in Memphis. Helmed by now former coach Lionel Hollins, the 2010-11 Grizzlies were one of the most improved teams in the league, building a defensive foundation that sticks with them to this day while finishing 10 games over .500, defeating the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and taking the Thunder to seven games in the Conference Semifinals. Vasquez, a 24-year-old, Venezuelan-born rookie from the University of Maryland, was along for the ride. He played in 70 regular season games, backing up Mike Conley and helping the Grizzlies snap a four-year playoff draught - appearing in 13 postseason contests - before being traded to New Orleans ahead of the following, lockout shortened campaign. Memphis has not missed the postseason since. "Ive got respect for them because they gave me an opportunity to be in this league," said the fourth-year point guard, poised to make his second postseason appearance with the Raptors next month. "Thats a tough team to beat," he continued following his new teams impressive 99-86 win over the one that drafted him. "We beat a playoff team and that was a good win for us at home." Aside from new coach Dave Joerger - a former assistant under Hollins - and last years trade of Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies havent changed much. Theyre still a defensive juggernaut - ranked third in opponent points per game, just ahead of the Raptors - and they still feature the daunting interior pair of Gasol and Randolph. They still embody physical, hard-nosed, playoff-calibre basketball and the Raptors - looking ahead to their own postseason birth - took it right to them. It was another valuable test for Dwane Caseys team, not unlike the one they failed in Brooklyn earlier this week, but this time they passed with flying colours. "I dont mean this in a bad way with Memphis because I love the style of defence they play," Casey said, "but the only way you can challenge a bully is if you hit them first." "I dont think we did that in the first quarter," Casey said in reference to Torontos timid start. "We did in the second quarter and they responded. Youve got to have a physical mentality against a team like that and I thought our guys did that after the first quarter." Vasquez had a lot to do with that turnaround. He may not be the fastest, the quickest or the strongest but there are few who play the game harder. His energy was infectious, as it tends to be, when he entered the game late in the first quarter and it carried over into the second, where the Raptors ended the half on a 19-6 run. About 30 minutes later he changed the game again, this time for good. With the score knotted up at 80, midway through the fourth, Vasquez knocked down a 27-foot pull-up three. As the Grizzlies came up the floor, he picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast for layup. It was the biggest sequence of the night, ironically initiating a second 19-6 run to close out the victory. "Obviously physicality is going to be the big factor [in the playoffs]," said Vasquez, who finished with 17 points, five rebounds and six assists Friday. "We play physical, we punch teams and we let them know that its not going to be easy for any team to come to our house and beat us like that and thats what we did tonight." Usually relegated to 17-22 minutes per night, mostly playing in the understudy role to starter Kyle Lowry, Vasquez logged 28. With the Grizzlies playing small in the backcourt, Casey was able to pair Vasquez and Lowry for over eight minutes in both the second and fourth quarters. With the two point guards sharing the court for 19 minutes, the Raptors scored 23 points more than they allowed. Playing alongside the other, both Vasquez and Lowry were at their best on this night. Lowry - who totalled 22 points, seven rebounds and 12 assists - was able to play off the ball and spot up for jumpers, while Vasquez could get in the lane and facilitate with more space. For Vasquez - as he realizes - the obvious benefit to spending more time on the floor with Lowry is spending more time on the floor, period. "I think we should do it more often if you ask me but Im not the head coach," Vasquez said. "[Coach is] doing a great job leading us to win games. Obviously Coach Casey is an outstanding coach and today he gave me a chance to come off the bench and play with a rhythm and I got the job done." Vasquez, a starter in New Orleans last season, has seen sporadic playing time since arriving in the trade from Sacramento. Generally, when he has played more he has played well but the opportunity for playing time at the position is scarce. It is what it is, as Casey would say. Lowry is playing at an extremely high level and pairing them together is something that can only work in long stretches if the matchup permits it. "When I play regular minutes it allows me to have a presence in the game," he said. "A lot of times its really, really hard coming off the bench and just being effective or having a presence in the game real quick." For the most part, the Raptors have had success playing Lowry and Vasquez together this season, keeping in mind its only been done in favourable situations. In 346 minutes with the two point guards on the floor, the Raptors have outscored their opponents by 102 total points, per NBA.com/stats. With Casey looking to manufacture some rest for Lowry over the final five weeks of the season, playing him off the ball more often could be the solution. "Its easier for me," said Lowry, asked about playing alongside Vasquez, "because weve got a guy who is going to look for me and who can make the play. He gives me a chance to rest and hang out and shoot open threes. When hes playing like that, were a pretty good team." Vasquez and Jonas Valanciunas - who scored a season-high 23 points - both came up big for Torontos offence with Memphis elite perimeter defence locked into DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross. The Raptors two wing players shot a combined 6-for-16 Friday. Air Force 1 Just Do It Uomo Italia . Tokarski, a somewhat controversial choice -- with his 10 games of NHL experience and all -- to replace an injured Carey Price in Game Two had a night to remember, turning back a Rangers team that was dominating play from the get-go, outshooting the Canadiens 14-4 in the first period and 37-25 overall. Nike Air Force 1 Ragazzo . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November. http://www.airforce1justdoit.it/ . -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday. Air Force 1 Just Do It Nere .C. United to a 4-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night. Nike Air Presto Off White Shop . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining.SHANGHAI, China -- Lewis Hamilton maintained Mercedes perfect record in qualifying this season, holding off the two Red Bulls to capture his third pole position of the campaign on Saturday at the rainy Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton broke the record for most poles by a British driver in Formula One and put himself in position for a third consecutive race victory on Sunday. Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was about 0.6 seconds off the pace in second place, with teammate Sebastian Vettel qualifying third. The steady light rain and slippery track raised the prospect of rival teams challenging Mercedes, but Hamilton was well clear of the Red Bulls, although his main competitor -- teammate Nico Rosberg -- made mistakes on his final two flying laps and qualified fourth. "Its so slippery out there, trying to find the grip, obviously not making mistakes on your lap, and really putting it together, especially when you have these guys pushing you," Hamilton said. "It was a tough session." Conditions are expected to be better for Sundays race, with no rain and cool temperatures in the forecast. It was the 34th pole of Hamiltons career, moving him into fourth place on the all-time pole list, one ahead of former world champion Jim Clark and Alain Prost. Hamilton had been tied with Clark for the most poles of any British driver in F1 history. "To be up there amongst the great names, all the greats, Im very, very proud of that, for sure," he said. The solid qualifying effort also marked a turnaround following his problems in Fridays practice with the cars suspension, which limited him to only nine laps in the morning and required work on his car Friday night. "Yesterday was not a good day for me," he said. "Its kind of strange because we made all those changes overnight and then todays been wet so I have no idea if its (heading) in the right direction." After his thrilling tire-to-tire duel with Rosberg at the Bahrain GP two weeks ago, Hamilton believed his teammate would offer the strongest challenge in qualifying in Shanghai. But the German, who claiimed pole position in Bahrain and won the season-opening race in Australia, pushed too hard around the final corner on his last flying lap, spinning his car and ruining his last chance to top Hamilton.dddddddddddd. Rosberg said he still has hopes of maintaining his slender lead in the drivers championship -- he has 61 points to Hamiltons 50. "I was the quicker one in Bahrain, didnt make it work, but I have the momentum of the pace for race speed and I expect to have that again tomorrow," Rosberg said. Hell have to get by the Red Bull cars, who will be aiming for their first podium finish in Shanghai since 2011 when Vettel finished second to Hamilton and then-teammate Mark Webber was third. Ricciardo again got the better of the more accomplished Vettel in qualifying, beating him for the third time in four sessions this season. Now hes hoping to make up for his disqualification at the season-opening race in Australia, where he earned his first-ever podium by finishing second to Rosberg but was later stripped of the result for breaching F1s new rules on fuel usage. "If its dry, I think we can race up the front," he said. "Ill be ducking my head down the straight, like in a go-kart, but well hopefully hang on and fight for at least a podium." Defending Chinese GP champion Fernando Alonso, the fastest in practice on Friday morning, qualified fifth for Ferrari, while teammate Kimi Raikkonen was down in a humble 11th. Williams qualified two drivers in the top 10 -- Felipe Massa in sixth and Valtteri Bottas in seventh -- a vast improvement for the team after it struggled in wet conditions in qualifying in Australia and Malaysia. Force Indias Nico Hulkenberg qualified in eighth, followed by Toro Rossos Jean-Eric Vergne and Lotus Romain Grosjean. Both McLaren cars were knocked out in the second qualifying session for the first time this year. Jenson Button will start from the 12th spot, while Kevin Magnussen will be back in 15th. Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado did not start qualifying due to an engine problem that cut short his final practice round. ' ' '