rites, lost to South Korea 1-0 in Brasilia to end its cha

PHILADELPHIA -- Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan spent an off night in town at Villanova watching the best basketball team in the Philly area dominate in another victory. A night later, Lowry and DeRozan ditched the courtside seats to team up and keep Philadelphia the worst team in the NBA.DeRozan scored 31 points and Lowry added 20 to help the Toronto Raptors win their fourth straight game, 123-114 over the 76ers on Wednesday night.DeRozan continued to make the 30-point mark a routine part of his game and scored 31 points through the first three quarters. DeRozan posterized Jahlil Okafor with a dunk over the Sixers big man and easily rolled to his second straight 30-point game. He scored 30 points on Monday against Milwaukee and came in averaging a robust 27.9 points per game.Its just experience. My work ethic, DeRozan said. I just try and be better every single year.Hes having his best one yet.Lowry helped blow the game open in his Philadelphia homecoming. Lowry made a 3-pointer in the fourth that stretched the lead to 99-80 and earned some applause for the All-Star raised in the area.DeRozan and Lowry helped squash the Sixers modest two-game winning streak. Long one of the NBAs worst teams, the Sixers havent won three straight games since they took four in a row from Dec. 29, 2013-Jan. 4, 2014.Robert Covington led the Sixers with 26 points and Okafor had 17.The Sixers had won two straight on the road and seemed like they could win a rare game at home when they opened with a strong first 17 minutes. Lowry brought the Sixers crashing back to reality.Lowry buried two quick 3-pointers that brought the Raptors within two and scored on a driving layup that tied the game at 45-all. The Raptors turned a three-point deficit to open the second quarter into a 60-54 halftime lead. The Sixers went on a mini-run late in the fourth and got within five points with 30 seconds left. They could have used another 30 minutes to top the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors.The Raptors have won 10 of 11 games and are 11 games over .500 for the first time this season.Lowry dedicated the win to his mother on her birthday .I got as many points as her age, he said, laughing.TIP-INSRaptors: Lowry and DeRozan attended No. 1 Villanovas game on Tuesday night. Lowry, a Philly native who played at Villanova, wore a Just a Kid From North Philly sweatshirt at shootaround. Hes a pain in the butt sometimes, but hes our pain in the butt, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. Casey said Lowry reminded him of former Seattle great Gary Payton.76ers: Okafor started at center and Joel Embiid at power forward for the first time this season. They played the first 6 minutes of the first quarter together. Embiid and Okafor are natural centers. Coach Brett Brown decided the time was right to pair them and see what they could do together in the frontcourt. Its my job to grow our program, grow our guys, and see what we actually have, Brown said. We have really yet to see Jahlil and Joel together in any significant timeframe. Tonight, its available. So Im going to do it. Embiid twisted his left ankle in warmups and sat out a stretch in the first half with a bloody nose and scored nine points.I was just standing, I wasnt moving, I was just standing on the perimeter, Embiid said. I wasnt active on defense.DID YOU SEE THAT!?Embiids lone block in the first half came when he charged at DeMarre Carroll and used his outstretched right hand to swat the ball away.DeRozan had the dunk of the night when he split defenders down the lane and stuffed one over Okafor.SHOE FITSNo. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons ditched the walking boot and sat in sneakers on the Sixers bench for the first time this season. Simmons has not played this season because of a broken bone in his right foot suffered during training camp. Simmons shot free throws in practice this week. The Sixers say there is no timetable for his return.UP NEXTRaptors: Host Atlanta on Friday.76ers: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.Nike Pas Cher Chine Livraison Gratuite . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Basket Nike Air Force 1 Pas Cher . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. http://www.paschernikeairforce1.fr/ . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Nike Air Force 1 Pas Cher . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Nike Air Force One Pas Cher Chine .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons.SALVADOR, Brazil -- Brazil finally found its scoring touch in the mens soccer tournament at the Olympics.The host country advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Denmark 4-0 Wednesday, avoiding another embarrassing elimination in front of the home fans.Gabigol scored twice and Gabriel Jesus and Luan added the others at the Arena Fonte Nova as Brazil continues its quest to win the Olympic gold medal in soccer for the first time.The team played a great match, Brazil coach Rogerio Micale said. We found our game and this time the ball went in. That gave us a lot of tranquility during the match.The Brazilians will next play Colombia on Saturday in Sao Paulo.Brazil had been held to scoreless draws in its first two group games and needed a victory to guarantee a spot in the knockout round. It ended up first in Group A with five points, one more than Denmark, which also advanced and will play Nigeria in Salvador. South Africa and Iraq were eliminated after a 1-1 draw in Sao Paulo.The convincing victory also helped Brazil regain the support of the local fans, who had been disappointed by lackluster performances and had loudly jeered the team in the games against South Africa and Iraq.The crowd of more than 40,000 fans was behind the team from the start in Salvador and chanted The champion is back during parts of the game.To have the crowd on our side is extremely important, Micale said. Hopefully it will be like that again in Sao Paulo.Led by Neymar, Brazil arrived as the main favorite to win the Olympic tournament and finally breakthrough with the gold medal, which is the only trophy the five-time world champions havent won in soccer.Needing the victory, Brazil attacked from the start and took the lead after Gabigols close-range shot after a low cross by Douglas Santos in the 26th minute. Gabriel Jesus added to the lead from near the goal line in the 40th after a pass by Luan, who scored the third from near the penalty spot in a play started by Neymar. Gabiggols second goal came with a shot off a rebound in the 80th.ddddddddddddNeymar, who had been heckled by some fans after struggling in the first two games, played better and was much more involved in the game. Gabigol and Gabriel Jesus, the 19-year-old forwards touted as some of Latin Americas most promising players, also improved and finally found the net.Brazil was in danger of another humiliating elimination just two years after the 7-1 loss to Germany at its home World Cup. The senior team also disappointed at the Copa America two months ago, failing to advance from the group stage of the continental competition.Earlier Wednesday, two-time Olympic champion Argentina and defending champion Mexico were eliminated from medal contention after failing to advance from the group stage.Playing without any of its biggest stars, Argentina needed a win against Honduras but was held to a 1-1 draw at the Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia. It was another blow to Argentine soccer following the senior teams loss in the Copa America final in June and the ongoing crisis enveloping the sport at home.Mexico, which brought a stronger team and was among the title favorites, lost to South Korea 1-0 in Brasilia to end its chances of repeating its triumph from four years ago, when it upset Brazil in the final in London.South Korea will next play Honduras in Belo Horizonte.Germany will play Portugal in Brasilia after advancing to the quarterfinals with a 10-0 rout of Fiji at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, the same place where the countrys senior team embarrassed Brazil 7-1 in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup. Fiji had already lost 5-1 to Mexico and 8-0 to South Korea.All quarterfinal matches will be on Saturday.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '