TORONTO - For over a month Nando De Colo was Torontos forgotten man, an afterthought at the bottom of a playoff-bound roster, a masked phantom lurking on the end of the Raptors bench. Los Angeles Clippers Shirts . Who was he and why was he brought here? As the visitors locker room cleared out after Saturdays win in Milwaukee, a reporter approached De Colo, who was suddenly making an impact in an expanded role for his new, undermanned club. Curious about the origins of his first name, which isnt a traditional French moniker, said reporter asked the Raptors guard where it came from. "It came from my parents," he replied, straight-faced, flaunting a quick wit we didnt know he had. Up until last week we didnt know much about him at all. The acquisition of De Colo, trickling in minutes after the trade deadline passed, went under the radar. A player from the end of one bench exchanged for a player on the end of another. Masai Ujiri opted to hold onto Kyle Lowry and keep the band together, that was the headline. Austin Daye for De Colo was a footnote. Now, six weeks later, the move is owed some belated acknowledgement. Ujiri was familiar with De Colo having seen him play overseas and with the Spurs. He knew what he was getting. Dwane Casey was less acquainted with the second-year combo guard but was equally as intrigued by his intangibles and has been looking for a way to find him more playing time. With Lowry resting a sore knee, Casey has been provided that opportunity and De Colo, to his credit, is taking advantage of it. "Its what I was expecting and what we needed and wanted, as far as another ball handler," Casey told TSN.ca. "That was the main thing we saw. We needed another guy that can handle the ball, to create, to be a passer, a facilitator, a transporter of the ball, to get it across the court. "Hes done that." In extended minutes, backing up and playing alongside temporary starter Greivis Vasquez, De Colo has been a sparkplug coming in off the bench to begin the month of April. Over the last two games hes tallied 11 assists to just three turnovers in 42 minutes of action. After easing into his new surroundings, De Colo no longer appears reluctant to let it fly. Hes shooting and scoring with confidence, something he lacked upon arriving in Toronto, playing sporadically last month. "Hes still learning our system," said Casey, "still getting comfortable and the more he gets comfortable the more hes going to knock down shots. I think were seeing that now." The easy explanation for his confidence boost is the increased playing time that has come as a result of Lowrys injury. "Im finding a rhythm," said De Colo, who has attempted 16 shots over the last three games, the same number he hoisted in his first 14 contests with the Raptors. "Im in shape after adjusting to find a rhythm of the game with a new team. Now I just try to play my game, try to be aggressive like everybody wants on the team and since then Ive been good." Since arriving from the Spurs, De Colo has been touted for his basketball intellect and decision-making ability. Teammates and coaches have cited his time playing for the venerable Gregg Popovich with a world-class organization in San Antonio, as well as his experience overseas - where he competed professionally from the age of 19 - and with the French national team. In a year and a half with the Spurs he was sent back and forth from the NBA Development League an astonishing total of nine times, a product of the close proximity between San Antonio and its D-League affiliate in Austin. More so than the path hes traveled to get here, De Colo credits his approach. "I think its something Ive always had in my game," he said. "I try to see what happens and make good decisions. I know I can pass the ball. I must be aggressive on this kind of team and I have to take the open shot." Casey has entrusted De Colo to run his offence, immediately vaulting him over the young Julyan Stone and Dwight Buycks in Torontos backcourt rotation. When Lowry makes his return - hes expected to be cleared this week - the Raptors head coach has a decision to make. Can he afford to juggle minutes for three point guards going into the playoffs or does De Colo go back to the end of the bench? Although Casey has been most impressed with him as the primary ball handler, its conceivable that the Raptors could feature more two point guard lineups in the postseason, when the defence is likely to apply more pressure on Lowry. Of equal importance, the Raptors need to find out what they have in De Colo, a free agent at the end of the season. If Lowry is retained this summer and Vasquez - a restricted free agent - proves too expensive, De Colo may make more sense as an affordable backup, assuming he continues to impress. All of a sudden, De Colo has become more than late-season bench fodder. The Raptors under-the-radar deadline acquisition has helped keep them afloat in the absence of their most important player and could continue paying out come playoff time, and beyond. Nando is a name worth remembering. Los Angeles Clippers Store . Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves. Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists. Cheap Clippers Jerseys .5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2. https://www.cheapclippersonline.com/ . The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday.LOS ANGELES -- Matt Kemp made a marvelous catch for the final out in his first game back from the disabled list to preserve the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 victory over the slumping San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Mark Ellis and Hanley Ramirez each hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers, and rookie Stephen Fife pitched effectively into the seventh inning. Los Angeles handed the defending World Series champions their third loss in a row and eighth in 11 games, dropping them under .500 for the first time since losing to the Dodgers on opening day. Its the latest the Giants have been below the break-even mark in any season since 2008, when they finished 72-90 in Bruce Bochys second year as manager. Fife (2-2) allowed three runs and four hits, including solo homers by Brandon Belt and NL MVP Buster Posey, in 6 2-3 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out three and walked two in his 11th major league start, only the second in which he gave up more than two runs. Kemp, a two-time Gold Glove winner, returned to the lineup after missing 24 games with a right hamstring strain. He was injured May 29 while running down a double in right-centre by Mike Trout at Angel Stadium. It was the fourth time in his career that Kemp landed on the DL, including two stints last season because of a left hamstring strain that cost him a combined 51 games. With closer Kenley Jansen unavailable after pitching three consecutive days, demoted closer Brandon League came on in the ninth to protect a 6-3 lead and did not retire any of the three batters he faced. Belt hit an RBI double and Andres Torres added an RBI single off League before Paco Gonzalez got three outs for his first major league save. With runners at first and second, Marco Scutaro hit a long drive to centre but Kemp raced back and reached over his shoulder to make a sliding catch on the warning track, ending the game. A fired-up Kemp popped up and smacked the wall hard, then shouted in excitement. Mike Kickham (0-2) was charged with six runs -- five earned -- and eight hits over 5 1-3 innings in his second big league start. The 24-year-old lefty was recalled by the Giants from Triple-A Fresno to fill in for Chad Gaudin, who was struck on his pitching elbow by a line drive off the bat of Miiamis Derek Dietrich last Thursday and placed on the 15-day disabled list shortly before Monday nights series opener. Wholesale Clippers Jerseys. The Dodgers broke a 2-all tie with four runs in the sixth. Adrian Gonzalez doubled with one out and Ramirez followed with a drive off the left-field foul pole on a 1-1 count for his fifth homer. Kickham gave up singles to his next two batters before rookie Jake Dunning came in and gave up an RBI single by Tim Federowicz. Nick Punto kept the inning alive when he beat the relay throw to first base with a headfirst slide on a potential double-play grounder. Andre Ethier then scored on Dunnings wild pitch to Fife. Belt, who was 3 for 4 after coming in 4 for 43 lifetime at Dodger Stadium, got one of the runs back for the Giants in the seventh with his eighth homer. Fife retired his first 11 batters before Posey drove an 0-1 pitch barely over the left-field fence for his ninth homer. The Giants tied it in the fifth on a run-scoring groundout by Torres, after Fife gave up singles to Hunter Pence and Belt and then threw a wild pitch to Torres that crossed up Federowicz. Ellis opened the scoring with his fourth homer, a two-run shot to left with two outs in the third after Federowicz led off with a double. NOTES: Ellis home run was the 103rd of his career and fourth against San Francisco. When he was on the other side of the Bay Bridge with the Oakland As, he set a franchise record for second basemen with 19 in 2007. ... Punto, starting at 3B while Juan Uribe got the night off, jumped to pull down Pablo Sandovals line drive in the second inning. Pence, the next batter, lifted a popup toward the stands and Punto stretched over the barrier before landing in the first row with the ball in his glove. ... Kemp was 1 for 4 with a single. He is homerless in 106 at-bats at Dodger Stadium since his two-run shot off Colorados Jorge De La Rosa last Sept. 20. ... The Giants have been outhomered 19-5 over their last 15 games. ... The Dodgers, who were 11-13 in Kemps absence, opened a roster spot for him by optioning INF-OF Elian Herrera to Triple-A Albuquerque. ... Giants CF Angel Pagan had surgery in Los Angeles to repair a tendon in his left hamstring, an injury that has sidelined him since May 26. ' ' '