The first statement of the NBA preseason was made by the Toronto Raptors, one that came even before Kevin Durant made his unofficial debut with the Golden State Warriors.The Raptors players and coaches linked arms during the playing of the American and Canadian national anthems Saturday night, their statement serving as the latest entry in a widespread series of protests across sports in recent weeks designed to raise awareness of racial injustice and other social problems.Guys were real, guys had sincere feelings, sincere thoughts, sincere things to talk about and concerns, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said before the game. Thats what all this should be about -- to induce conversation.Its an issue that has been addressed by high school, college and pro teams in the U.S. often since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first refused to stand for the national anthem in August. The Raptors linking arms may be considered more than symbolic -- theyre the only Canadian-based team in the NBA, and their game against the Warriors was played in Vancouver, British Columbia.The Warriors players and coaches who were on the floor in Vancouver all stood for the anthems as per usual. In Bossier City, Louisiana, so did the members of the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, some with their hands over their hearts.Durant took the first shot of the preseason, a step-back jumper from the right side that was well short. The former Oklahoma City stars first basket with the Warriors was a dunk with about a minute left in the opening quarter, one that drew a loud reaction from the sellout crowd of 19,000.Felt good to play and play against someone else, Durant said. We can start building for the season and what we want to be. So its a good first step.Durant heard some boos during the game, though said afterward he felt there were more cheers.Once the ball was tipped, it was just another game for me, Durant said.---RAPTORS 97, WARRIORS 93Kevin Durant had nine points on 2 for 9 shooting in his preseason debut with Golden State, while Klay Thompson had 16 points and two-time reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry added eight. None of them played after halftime.DeMar DeRozan scored 11 points and Kyle Lowry had six for Toronto. DeRozan and Lowry, the All-Star guards who led Toronto to the Eastern Conference finals last season, were taken out midway through the third quarter.- WARRIORS: Thompson made 4 of 11 shots from 3-point range. Curry was 1 for 5 from beyond the arc.- RAPTORS: DeMarre Carroll, whos still working his way back from knee surgery performed last year, started for Toronto. He led the Raptors with 14 points, making 6 of 9 shots. Terrence Ross scored 11 for the Raptors and Jared Sullinger grabbed 10 rebounds.- UP NEXT: Toronto (1-0) plays Denver in Calgary, Alberta on Monday. Golden State (0-1) plays host to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.---PELICANS 116, MAVERICKS 102First-round draft pick Buddy Hield scored 19 points off the bench for the Pelicans, who also got 19 from ETwaun Moore and 13 from Anthony Davis.Terrence Jones added 17 for New Orleans. Justin Anderson led the Mavericks with 14 points.- MAVERICKS: Dirk Nowitzki got the night off to rest, as did Wesley Matthews, Andrew Bogut, Deron Williams and Devin Harris.- PELICANS: Bossier City is about 325 miles northwest of New Orleans, and Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said playing the game there was significant. We want to be Louisianas team, Gentry said.- UP NEXT: Dallas (0-1) hosts Charlotte on Monday. New Orleans (1-0) hosts Indiana on Tuesday. Clearance Air Jordan Australia Store . 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Discount Air Jordan Australia Online . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. HOUSTON -- The easiest thing to do is to acknowledge the rising star power featured by the Oakland Raiders and acknowledge its role in landing atop the AFC West.There is no denying that quarterback Derek Carr, receiver Amari Cooper, and defensive end Khalil Mack are integral to the Raiders foundation. Oakland (7-2) emerges from its bye week on a three-game winning streak set to face the AFC South-leading Houston Texans (6-3) on Monday night in Mexico Citys Estadio Azteca.The Raiders recent collection of early-round draft picks have emerged ahead of schedule and have matched expectations relative to their individual talents. But the Raiders have become the talk of the NFL thanks in no small measure to their depth, and a number of their rotation players were serendipitous discoveries.The Raiders feature 19 undrafted players on their current roster and those players have combined to start 29 games this season.Behind Carr, Cooper (58 receptions for 843 yards and two touchdowns) and receiver Michael Crabtree (49 receptions for 596 yards and six touchdowns), Oakland ranks sixth in the NFL in passing offense at 278.3 yards per game. The Raiders are even better in pass protection, pacing the league with Carr operating behind an offense line showcasing undrafted tackles Donald Penn and Austin Howard.While Penn has started all nine games this season, Howard has made five starts at right tackle. Toss in undrafted rookie guard Denver Kirkland, who has made four starts as an extra lineman, and the Raiders have parlayed line stability into success.The number of (undrafted players) that made our team jumps out, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. For us, its been a process. Its not like all of a sudden we look up and were shocked by it because weve been working with these guys and developing these guys and theyve been giving great energy and effort every day.What is vital to the Raiders is maintaining the momentum theyve cultivated winning six of seven games. Their success has generated conversation throughout the league, and how the Raiders handle their lofty status atop the division will be revealed in how they perform against the Texans after their scheduled break.Weve just got to get back in the swing of things and keep our same focus, Raiders defensive tackle Dan Williams said. Right now, were in good position to achieve our first goal, which is to win the West.dddddddddddd I think everybody has the same focus. Weve definitely matured from a year ago and I think were going to get back where we left off.Penn said, Things are coming together. I cant wait to see where its going to go.The Texans removed one monkey from their collective backs by winning on the road for the first time this season, outlasting the Jaguars in Jacksonville on Sunday.What should galvanize the Texans was the performance of their rushing offense against the Jaguars.Before the break, Houston posted just 105 rushing yards against Detroit, its third-lowest total this season. The Texans rebounded for a season-best 181 rushing yards in Jacksonville to offset another subpar effort from quarterback Brock Osweiler and provide hope for an uneven offense moving forward.I think its good, Texans coach Bill OBrien said of the running game. I think theres always things we can improve, but we ran for 180 last game and ran it pretty good against Detroit, so I think its been good.But every weeks different. This is a very, very stout defense. Theyve got big guys inside, good guys on the edge and fast, athletic guys on the inside at linebacker, so its going to be a different challenge.Mack has been a terror in the past four weeks, producing 18 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. In a 15-12 Raiders win over the Denver Broncos last season, Mack sacked Osweiler five times.Taking that exceptional individual performance into account, Osweiler and the Texans will have a keen eye on Mack.Its very important, Osweiler said. You know, any time you play against a player like Khalil Mack, you need to respect what he brings to the table and you need to have answers for what he brings to the table.Were very fortunate to have a phenomenal offensive coaching staff here, led by (offensive coordinator George) Godsey and Coach OBrien. Im sure theyll have answers for him. But without a question, we are well aware of what Khalil Macks capable of doing -- obviously I experienced it firsthand last year -- and we will have answers for him. ' ' '