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. Thomas Morstead Youth Jersey . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Wil Lutz Womens Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/Elite-Willie-Roaf-Saints-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Bobby Hebert Saints Jersey .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Archie Manning Youth Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. The contribution of players born outside the United States has been a big factor in the growth of the WNBA, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary season. Weve already taken a separate, bigger-picture look at the Australian influence. But here are 10 players from other countries who have greatly boosted the WNBA. We rank them in order of career impact and effectiveness. (*Indicates player is still active in the WNBA.)1. G Ticha Penicheiro, Portugal: Voted recently as one of the WNBAs top 20 players of the first 20 seasons, she played 15 years, averaging 6.1 PPG and 5.7 APG, and was an exceptional defender. She is the leagues career leader in assists (2,599) and won a title with Sacramento.2. G Janeth Arcain, Brazil: A vital part of the Houston Comets four championship teams, she played eight seasons in the WNBA and impacted all facets of the game. She averaged 10.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.4 SPG.3. G/F Mwadi Mabika, Congo: She played 11 seasons with Los Angeles, winning two titles with the Sparks; her final season was with Houston. She averaged 10.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG; her top-scoring season (16.8) was 2002, when Sparks repeated as champions.4. C Erika de Souza*, Brazil: A rookie reserve on the Sparks 2002 title team, she then left the WNBA until 2007. She has played each season since, including on Atlantas three WNBA Finals teams. Now with Chicago, her career averages are 10.0 PPG and 7.2 RPG.5. F Sancho Lyttle*, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Now in her 12th WNBA season, she has career averages of 9.6 PPG and 6.9 RPG. She playyed her first four seasons in Houston and has been with Atlanta since.dddddddddddd She represents Spain internationally.6. F Sophia Young, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: After an NCAA title at Baylor, Young had a nine-season career, including an appearance in the 2008 WNBA Finals. She became a U.S. citizen in 2011 and retired in 2015 with career averages of 14.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG.7. C Tammy Sutton-Brown, Canada: Her 12-year WNBA career was capped by winning a league title with Indiana in her final season, 2012. Overall, she averaged 9.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 1.4 BPG in a career split between Charlotte and Indiana.8. C Margo Dydek, Poland: The 7-foot-2 Dydek averaged 10.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 2.7 BPG in 10 seasons. The No. 1 draft pick in 1998 by Utah, she is the WNBAs career leader in blocked shots (877). She died in 2011 after suffering a heart attack.9. G/F Iziane Castro Marques, Brazil: In 11 seasons, she averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 1.7 APG. She had a career year in 2010 with Atlanta, averaging 16.9 points as the Dream went to the WNBA Finals.10. F Svetlana Abrosimova, Russia: The only player on this list who won both a WNBA title (Seattle) and an NCAA title (UConn), she spent seven of her 10 WNBA season in Minnesota, finishing in Seattle. She averaged 9.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 2.1 APG.Honorable mention: Ann Wauters* (Belgium), Elena Baranova (Russia), Marlies Askamp (Germany), Kamila Vodichkova (Czech Republic). ' ' '