TORONTO - As Amir Johnson took a seat, having just picked up his sixth foul towards the end of Thursdays first overtime period, Patrick Patterson fouling out minutes earlier, Dwane Casey and his coaching staff mulled over their next move. Huddling up, Casey consulted with his assistants for over 30 seconds before looking to the far side of his bench and reluctantly calling for Jonas Valanciunas. The Raptors starting centre had been a spectator since late in the third quarter, amounting to roughly an hour of real time spent on the bench since he was last on the floor. As his coach feared, Valanciunas was more than a little rusty, playing 25 seconds in the first OT frame and the bulk of the second until Casey opted to go with Tyler Hansbrough to close the game in the third and final period of extra time. "It really wasnt fair to Jonas," Casey said in hindsight, following his teams marathon 134-129 loss to Washington. "It wasnt his fault." Upon reentering, Toronto immediately ran a pick-and-roll for Valanciunas, however the pass from Greivis Vasquez - who was trapped on the right elbow - was mistimed and ultimately deflected before it reached Valanciunas in the middle of the key, the turnover charged to Vasquez. A few minutes later, Valanciunas received the ball on the left block and with the clock winding down he flipped up a quick shot that was swatted by Marcin Gortat, his first of two field goal attempts in the period, both blocked by Gortat. With just over one minute remaining in double OT, the game tied at 116, Valanciunas negated a Vasquez runner, needlessly tipping in the shot that was already on its way down, above the cylinder. The look of frustration on the sophomores face said it all. This was not his night. The Raptors were outscored by 14 points in the 29 minutes that Valanciunas was on the floor. "I feel really sad," Valanciunas lamented, with his head down after the game. "I feel really bad right now. I could do a much better job than what I did." Valanciunas lost more than his rhythm, sitting as long as he did in the second half of Thursdays ball game. His confidence appeared to be at an all-time low. The second-year centre has had a rough couple of weeks, averaging 7.1 points and 7.6 rebounds, shooting 45 per cent in 24 minutes per in his last eight games. Over the previous eight contests, he put up averages of 15.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, shot 58 per cent from the field and logged just over 29 minutes a night. Perhaps fatigue has played a factor - he eclipsed his minute total from his rookie season last week - but the most noticeable variation in his approach hinders on an immeasurable concept that he has downplayed in the past. Swagger. Valanciunas is a different animal when he plays with that edge, anger and fire, when he gets outside of his head, stops over-thinking the game and just plays basketball. Too often you can almost see his thought process on the court, his movements are robotic as he aims to avoid disaster, fearful of making a mistake that will draw the ire of his head coach. However, hes at his best when he plays freely and Casey knows it. "The key is patience, not getting down on yourself, have fun," Casey said after morning shoot-around on Thursday. "I mean youre playing basketball. Theres no pressure on JV to produce. The pressure is on DeMar (DeRozan) and Kyle (Lowry) and Amir, the older guys." Given the unreasonably high preseason expectations its easy to overlook the fact that Valanciunas is still only 21-year-old, playing in his first full season after missing a sizeable chunk of his rookie campaign due to injury. Hes had an eventful year, participating in Summer League for the Raptors and competing with Lithuania in the FIBA qualifying tournament during the offseason. Hes still learning the NBA game, getting fully accustomed to his surroundings and most importantly finding his way as a player. None of that is lost of Casey, who refuses to put the cart before the horse when it comes to the development of his young centre. "I told him to stay with it," Casey said after Valanciunas logged just 17 minutes in Tuesdays win over Cleveland. "Right now hes pressing so much. [I] just told him to relax [and] play basketball." On account of their unexpected success this season the Raptors ultimate objective has been altered slightly. Although theyre now looking ahead to the playoffs and hoping to make some noise come April, their primary goal has not changed. Casey is still focused on developing his young players, namely Valanciunas and fellow sophomore Terrence Ross. "The hardest thing to do is to develop and win at the same time," Casey said. "Luckily weve got some wins and these guys are developing at the same time. Its the hardest thing to do because a lot of times theyre in there when they really dont deserve to, not as much lately but in the first part of the year." However, Casey wont coddle either sophomore with unconditional playing time. Valanciunas, like Ross, has had the opportunity to play and learn through his mistakes but the criteria for remaining on the floor long enough to do so has been made clear since the get go. "Offensively right now, hes not making his post moves, but thats going to come," Casey said. "Get some sweat shots, get some tip-ins, go to the offensive boards, screen. Do some of the sweat jobs and that will help him get his rhythm in the post." The process is gradual and, as Casey reminds us, its not going to happen overnight. Valanciunas possesses the ability, the desire and the work ethic to be a top tier NBA centre but its not going to happen in the middle of his second season. It takes time and no one in the Raptors organization will rush him. For now, Valanciunas is a matchup play. His minutes will continue to be sporadic as Casey leans on quicker, more experienced and versatile defenders in Johnson and Patterson some nights, depending on the opponent and whichever version of Valanciunas comes to play. Through it all, he cant lose focus and most importantly he cant lose his confidence. Hes got to keep his head up - on and off the floor - continue to work and learn whether hes in the game or on the bench. The Raptors are exercising patience with their young big man but he needs to be patient with himself. PORTLAND, Ore. -- LaMarcus Aldridge knew when it was his time. The two-time All-Star went on a personal nine-point rally to pull Portland ahead for good and the Trail Blazers closed out the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 12-0 run for a 108-96 victory on Wednesday night. Aldridge finished with 32 points and 18 rebounds for his 22nd double-double of the season. The 6-foot-11 forward also made his first 3-pointer. "I had missed so many shots early and I looked up and it was two minutes left and I told Will Barton, Its my time. I stepped up and just made shots down the stretch," he said. Damian Lillard added 28 points for the Blazers (29-9), who won their third straight and sit behind only San Antonio in the Western Conference. Newly acquired forward Luol Deng had 25 points for the Cavaliers, who were playing the second of a back-to-back after a victory over the Lakers on Tuesday night. Kyrie Irving added 21 points. Dion Waiters 3-pointer gave the Cavs a 94-93 lead with 3:44 to go. Aldridge made his first 3-pointer of the season to give Portland back the lead, but Anderson Varejaos tip tied it at 96. Aldridge answered with pair of free throws, a 19-foot jumper and a layup that made it 102-96. "He knew it was winning time and I just felt like you could see him with the determination of making a play at the rim," coach Terry Stotts said. The Blazers added consecutive 3-pointers from Wesley Matthews and Lillard for the final margin. Deng, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bulls last week in exchange for Andrew Bynum and draft picks, continues to fit in nicely with the Cavaliers. He had 27 points, matching his season high, in Clevelands 120-118 victory in Los Angeles on Tuesday. It was the Cavaliers fourth win on the road this season. Irving went into the game averaging 21.4 points, identical to Lillard, last seasons NBA Rookie of the Year. When the Blazers visited Cleveland on Dec. 17, Lillard sank a long 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Blazers came away with a 119-116 victory. Lillard finished with 36 points, Irving had 25.dddddddddddd It looked at first like this game might come down to which of the talented point guards would have a better night. In the end, however, Aldridge made the difference -- prompting fans to once again shower him with "M-V-P!" chants. The Blazers are 19-3 when he has a double-double. The 3-pointer was Aldridges first after six unsuccessful attempts this season. "He said he was going to shoot a 3 every game now," Matthews joked. Aldridge was relatively quiet in the first half, hitting just five of 13 shots from the floor for 13 points and six rebounds. Waiters hit consecutive baskets and Tyler Zeller added a layup to give the Cavs a 38-30 lead in the second quarter. Portland tied it at 46 on Lillards consecutive 3-pointers. The Blazers pulled in front 49-48 on another 3 from Lillard and Portland led 54-50 at the break. Irvings long jumper gave the Cavaliers a 65-63 lead in the third quarter while the Blazers struggled to find a basket. Dengs fast-break layup pushed Clevelands lead to 73-69. But Aldridge hit a turnaround jumper at the buzzer that gave the Blazers a 77-75 lead going into the fourth quarter. Portland clung to the lead until Waiters pull-up jumper tied it at 88 with 6:18 left. "Youve got to give LaMarcus Aldridge credit," said Cavaliers coach Mike Brown. "He hit some tough shots down the stretch. They came up with a couple of tough rebounds for kick-out 3s. It kind of discombobulated us a little bit when they scored. We missed some shots and that was the ballgame." Notes: The Blazers now embark on a tough four-game road trip that will take them to San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Oklahoma City. ... It was the second time this season that Lillard has had 20 points in the first half. ... After the game several Cavaliers players returned to the Moda Center court for what appeared to be an impromptu practice. Several fans also stayed behind to shoot free throws and 3-pointers on the other end of the court. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '