for the Magic, who overcame a 14- point d

TA QALI, Malta - Italy laboured to a 1-0 win at tiny Malta and Croatia crushed Azerbaijan 6-0 Monday as both squads remained perfect atop Group H of European Championship qualifying. DJ Stewart Jersey .Southampton forward Graziano Pelle scored on his international debut with Italy, taking advantage of a loose ball inside the box following a corner in the 23rd minute.Italy also hit the goal frame four times.Both Malta and Italy ended with 10 men. Malta captain Michael Mifsud was shown a controversial direct red card for a foul on Alessandro Florenzi in the 27th even though replays showed there was hardly any foul at all.Still, the 155th-ranked island nation put up stiff defensive resistance the rest of the way and Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci was sent off for a last-man foul on Andre Schembri in the 73rd.Bonucci will have to sit out against Croatia on Nov. 16 in Milan.In Croatia, Ivan Perisic scored twice and Andrej Kramaric, Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric also added goals. Plus, there was an own goal from Rashad SadygovAlso, Norway beat Bulgaria 2-1 with goals from Tarik Elyounoussi and Havard Nielsen.Croatia and Italy lead with nine points each, Norway has six, Bulgaria three and Malta and Azerbaijan zero.Having points in the table should give us confidence, Italy coach Antonio Conte said. We won but we could have been more decisive in front of the goal. Theres margin for improvement.Italy has won all four of its matches — including a friendly against the Netherlands — under Conte, who is yet to call up Mario Balotelli.We need to improve and we can improve, Conte said. But four wins give us confidence.The top two finishers from the nine groups qualify automatically. The best third-placed team also qualifies automatically, and the other eight can qualify through a playoff.Italy also struggled somewhat against Malta in their last two meetings, needing an injury-time goal to close out a 2-0 win in 2012 and saving a penalty in a win by the same score last year — both in World Cup qualifying.This match was similar, and Malta nearly went ahead when Clayton Failla shot wide in the 15th.That threat seemed to wake up the Azzurri, though, and Pelle and Giorgio Chiellini hit the crossbar and goal frame seconds apart in the 18th.Then came Pelles score.The 29-year-old Pelle also has five goals in eight matches for Southampton this season and, at 1.94 metres (6-foot-4), gives Conte a physical presence inside the area.Last season, Pelle scored 23 goals in 28 matches for Feyenoord in the Dutch league but was ignored by then-Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, who resigned after the Azzurris first-round elimination from the World Cup.Antonio Candreva and substitute Sebastian Giovinco hit the goal frame in the second half.The Azzurri sorely missed midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo, who was rested.Malta is managed by Pietro Ghedin, an Italian who was formerly an assistant coach with Italy. Tippy Martinez Jersey . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. Jim Palmer Jersey . -- Center Max Unger and tight end Zach Miller are both probable for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday against the New York Giants and Percy Harvins recovery continues to be slow. https://www.cheaporioles.com/1538i-milt-pappas-jersey-orioles.html .ca. Hi Mr. Fraser, When I was watching the Heritage Classic in Vancouver there was a play midway through the third where Ottawa crashed the Canucks net and it came off its moorings.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors hope to catch a break Sunday in the finale of a three-game homestand, as they host the road-weary Orlando Magic. You can catch all the action live on TSN at 6pm et./3pm pt. or listen on TSN Radio 1050. The Raptors ended Clevelands six-game winning streak with Fridays 98-91 triumph and were led by Terrence Rosss 20 points. Jonas Valanciunas followed Ross with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Toronto, which has won four of five and eight of its last 12 games. Toronto limited All-Star Game MVP Kyrie Irving to 17 points. "Youve got to stay defensively sound with him (Irving)," said Ross, who spent much of the game defending the dynamic point guard. "He can score. And defensively if you slow him down, you slow the team down." All-Star DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry scored 14 points apiece in the win. Toronto is third in the Eastern Conference standings -- one-half game ahead of Chicago -- and has a four-game lead on Brooklyn in the Atlantic. The Raptors are trying to move six games over .500 for the first time since Feb. 24, 2010. The Raptors are 10-3 at home since New Years Day and are averaging 93.2 ppg at Air Canada Centre in that stretch. DeRozan has helped that cause and is posting an average of 25.1 points this month (9 games). Orlando will begin a four-game road trip Sunday agaiinst Toronto, Washington, Philadelphia and Miami, and has lost 14 in a row as the visitor. Rick Dempsey Jersey. Its the longest road skid since a 16-game drought from Jan. 27-March 21, 2006. The Magics last road victory was an 83-82 decision over Chicago on Dec. 16. However, the Magic have won four of their last seven games -- all at home -- and ended a three-game losing streak with Fridays 129-121 double-overtime triumph versus the New York Knicks. Arron Afflalo scored 32 points and rookie Victor Oladipo posted 30 points, a career-high 14 assists and nine rebounds for the Magic, who overcame a 14- point deficit in the second half and had a 16-8 advantage in the second OT. "I really feel like I havent scratched the surface of how good Im going to be. I honestly believe that," Oladipo said. Afflalo tied the game at 106-106 on a jump shot with 42.9 seconds left in regulation, but Nikola Vucevic missed a layup to win it. He also missed on a shot at the end of the first overtime and finished with 14 points and 15 boards. Tobias Harris had 22 points for the Magic. Afflalo (ankle) is expected to miss Sundays game at Toronto, which handed the Magic a 98-83 setback on Jan. 29 at Air Canada Centre. The two teams will meet again March 30 in Orlando. The Raptors have won five in a row against the Magic and are unbeaten in the previous three encounters north of the border. ' ' '

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