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ATLANTA -- Mike Budenholzer coached hard right to the end, arguing with the officials over a kicked ball even with the game in hand. Finally, the horn sounded. That first victory as an NBA head coach was his. Al Horford had 22 points and 16 rebounds, three other Atlanta starters scored in double figures and the Hawks won their home opener, defeating the Toronto Raptors 102-95 on Friday to give Budenholzer a night to remember. "Its a good feeling," he said. "But I mostly feel good for our group because of how hard theyve worked for the entire coaching staff. Just the energy, the effort, the focus and intensity they bring every day, thats gives me a good feeling. To go out and get the win, thats icing on the cake." The Hawks built an 18-point lead late in the third quarter, then held off a Raptors comeback in the final period. Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver had 17 points apiece, while Paul Millsap added 15. "They made me really sweat there at the end," quipped Budenholzer, a long-time assistant in San Antonio. When the Hawks finally finished it off, the rookie coach gave a quick wave to Raptors counterpart Dwane Casey, hugged Elton Brand and headed to the locker room with a big smile. The Raptors lost despite 31 points from DeMar DeRozan, including 23 over the final two quarters. "DeMar came in the second half and did a great job," Casey said. The Hawks stemmed the rally with a crucial sequence. Horford scored on a running hook in the lane, Torontos Amir Johnson missed an easy putback, and the home team took off running. Teague found Millsap all alone under the basket, and he held up long enough to lay it in and draw a foul. Even though Millsap missed the free throw, Atlanta led 93-84 with 3:22 remaining. The Raptors never got any closer than six points the rest of the way. Atlanta has undergone a massive makeover during the last two summers, leaving Horford and Teague as the only players who have been with the team more than two seasons. This year, the Hawks added a new coach as well. Seven of the 12 players who suited up Friday were making their home debuts in an Atlanta uniform, prompting one season-ticket holder sitting behind press row to remark, "I dont know who half these guys are." But the fans liked what they he saw, especially in the second half as the Hawks built a 70-52 lead. DeRozan hit 14 of 23 from the field, nearly bringing the Raptors all the way back. Kyle Lowry scored 16 points, Rudy Gay 14 and Johnson 13. Horford carried the Hawks at both ends of the court and Teague ran the offence just the way Budenholzer wants, dishing out 12 assists and committing only one turnover. Budenholzer was especially impressed with Horford, who is now the face of the franchise after all that turnover. The centre is still getting used to the new motion offence and had just 11 points in a 118-109 loss at Dallas to open the season. Horford looked a lot more comfortable against the Raptors. "He put us on his shoulders," Budenholzer said. "He scored a lot of different ways. He was really decisive in making his decisions and making his moves." The Raptors were coming off a 93-87 victory over Boston in their home opener. Toronto fell short in the bid for its first 2-0 start since 2008. After letting the Mavericks run wild, Atlanta limited the Raptors to just eight fast-break points. Neither team led by more than four points until the Hawks suddenly broke off a quick spurt in the final minute of the first half. Cartier Martin knocked down a 3-pointer, Pero Antic also connected from beyond the arc and Teague finished it off with a thunderous dunk as the clock wound down, sending Atlanta to the locker room with a 49-39 lead. "That 2-minute stretch at the end of the first half killed us," Lowry said. NOTES: Korver extended his 3-point streak to 75 regular-season games, finishing 5 of 8 from beyond the arc to keep up the longest active run in the league. ... Raptors F Steve Novak woke up with a sore back and did not dress. ... The announced attendance was 18,118, supposedly a sellout, though there were thousands of empty seats in Philips Arena. Fletcher Cox Youth Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Harold Carmichael Youth Jersey . These teams will see plenty of each other in the next few weeks as three of the Canucks next nine games are against the Wild (after today they meet February 9th in Minnesota and again February 16th at Rogers Arena). https://www.eaglessportsgoods.com/Womens-Reggie-White-Inverted-Jersey/ . INJURIES - Reds RF Jay Bruce is facing knee surgery for a torn meniscus and it could cost him a month of playing time. Chris Heisey, who has shown some pop (43 home runs, . Randall Cunningham Youth Jersey . Brassard and Coyotes defenceman Derek Morris were battling for position in the crease when a nudge from Morris sent Brassard on top of Smith late in the third period. Clayton Thorson Womens Jersey . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The day race at Daytona International Speedway ended up at night. And now the night race will go off during the day. Steady rain forced NASCAR to postpone the Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night. Its the second race at Daytona this year delayed by rain. The season-opening Daytona 500 was stopped for more than six hours because of rain and ended under the lights. "We seem to have a little bad luck with the weather," said Joie Chitwood III, the track president. "We had it in February and we have it right now." The Coke Zero 400 will start at 11 a.m. Sunday, about 14 hours after officials postponed the event. The forecast calls for more rain Sunday, but Chitwood said scheduling an early start gives NASCAR a "bigger window of time to get it in." The race was supposed to start at 7:577 p.ddddddddddddm. Saturday, but showers soaked the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway and forced officials to delay the green flag and eventually postpone the race. This is the fourth Cup race affected by rain this season and the second to be postponed a day. Bristol also was affected by rain, and Texas was delayed a day. Despite the latest washout, Chitwood does not want the race moved from its traditional Saturday night spot around the July Fourth holiday. The race has been run in that spot for 27 years, and prior to that, it went on the annual holiday itself. Chitwood was reminded of what a rain-free event looked like as he watched a replay of last years Coke Zero 400 during Saturdays delay. "The crowd was fantastic and the weather was good and we gave the fans a heck of a show," he said. "I think July Fourth weekend is a great time." ' ' '