Tips & Tricks » Irving, forcing him to launch tough perimeter jumpers,

AJ Styles will defend the WWE World Championship on next weeks episode of Smackdown - against the virtually unknown James Ellsworth. Ellsworths WWE experience prior to Tuesday night consisted of being squashed by Braun Strowman on Raw and attacked by The Miz on Smackdown before he could partner Styles in a bout against John Cena and Dean Ambrose.However, the journeyman will fight for the blue brands top prize in Denver next week after pinning Styles to secure a stunning, Ambrose-assisted victory in San Jose.Styles had headed to the ring to crow about beating Cena and Ambrose in a Triple Threat at No Mercy to retain his belt, before handing Ellsworth a non-title match.Smackdown General Manager Daniel Bryan agreed to the bout, with the caveats that Ambrose would serve as referee and that if Styles attacked him, he would be fined or suspended. Reigning WWE World Champion AJ Styles celebrates his win over John Cena and Dean Ambrose at No Mercy. The Lunatic Fringe was far from an impartial official, answering his phone while Styles made Ellsworth tap out to the Calf Crusher.But things got worse for the champion when Ambrose planted him with two Dirty Deeds before lifting Ellsworth on top of him and concluding a swift three count, with Bryan later announcing Ellsworth would fight Styles for the WWE World Title in seven days time. James Ellsworth pinned AJ Styles on Smackdown Elsewhere on Smackdown, new Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler defeated Kenny and Mikey of the Spirit Squad in a handicap match.The Miz - who had earlier bemoaned Ziggler beating him for the belt at No Mercy - subsequently joined a three-on-one beat-down of The Show-Off, before Rhyno and Heath Slater made the save. An irritated Miz laments the ‘death’ of the Intercontinental Title after Dolph Ziggler won it from him at WWE No Mercy. Naomi, meanwhile, secured her second big win in three days, the former Orlando Magic cheerleader backing up her victory over Alexa Bliss at No Mercy by prevailing against Carmella.Carmella was distracted by Nikki Bella, who had rushed to the ring during the match after being attacked backstage by The Princess of Staten Island while she conducted an interview. Naomi (L) beat Carmella on Tuesday night Naomi pounced with a roll-up pin and will now battle Bliss - the No 1 contender to Smackdown Womens Champion Becky Lynch - on next weeks show.Elsewhere, Naomis husband, Jimmy Uso, defeated American Alphas Chad Gable thanks to help from his brother Jey, while Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper knocked off Randy Orton and Kane.Watch the next episode of WWE Smackdown - which will also include Jack Swagger taking on Baron Corbin - live from 1am next Tuesday on Sky Sports 5. Smackdown bosses Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon have challenged Raw to compete in three brand versus brand matches at Survivor Series. Also See: WWE No Mercy: Winners and losers WWE on Sky Sports Follow @SkySportsWWE WWE videos TORONTO - Once he got going, no one could calm Jonas Valanciunas down, despite Kyle Lowrys best efforts. As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back. "Youve got to be smart in certain situations," Lowry told the young centre. "I just tried to say look, you cant waste your money." "Yeah, he was trying to calm me down," Valanciunas said of the conversation with his point guard, speaking with a mischievous look on his face following the Raptors 98-91 win over the Cavaliers. "That technical foul cost me, so I feel bad now." He shouldnt. The tech will cost Valanciunas a small fraction of his next paycheque but the unbridled emotion he played with in the second half of Fridays game was the driving force of Torontos rapid turnaround. Valanciunas, like the rest of his team, got off to an ugly start. The Raptors were fortunate to be down by only five going into the break, scoring just 39 points in the first half and shooting 33 per cent from the field. For the third straight game coming out of the All-Star break, Valanciunas got a quick hook in the first quarter. The seven-footer has been strangely quiet of late, averaging under six points in four games entering Fridays contest. His minutes have been down, as hes battled growing pains on the defensive end. After being sent to the bench midway through the opening quarter, he sat for around 12 minutes of game time before re-entering. Somewhere, somehow, someone lit a fire under the sophomore and not only did it spark him, it ignited the whole team. Valanciunas was a possessed man coming out of the halftime break. He was aggressive on defence, manic on the boards and dominant down low. He ran the floor with a purpose, worked to establish position, then demanded the ball. As he turned to face up Clevelands Tyler Zeller midway through the third, he pump faked - not once, but twice - took the contact and drained the jumper. Before completing the three-point play, he pumped his fist in the air and yelled out to the crowd, or the Cavs, or his teammates, or whoever was listening. His face was as red as the logo at centre court. He meant business. "Hes going to have ups and downs but tonight he was intense," Lowry said of Valanciunas, who had 10 points and four rebounds in the third quarter, finishing the game with 18 points and eight boards. "He really kind of carried us with his intensity and his passion and fire tonight." The 21-year-olds inspired play lifted the Raptors in what turned out to be a game-deciding third quarter. Toronto scored 37 points in the frame - two fewer than its first-half total - and shot 70 per centt, turning a five-point deficit at intermission into an 11-point advantage going into the fourth.dddddddddddd. "Hes our enforcer in the paint," said Amir Johnson, who returned to the starting lineup Friday after coming off the bench in his two previous outings, nursing an ankle injury. "When he gets going, everybody else plays good and that just gets everybody open shots when hes scoring in the paint." Johnson also came to life in the second half, the two bigs even hooked up on an alley-oop lob - from Johnson to Valanciunas - late in game. "We had to give our bigs a wakeup call," Dwane Casey said. "They turned it around in the second half. We reminded them, theres more to the game than the offensive end." "You can do a lot of different things other than make shots," he continued, "and I thought the second half, Amir Johnson and JV worked at it and got it done." Although Valanciunas helped turn the game, the best Raptor on the night - from start to finish - was fellow sophomore Terrence Ross, hands down. Ross scored a team-high 20 points, shooting 9-for-18, but his most important contribution was on the defensive end, where he went toe-to-toe with All-Star Game MVP Kyrie Irving. When the game began, Ross was assigned to check former Raptor Jarrett Jack while Lowry defended Irving. Early in the first quarter, there was a switch and Ross ended up on the Cavs point guard and leading scorer. It stuck for the rest of the evening, and Ross did not disappoint. The Raptors forward used his length and athleticism to frustrate Irving, forcing him to launch tough perimeter jumpers, keeping him out of the paint and holding him to 3-of-16 shooting. "He can score in a lot of different ways [and] get his teammates involved," Ross said of Irving, who ended up with 17 points and nine assists for Cleveland. "So if you slow him down, you slow the team down." "He had to chase [Irving] everywhere," Johnson said of Ross. "He chased him off screens, he didnt quit on plays and thats how you have to play a guy like that. [Irvings] so crafty and hes always moving so you just have to keep a body on him and stay in front of him. [Ross] did a great job." It was Canada Basketball Night at the Air Canada Centre Friday, as local product and first overall pick Anthony Bennett made his NBA debut in Toronto. Bennett, who continues to improve after a slow start to the season, knocked down his first two shots and finished with nine points in 15 minute of action while fellow Canadian Tristan Thompson scored 13 to go along with nine boards. In snapping Clevelands six-game winning streak, the Raptors picked up their 30th win of the campaign, doing so in just 55 games. It took them 78 contests to reach the 30-win mark a year ago. ' ' '