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TORONTO - Over a dozen cameras and upwards of 30 reporters gathered in the hallway on the third floor of the Air Canada Centre, jockeying for position outside the Raptors practice facility Tuesday afternoon. No, they were not staking out a spot for the playoffs, now 11 days away. They were not there to take in the teams final scheduled regular season practice. They were not on hand to inquire about the injured Kyle Lowry or Amir Johnson, both of whom had returned to the court. The gravity of Jonas Valanciunas drunk driving charge and arrest had transcended basketball, it was bigger than sport. It was news, and rightfully so. The Raptors starting centre was arrested early Monday morning for impaired driving in Wasaga Beach - roughly two hours north of Toronto - where he spent Sunday evening visiting friends. Valanciunas did not speak to the media Tuesday, as he had not yet met with his legal representatives, but those that did - GM Masai Ujiri, coach Dwane Casey and a couple of his veteran teammates - said all the right things. Understanding the severity of the 21-year-olds poor judgment, the organization made their message clear. Without condoning his actions, they stood united in support of their youngest player. "Like I told him, Im upset with him and disappointed in him but hes mine," said Casey. "So we love him." "He made a mistake, like any other young man has probably done before. We all make mistakes and its what we do after it [that] is how were going to be judged." The news of his arrest was surprising to those within the organization. Coaches, teammates and even fans have come to know the wide-eyed sophomore for his sincere, albeit quirky personality. Mondays events seemed out of character, to say the least. "Hes a great person, great kid," said Ujiri, maintaining Valanciunas hasnt, to his knowledge had prior plights with excessive alcohol use or bad decision making. "Weve never had any issues here with him, thats the honest truth." Valanciunas met with Ujiri for an hour on Monday. The following morning he sat down with Tim Leiweke and Larry Tanenbaum before addressing his coaches and teammates ahead of practice. "He sat in my office there yesterday," said the Raptors GM. "He knew, face in his hands, that he was sorry about it." "Hes very apologetic," Lowry echoed. "I mean hes sick right now. Hes really hurt by it, hes really embarrassed by it [and] very disappointed in himself. I can tell you that for sure." Per NBA policy, no punishment - from the league or the team - can be handed down until the legal process plays out. Although the Raptors are unlikely to issue any supplementary discipline, the league will come down on Valanciunas with a suspension - of likely two games - when and if hes convicted or theres a plea of guilt. The ramifications for Valanciunas - the player - are modest. Hell continue to play. Any suspension he faces wont take into effect until the beginning of next season, at the earliest. He will not be required to attend his initial court date on Apr. 22, shortly after the Raptors begin their first-round playoff series. Hes been enjoying one of the best stretches of his career and theres no reason why that shouldnt continue, assuming he can stave off the legal distractions that are likely to ensure. For Valanciunas - the person - the consequences are intricate. He has some damage control, some image repair to do. Most importantly, he has some growing up to do. In the last year, his second in the NBA, weve watched Valanciunas blossom on the court, sometimes losing sight of the fact that he is also growing and learning as a young man. Valanciunas - less than a month away from his 22nd birthday - made a mistake, a stupid one. Thankfully no one was hurt as a result. Given what we know about the young seven-footer its not hard to believe that the apology he made to his team, to his coaches, to the organization and fans was a sincere one. Some athletes, upon putting themselves in a similar predicament, have apologized mostly for being caught, which doesnt seem to be the case for a remorseful Valanciunas. What many of those other athletes havent had is the support system the Raptors can offer their young centre. Both Casey and Ujiri have positioned themselves as mentors and father figures, not only for Valanciunas but for all their players, while the teams locker room is filled with positive influences who have already begun to steer the sophomore in the right direction. "Be smart," Casey told him. "We all have to be smart. All of us have to be smart in what we do, how we carry ourselves off the floor, where we are [and] who we hang out with." "I talked to him and I made him understand that the things he did were wrong," Lowry said. "He just has to suffer the consequences that come with that." "Its unfortunate that it happened to such a good kid in JV," the 28-year-old point guard continued, "but it happened. Hes 21, hes going to learn from it and Im sure hes never going to make that mistake again." Ultimately, thats the true test, as Casey wisely pointed out. How does he learn from Mondays incident? Will he grow as a result of it? He made a mistake. What does he do next? 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"I always come in and Im going to shoot the open shot and try to be aggressive and score but its hard to know when youre sitting out how youre going to have an immediate impact," Anderson said. "Its been a very easy transition because of the guys. Its not a surprise, but its relieving to know that these guys can just pick that up and we can play as a group. ... The guys are getting me open and were really doing a good job of moving the ball." Anderson, who returned from a broken toe last Saturday night, has played a significant role in each of New Orleans past two victories, going 16 of 25 from the field, including 10 of 16 from 3-point range. "Ryan just gives us a dimension, not only does he shoot the ball well, he can rebound on the defensive end," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said, adding that Anderson, simply because of the threat he poses from outside, "helps so many guys without touching the ball." Jrue Holiday scored 14, Tyreke Evans 13 and Jason Smith 11 for New Orleans. Former Michigan star and first-round draft choice Trey Burke made his NBA debut for Utah after missing the first 12 games because of surgery on his right index finger. The ninth overall pick last summer scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in only 12 minutes. Burke said he wanted more minutes but understood the decision to limit his playing time. "Thats how it is coming off an injury," Burke said. "Coach wanted to shelter me a little bit." Enes Kanter led Utah with 19 points and John Lucas III added 14, hitting four of five 3s he attempted. Richard Jeffersoon and Derrick Favours each scored 13, but it was not enough prevent the Jazz (1-2) from dropping their fourth straight as one of its top scorers, Gordon Hayward had an off-night.dddddddddddd Hayward shot 1 for 17 and finished with six points. "You have to grow through it," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "This is who we have and this is who we are going to be. We cant manufacture anyone else to put on the floor. We have to learn through it on the fly here." Davis defence only made it harder on Utah. In the last two games, he has nearly had his first career triple-double, narrowly missing double digits in rebounds and blocks. No player in the 26-year history of the Pelicans, formerly called the Hornets, has had a triple-double comprised in part by double-digit blocks. Moving quickly all over the court, Davis even rejected a perimeter shot by Hayward. "You just got to defend," Davis said. "Thats what Jrue tells me all the time: It starts with you. So I just try to go out there and defend, play as hard as I can and hopefully the team follows in my footsteps and we play well defensively." Utah started to find its rhythm early in the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points, including two 3s by Lucas and another by Jefferson, to take its largest lead at 57-51. New Orleans immediately responded with a 15-4 run, however. Holiday scored twice inside during the spurt and Davis added a fast-break dunk. The game remained close until early in the fourth quarter, when Anderson hit two 3s to cap a 14-2 run that gave New Orleans its largest lead at 87-73. Utah was able to briefly trim its deficit to six when Kanters inside basket made it 96-90, but Davis putback in a crowd began another Pelicans surge which Anderson highlighted with a dunk to build New Orleans lead back to a game-high 14 at 105-91 with 1:05 left. New Orleans finished shooting 51 per cent (40 of 79), while Utah hit 45 per cent (37 of 83) of its shots. NOTES: Utah, which fell to 0-7 away from home, continues its three game road trip Friday at Dallas and Sunday at Oklahoma City. ... A video review deprived Anderson of a made 3 when officials concluded a foul called on Utah occurred just before the shot. ' ' '