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TORONTO -- In the immediate moments after the Raptors 101-87 victory over Detroit on Wednesday, Toronto coach Dwane Casey sat down to watch the dying minutes of the Miami-Brooklyn game. Black LeSean McCoy Youth Elite Jersey . Amir Johnson checked the result on his phone. With 20 games left on a thrilling season that sees Toronto poised for a playoff position for the first time in six years, the Raptors are excited, and thinking about little else. "Hell, yeah. Without a doubt, man," DeMar DeRozan said. "Thats why I work so hard, and it always bugged me going home early, and just sitting there doing nothing. It used to make me so hungry just watching." DeRozan poured in 25 points, while Johnson scored 20 and grabbed nine rebounds in a game that was no thriller but served its purpose -- one step closer to the teams second Atlantic Division title and its first playoff berth since 2008. The Nets, who edged Miami 96-95 on Wednesday, are three games behind Toronto for the division title. "Ive got a lot of friends that play in the playoffs and I had to hear all summer them talking about their experience in the playoffs. It always pushed me even further," DeRozan said. "You just want to get there. Not even for myself, just for this organization as well. It definitely feels good that were moving in the right direction now." Kyle Lowry had 19 points and six assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 13 rebounds to go with eight points for the Raptors (36-27), whove won 10 of their last 13 games. The affair wasnt pretty. The Raptors coughed up double-digit leads a couple of times -- including an 18-point third-quarter advantage that the Pistons whittled down to just five -- in a game they could have put out of reach far earlier. The Raptors went into the fourth quarter with a narrow 74-69 lead in front of the 18,247 fans at the Air Canada Centre that braved the rare March snowstorm. They scored the first nine points of the fourth to go up by 14. A wide-open three by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 8:23 to go cut the Raptors lead to nine points, but that was as close as the struggling Pistons would come. Brandon Jennings topped Detroit (25-40) with 24 points, while Andre Drummond had 16 points and nine rebounds and Greg Monroe had 13 points to go with 10 boards. Ugly or not, the Raptors were happy to tick off another win. "Absolutely. Im ready," Johnson said, when asked if hes thinking post-season. "Were going to win as many games as we possibly can going down the home stretch, collect these wins." Casey said hes happy his players are enjoying their success, but warns that theyve got to focus on themselves down the stretch. "It is fun. But weve got to take care of our business. We can watch (what other teams are doing), but if we dont take care of our business, its not worth crap," the coach said. "Im more concerned with what we do, and how were playing, . . .and losing leads, moreso than anything else. "I hope (the Raptors) are enjoying it but still understand how hard it is, getting there first, and then after you get there, its even harder." DeRozan, whos in his fifth season in Toronto thus has never stepped on the court for a playoff game, said he has always forced himself to watch the post-season, regardless of how frustrating it was. "I had to, just to understand and see how it was," he said. "Youre playing the same team possibly seven times in a row. Seeing the different schemes. Just trying to get a knowledge of how its played every single day." He said hes particularly thrilled to be sharing this seasons success with Johnson, who last made the playoffs with Detroit in 2009. "Thats my dog, man. Its definitely cool," DeRozan said. "I knew Amir, and Amir knew me when I was running around with the same pair of dirty shoes on, playing basketball. Amir is a helluva dude, how hard he works, and how good of a person he is." Johnson was key Wednesday night in containing Detroits frontcourt -- what Casey had predicted would be a "huge test" for Toronto. The Pistons lead the league in points in the paint and offensive rebounds, thanks largely to Drummond. The Raptors were effective inside, outrebounding Detroit 54-39 and outscoring their visitors in the paint 44-38. Casey wasnt thrilled with the second unit, saying it was "playing in mud a little bit." "We needed to keep the pace going, I thought the pace slowed down," he said. "For whatever reason we got stagnant and lost a couple of leads and thats something we have to work on." The Raptors raced out to a nine-point lead four minutes into the game, stretching it to 14 on a pullup jumper by John Salmons before ending the first quarter up 29-21. The Raptors went almost five minutes without a point to open the second, and Bynum drained a three with 8:37 left in the half to tie the game 29-29. The Raptors managed to cobble together another 10-point lead and took a 52-45 advantage into the dressing room at halftime. A three-pointer by Lowry stretched Torontos lead to 18 points just four-and-a-half minutes into the third but the Raptors couldnt maintain it. The Pistons ended the quarter on a 14-2 run to send the game into the fourth with Toronto leading 74-69. NOTES: Patrick Patterson missed his third straight game with an elbow injury. . . The game was the first of three straight at home. The Raptors host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday before playing a pair on the road at Atlanta and New Orleans. . . The Raptors have won four of their last five against the Pistons. Zach Ertz Eagles Jersey .Y. - Centre Corban Knight scored 3:30 into overtime, and the Abbotsford Heat rallied to edge the Utica Comets 5-4 on Wednesday in American Hockey League play. Brian Dawkins . - Wednesdays lightweight bout between Canadian Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout and K.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Patton Robinette threw two 50-yard touchdown passes to Jordan Matthews, and Vanderbilt recovered after blowing a 24-point lead to beat Houston 41-24 on Saturday in the BBVA Compass Bowl. Robinette, starting after senior Austyn Carta-Samuels had season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, also had an 8-yard scoring run as Vanderbilt built a 24-0 lead in the first half. After Houston (8-4) pulled even by scoring 24 points in the third quarter, Vanderbilt reclaimed the lead on Brian Kimbrows 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt (9-4) closed the season with five straight wins, adding to third-year coach James Franklins status as a possible candidate for coaching vacancies, including at Penn State and with the NFL Browns and Redskins. The Commodores played in three straight bowl games under Franklin -- a first for the program -- and completed their first back-to-back nine-win seasons. Vandy players doused Franklin with a water bucket in the final seconds. Houston gained only 22 yards and had one first down in the first half but rallied with 24 points in the third quarter to pull even. Kenneth Farrow had a 6-yard scoring run and Deontay Greenberry and John OKorn threw scoring passes to Markeith Ambles. The Commodores regrouped with two big gains on direct snaps to running backs early in the fourth quarter. Jerron Seymour ran for 38 yards to the Houston 34. Riley Cooper. Kimbrows touchdown run gave the lead back to Vanderbilt. Jahmel McIntoshs interception less than a minute later gave the ball back to Vanderbilt, setting up Carey Spears 35-yard field goal. Seymour added a 2-yard scoring run with less than 2 minutes remaining. Matthews, a senior who set Southeastern Conference records for career catches and yards receiving, had five catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Matthews took advantage of a lead block by receiver Jonathan Krause to make his first touchdown catch on Vanderbilts second possession. A forced fumble by linebacker Chase Garnham set up the Commodores second touchdown. After Houstons OKorn threw a pass to Greg Ward Jr., a big hit by Garnham forced the fumbled recovered by Andrew Williamson at the Houston 16. Robinette, making his third career start, scored on an 8-yard keeper on fourth down. No Houston defender was near Matthews on his second 50-yard scoring catch in the second quarter. A lost fumble by Robinette set up Farrows 6-yard touchdown run to start Houstons third-quarter comeback. Houston built on the momentum. Daniel Spencers 62-yard run set up OKorns 6-yard touchdown pass to Ambles. OKorns 58-yard pass to Ambles set up a 30-yard field goal by Kyle Bullard. The Cougars completed their big third-quarter comeback on OKorns 67-yard touchdown pass to Greenberry to tie the game. ' ' ' |
