Begrüßung » Cole Linaker and Ryan

TORONTO - Forty-eight hours after a disheartening loss in Brooklyn, and moments after their bounce-back victory at home over the Pistons, a collection of Raptors players and coaches gathered in the locker room to watch the tail end of the Nets one-point victory over Miami. With less than 20 games remaining and a postseason berth all but locked up, the scoreboard watching is well underway. The red-hot Nets pulled within three games of Toronto for top spot in the Atlantic Division on Monday. In defeating the defending, two-time champion Heat Wednesday - for the third time this season - they continue to keep pace with the Raptors, breathing directly down their necks. As Dwane Casey and his players watched Brooklyn close out its seventh victory in eight games, the Raptors coach delivered a strong message to the troops. Dont look back. "We can watch that but if we dont take care of our business its not worth a crap," he said after his team did just that, defeating the Pistons 101-87 at home Wednesday evening. "Im more concerned about what we do and how were playing and how weve got to make up for Patrick (Patterson) being out and losing leads more so than anything else." The Raptors, despite Mondays loss, still control their own destiny and they sure looked like a team in the drivers seat against an inferior opponent in the reeling Pistons. Detroit is a befuddling case of disjointed talent. Despite swinging for the fences over the summer - signing Josh Smith and trading for Brandon Jennings - Joe Dumars and company have struck out this season. Chemistry is a hard thing to quantify in a team sport like basketball, as the post-trade Raptors can attest to. You either have it or you dont. When the Pistons began to come apart - as they tend to do - in the third quarter and then again in the fourth, the Raptors came together. "I thought [the bigs] were battling and our guards came back in, what we call cracking down, and cracked down to help the bigs" said Casey. "I thought that was huge. Its a five-man job." Toronto was paced in scoring by DeMar DeRozan, who had a game-high 25 points, as well as Amir Johnson and Kyle Lowry, chipping in with 20 and 19 respectively. Still, it was as much a collective effort as Casey could have hoped for, especially with the injured Patterson out resting an elbow sprain. With the intimidating frontcourt duo of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond to contend with, the Raptors had four players pull down eight or more rebounds, including reserves Greivis Vasquez and Chuck Hayes. The Pistons came into the game ranked first in offensive rebounds, first in paint points and second in second-chance scoring. "We had to box out," said Johnson, who grabbed nine boards on the night. "We looked at all the stats and that was definitely the key, to get all those guys off the boards. They definitely have a big lineup and thats what we did." The Raptors "cracked down" - as Casey says - in the second half, besting Detroit 29-13 on the boards, holding the visitors to one offensive rebound. They also outscored the Pistons 24-14 in the paint and 15-0 in second-chance points over the final 24 minutes. On a night in which Brooklyn stole headlines with an impressive win over an elite team, the division-leaders took care of business. The Raptors have heeded their coaches warning, at least to this point. They havent looked back. With 11 wins in its last 12 games against opponents with records south of .500, Toronto continues to hold serve. Theyre not looking for style points so long as they come away with the prize. "A lot of our guys havent been there," Casey reiterated. "Like Ive always preached, its a different animal. I hope theyre enjoying it but yet still [understanding] how hard it is, getting there first and then after you get there it gets even harder." "Its good, its exciting, its great for our fans," he continued. "Its something our fans havent been through in a while but again, weve just got to take care of our business." Rusty Staub Astros Jersey . Appearing on TSN 690 Monday afternoon, Mike Babcock said he had conversations with both P.K. Subban and Carey Price about those on-ice traits during Hockey Canadas summer orientation camp. Mike Babcock: McGill experience, P. Cesar Geronimo Astros Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. https://www.cheapastros.com/1363o-randy-...sey-astros.html. Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners. Jose Cruz Astros Jersey . The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Roberto Osuna Jersey . The Gatineau Olympiques head coach will lead Canada in its quest to end its gold medal drought at the 2015 world junior hockey championship held in Montreal and Toronto at the end of this year.EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oil Kings overwhelmed the Brandon Wheat Kings en route to a 5-0 win in Game 1 of their second-round Western Hockey League playoff series Thursday. Ashton Sautner, Henrik Samuelsson, Mads Eller, Edgars Kulda and Brett Pollock each scored for Edmonton. Tristan Jarry made just 15 saves in net for Edmonton with most of the action at the other end of the ice. Wheat Kings goalie Jordan Papirny was forced to make 40 saves. Edmonton outshot Brandon 12-3 in the firstt, 19-8 in the second and 14-4 in the third.dddddddddddd --- ROCKETS 6 THUNDERBIRDS 2 KELOWNA, B.C. -- Damon Severson scored twice as the Rockets cruised to a win in Game 1. Severson added two assists, while Madison Bowey, Rourke Chartier, Cole Linaker and Ryan Olsen also scored for Kelowna. Mathew Barzal and Alexander Delnov had a goal apiece for Seattle. Jordon Cooke finished with 23 saves in net for the Rockets. Seattles Taran Kozun meanwhile stopped 30 shots. ' ' '