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TORONTO - Fresh off one of his most impressive outings of the season, DeMar DeRozan sat by his locker and spoke about carrying his suddenly injury-ridden team while a small piece of gauze soaked up the blood on the hand he used to carry them. Theres some irony there, somewhere. DeRozan needed "four or five" stitches to close a gash in the webbing of his left hand following Wednesdays surprising 107-103 win over the Houston Rockets. "I didnt even notice," he said. It happened late in the fourth quarter as he tried to rip the ball away from Omer Asik. "I looked down and my whole hand was soaked." "It wouldnt stop bleeding. But its cool." Next to Terrence Ross, the Raptors healthiest starter might be the guy with the bloody mitt. They had been fortunate to avoid the injury bug for most of the season but, as they say, when it rains, it pours. Suddenly, its hit them like a monsoon. Missing Kyle Lowry for the first time this season, out with soreness in his left knee, Toronto lost another indispensable cog when Amir Johnson was removed three minutes into Wednesdays game, having tweaked a lingering right ankle ailment. Just a few minutes later the Raptors fell behind by 12 points. With eight games left in their feel-good, Cinderella season the sky was falling, or so we thought. Fact is, this wouldnt be the first time theyve been written off, left for dead. They havent followed the script to this point, so why would they start now? "Guys stepped up," Dwane Casey said. With Patrick Patterson leading the charge in his second game back from an elbow injury, the second unit immediately captured momentum. John Salmons played his best basketball in months while Nando De Colo and Tyler Hansbrough both gave Toronto a lift with their energy off the bench. Greivis Vasquez, starting in place of the injured Lowry, filled in admirably at the point, recording eight assists without committing a turnover in a season-high 40 minutes of action. But no one was quite as impressive as DeRozan. The all-star guard faced all the additional defensive attention you would expect without Lowry in the lineup but after a 12-minute adjustment period he put the team on his shoulders and got to work. "I had to pick up the slack with [Lowry] out," said DeRozan, making just one of his five shots in the first quarter. "I havent really played without Kyle, hes played every game. It was an adjustment for me tonight but I figured it out there after the first quarter." DeRozan scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the second quarter, connecting on all six of his attempts in the frame, including a 32-foot bank shot to end the half. Rising to the occasion, DeRozan was at his best when his team needed him most; the mark of a true all-star. The Raptors have two players that fit that description. With DeRozan sidelined for a couple games in late February, Lowry led Toronto to a pair of victories, scoring over 30 points in each contest. Now it was his turn to carry the load. "Theyve been doing it the whole year," Vasquez said of the teams star backcourt. "Both [of them]. Its not hidden that theyre our leaders. We go as they go and everybody understands that. This is why we have a healthy locker room. Were not fighting egos. We know whats going on. Those two guys are going to score, those two guys are going to make winning plays for us and weve just got to feed off their energy. Whenever those guys go down weve got their back, thats what this team is all about." Lowry originally sustained the injury colliding with LeBron James in Mondays loss to the Heat. Although there was no structural damage to his knee, it was still swollen on Wednesday and the teams medical staff decided it was best to hold him out, much to the dismay of Lowry, one would imagine. "If it were up to him he would go one leg," Casey joked before the game. "But you dont want to risk his future health for one game." Even in his absence, Lowrys tendencies seemed to rub off on his teammates. DeRozan took a rare charge. Vasquez tried to do the same, though he was called for a blocking foul. "I know he was laughing," Vasquez said of Lowry, who leads the league in drawing charges. "He knows I dont take charges." The good news for the Raptors is that neither Lowrys knee injury or Johnsons bum ankle appears too serious. Both players will benefit from some much-needed rest during Thursdays off day and hope to be ready for Fridays home tilt with the Pacers, Torontos final game against a winning opponent this season. "Weve been very lucky not to have had some major injuries, knock on wood, throughout the year," Casey said. "The little injury bug has hit us a little bit. The schedules not going to stop. Weve got to keep going. Next man up." Casey reaches milestone With the victory, Casey notched his 100th win at the helm of the Raptors, becoming the third coach in team history to reach that plateau, joining Sam Mitchell and Lenny Wilkens. Asked about the accomplishment after the game, the Raptors third-year bench boss shifted the focus to his players, as expected. "All I know is its [win] number 43 for us this year," he said. "Its not about [me]. Its about the team, its about the organization, its about the players that have been here the three years and the process that weve gone through." "To start where we did and kind of build, and were still building, is a tribute to the young guys and the players that have been through here." The stat The Raptors will finish the year with a 16-14 record against Western Conference teams, their first season above .500 versus the West since 1999-00. The quote "Ever since I was in New Orleans I wanted to start my whole career," said Vasquez, who made his second start as a Raptor after doing so in all 18 games with the Kings this season and all 78 he appeared in with New Orleans last year. "But when I came here I really humbled myself and understood that its about winning more than about putting up numbers. I can go out there and play 36 minutes and put up crazy numbers but what about the playoffs? What about making winning plays?" "So Im going to be ready, man. I love this team and Im willing to do whatever it takes." Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. Tyus Jones Jersey . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit. http://www.basketballtimberwolvesshop.com/Cheap-Kevin-Garnett-Timberwolves-Jersey/ . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Jamal Crawford Jersey . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. Custom Minnesota Timberwolves Jerseys .com) - Guess whos back, back again? Josh Gordons back, tell a friend. CLEVELAND -- A season that looked like a lost cause two weeks ago has suddenly turned around for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving scored 22 points and the Cavaliers won their sixth straight game, 101-93 over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. The winning streak has put Cleveland within three games of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Considering where they were on Feb. 5 when they hit rock bottom with an embarrassing loss to an injury-decimated Los Angeles Lakers team that finished the game with five players, the Cavaliers have made a big leap forward in a short period of time. Irving, chosen MVP of the NBA All-Star game Sunday, paced a balanced offence that extended the Cavaliers longest winning streak since they won eight in a row in March 2010. That was LeBron James final season in Cleveland. "Its been nothing specific," Irving said of the resurgence. "Were coming together as a team. Were enjoying the game out there, a lot more smiles and a higher level of competitiveness. Were having fun, but were also competing." General manager Chris Grant was fired the day after the loss to the Lakers. It appears the Cavaliers learned some lessons from the low point of the season. Cleveland won its last four games before the All-Star break and routed Philadelphia on Tuesday. "We know what it feels like to be on both sides, whether down or up," Irving said. Cleveland played without guard Dion Waiters (hyperextended left knee) and centre Anderson Varejao (sore back). Luol Deng scored 17 points, while Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson each added 16 for the Cavaliers, whose 21-point lead was cut to two late in the game. Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 23 points. The Magic have lost 14 consecutive road games and are an NBA-worst 3-25 away from home. Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn is at a loss to explain his teams road woes. "I have no secret formula," he said. "They can see how the second half transpired -- thats the secret. Whether its back-to-back games or youre playing four in five nights, playing like that with mental toughness is the only way to get it done." The Cavaliers built an 18-point lead in the first quarter and were ahead by double figures until Orlando rallied in the third. The Magic outscored the Cavs 32-17 in the period and cut it to 72-70 in the early seconds of the fourth. Cleveland went up 89-81 but Orlando scored six straight points to cut the margin to two again. Zellers three-point play, two free throws by Irving and Dengs 3-pointer pushed the lead to 97-89 with 35 seconds remaining.dddddddddddd Orlando forward Glen Davis, the subject of trade talk leading up to Thursdays deadline, left early in the first quarter with a sore right Achilles and didnt return. The Cavaliers led 26-11 after one. Orlando missed its first nine shots and fell behind 15-2. The Magic were 3 of 21 from the field in the quarter. Irving, who had 31 points and 14 assists in the All-Star game, ended the first half with a 3-pointer from a couple of steps behind the line that gave Cleveland a 55-36 lead. The Cavaliers scored the first basket in the second half, but the Magic cut the lead to 10 midway through the third, and Nikola Vucevics two free throws made it 72-68 going into the fourth. Victor Oladipos basket to open the period cut the lead to two points. Thompson had 14 rebounds for Cleveland. Vucevic scored 20 points for the Magic, and Tobias Harris added 19. Cleveland has won all three matchups with Orlando this season. Both teams have been linked to trade talks. Reports have indicated the Cavaliers have told teams Deng is available. The veteran moved into the starting small forward spot after being acquired from Chicago on Jan. 7, but can become a free agent after the season. "In 10 years, my name has come up a lot. I never fell into rumours or what goes around," Deng said. "I just have to have the mindset that Im here, then at the end of the day whatever happens, I have to deal with that situation." In addition to Davis, its been reported that the Magic would also be open to dealing Afflalo and Jameer Nelson. Waiters was injured against Philadelphia and had an MRI on Wednesday. Waiters said on his Twitter account that the knee is sore, but nothing is torn. Cavaliers guard C.J. Miles sprained his left ankle while driving to the basket in the fourth quarter. He hit the floor hard and was down for several moments. Miles remained in the game to hit the two free throws before limping to the locker room. NOTES: While the Cavaliers are listing Varejao as being out with a back injury, hes been dealing with an assortment of ailments, including a sore knee. The team hopes some time off will help his injuries heal up. ... Orlandos last road win came on Dec. 16, an 83-82 victory over Chicago. Deng led the Bulls with 26 points in that game. ... 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