TORONTO -- The clock was ticking down and the Toronto Raptors were clutching a one-point lead. And Kyle Lowry, the player who has so often carried them down the stretch, was in the locker-room getting treatment for a sore and swollen knee. But with DeMar DeRozan leading the way, the Raptors showed the resiliency that has become part of their makeup this season en route to a 107-103 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. "Every win is great for us right now for what were trying to do, especially with Kyle out and Amir (Johnson) out," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Hopefully it gives our guys some confidence. . . guys who stepped in, to go where we need to go." Johnson missed all but the first three minutes with an ankle injury. DeRozan poured in 29 points, and was key in the fourth quarter, doling out a couple of assists and uncharacteristically taking a charge. "Those are the winning plays that hes learning to make and hes making now, other than just scoring," Casey said. "Hes doing a great job of scoring but theres so many other things when he plays those kinds of minutes, especially now with Kyle out, hes got to do a lot more." When he somehow cut his finger with just over three minutes to go, he continued to play despite the blood that was smeared across his shorts. "I kind of split the middle of my hand, the webbing of my hand, I didnt even notice," said DeRozan, who estimated he had four or five stitches. "I looked down and my whole hand was soaked." Jonas Valanciunas and Greivis Vasquez added 15 points apiece, and Terrence Ross finished with 14 for the Raptors (43-32). James Harden scored 26 points to top the Rockets (49-25), who were missing Dwight Howard (ankle) for the third consecutive game. Chandler Parsons added 20. Lowry missed the game after a hard knee-on-knee collision with LeBron James in the Raptors 93-83 loss to Miami two nights earlier. His X-rays were negative, so there was no structural damage. Johnson played the first three minutes but headed to the locker-room with a sore right ankle. But despite the absence of not only two of the teams top contributors but arguably its two hardest workers, the Raptors werent going to let this game slip away. With seven games to go, every game is meaningful as the Raptors fight for a favourable opponent in the post-season and homecourt advantage. Vasquez, who started at point guard, said its no surprise that DeRozan and the Raptors stepped up so well in Lowrys absence. "Its not hidden that (DeRozan and Lowry) are our leaders. We go as they go. And everybody else understands that," said Vasquez. "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. And whenever one of those guys goes down, weve got their back. Thats what this team is all about. "This is not a fluke. We earn wins, and we earned a win tonight." Houston, which has now dropped seven straight decisions in Toronto, was coming off a 105-96 loss the previous night at Brooklyn, and arrived in Toronto at 3 a.m. Wednesday. The Raptors led by as much as 20 points in the third against the fourth-place team in the mighty Western Conference. But they allowed the Rockets to pull within 90-80 heading into the fourth and it was during a stretch in the final 12 minutes that the Raptors really felt the absence of Lowry and Johnson. The Rockets pulled within two points with 8:45 to play but that was as close as the visitors would get, and when a wide-open Ross drained a three-pointer with four minutes to play it brought the crowd to its feet and gave Toronto a six-point lead. There were some tense moments as Houston showed some life late. Jeremy Lin drained a three-pointer to cut Torontos lead to three points with nine seconds left, but a free throw by Vasquez sealed the Raptors victory. "We are a team that is desperate for a win right now," Lin said. "Weve dropped three in a row, definitely not a good feeling. We just have to regroup. The one thing I will say is that Im proud of how hard we played but we didnt play great in terms of execution, in terms of coverage and a lot of those little things." As for Lowrys knee injury, Casey said sitting his starting guard wasnt a matter of getting him rest. Wednesdays game was one the coach really wanted to win, so if Lowry could have played, he would have. "Theres a pride factor, you want to win, you want to win a division, you want to win and try and get home court," Casey said. "Were in position, so theres no use of letting off the pedal now. Every game for me is desperate. "But its not live or die or anything like that, were not going to risk a kids health to try to do that." Lowry is averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Johnson, whos averaging 10.8 points and 6.8 boards, has long battled bad ankles, but the hardworking forward normally plays through the pain. The fact he left the game is worrisome. The Raptors are tied with Chicago for third in the Eastern Conference and two-and-a-half games ahead of Brooklyn. The good news is Wednesdays game was the Raptors last against a Western Conference opponent. And of the remaining games, Toronto plays last-place Milwaukee twice, and Philadelphia (second-last) once. The Raptors got off to a sloppy start, falling behind by 12 points midway through the first quarter. Toronto ended the quarter with a 12-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Vasquez and trailed 25-23 heading into the second. DeRozan led the way with 15 points in a second quarter that Toronto finish with a 13-4 run, and when the Raptors all-star drilled a 32-footer at the buzzer it sent Toronto into the dressing room with a 55-50 lead. A pair of free throws by Salmons gave the Raptors a 20-point lead -- their biggest of the game -- with just under four minutes to go in the third. But the Rockets finished with an 18-8 run to make it a 10-point game with a quarter to go. NOTES: The Raptors have another tough game Friday when they host the Indiana Pacers. The Raptors are in Milwaukee on Saturday before returning home to face the Sixers and New York Knicks. . . Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne DeRosario was at the game. ED Belfour Jersey Black Friday . -- With 3 1/2 minutes left and Duke trying to close out its first road win in the conference this season, superstar spectator LeBron James was on his feet -- to leave. Derick Brassard Jersey Black Friday . The native of Creston, B.C., previously served as manager of high performance, director of mens national teams and most recently as senior director of hockey operations and mens national teams. http://www.hockeygo.net/custom-shop-carolina-hurricanes/ . Komissarova writes on Instagram, "I dont feel my body below my navel. But I am strong and I know that Ill be able to stand on my legs again some day. Jean Beliveau Jersey Black Friday . The leagues competition committee met Monday, two days after a controversial goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final that involved contact on Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and discussed making more situations subject to review. Tampa Bay Lightning Jersey Black Friday . Trailing by a run with none on and two outs in the sixth, Texas got run-scoring singles from Geovany Soto, Rougned Odor and Shin-Soo Choo to go ahead in only its third win in 17 July games.ROUEN, France -- On the day he was confirmed as the British team leader for the Olympic road race, star sprinter Mark Cavendish hit the ground heavily at the Tour de France in a crash that could have ruined his entire season. Racing the Tour as part of his preparations for the Olympic Games, Cavendish fell about 2.5 kilometres from the finish of the fourth stage Wednesday but was lucky enough to escape with just bruises and scratches. The Manxman has made clear that his main goal this season is to win Olympic gold in London in front of his home crowd. "Its disappointing and worrying when you see lads going down," Sky manager Dave Brailsford said. "Mark is okay. He has injuries but he is okay. Its nothing serious, well discuss it tonight." Cavendish, winner of Mondays stage in impressive fashion, fell in the build-up to the sprint at the end of the days racing. His German rival Andre Greipel of Lotto-Belissol went on to win the stage. Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Sharp) caused the pile-up, slipping onto the road as Cavendish went down with him. The crash happened in the last three kilometres of the trek from Abbeville to Rouen, meaning that Cavendish was awarded the same time as Greipel despite crossing the line more than four minutes behind with his teammate Bernhard Eisel. "Bernie got quite a big gash above his eye, which was quite nasty," Brailsford said. ";Hes having stitches - that will be sore.dddddddddddd. Marks more superficial, just skin." With his world champion rainbow jersey in shreds, Cavendish looked infuriated as he returned to his bus and did not give interviews. "I cant repeat what he said when they came into the bus," Brailsford said. An official race medical report said Cavendish sustained several scratches and a cut on a finger and that Eisel had stitches for the cut on his forehead. Cavendishs girlfriend was quick to react on her Twitter feed, hinting that the Sky team should take better care of the rider. "Cavendish is down, and that is what happens when you take a man that is so harshly marked to the Tour without protection," Peta Todd said. "This is peoples lives. If you havent got the intention of making sure you have the team to look after the World Champ. Dont just wing it. He is just a man." This years edition of the Sky team is focused on Bradley Wiggins ambition to win the yellow jersey leaving Cavendish short of support from his usual lead-out train in the sprints. Brailsford said Cavendishs form will be assessed carefully. "After a crash like that, its high emotion," Brailsford said. "And when you hit the ground that fast, it always shakes you up, it builds up adrenalin. Well let the adrenalin go and see where we are later. Now he is OK." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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