moments after their bounce-back victory

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." Air Max 97 Sale Outlet .Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his 3-pointers as the Hawks went 16 for 28 from behind the arc.Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season. Air Max 97 Uk Cheap . - Alex Dostie scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Gatineau Olympiques to a 5-3 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Sunday. http://www.airmax97ukcheap.com/.com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain. Wholesale Air Max 97 . -- Arizona pitcher Bronson Arroyo is expected to miss a week to 10 days because of a back injury. Air Max 97 Uk Online . - Novak Djokovic beat John Isner 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open, where hell resume his longtime rivalry with Roger Federer.MONTREAL - No one can accuse the Montreal Impact of standing pat during the Major League Soccer off-season.Eight new names were on the roster Friday when the Impact opened training camp at Olympic Stadium looking to erase bitter memories of a last-place overall finish in 2014.Veteran newcomers included English midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, former Chicago Fire defender Bakary Soumare and Italian midfielder Marco Donadel. The prize signing, Belgian international defender Laurent Ciman, is to arrive Monday.All those new faces that have been brought in kind of erases the memories because they didnt live that terror that we lived last year, said returning striker Jack McInerney. Just playing will help put it behind us.We struggled everywhere last year: injuries, scoring goals, keeping them out of our net. I think the new faces will help us achieve what we want.Montreal took a big step backward last season when, after squeaking into the playoffs in 2013, it made no significant off-season player moves. The Impact finished last with a 6-18-10 record, scoring only 38 goals in 34 games while allowing 58.The only move of note a year ago was firing coach Marco Schallibaum and hiring former Chicago boss Frank Klopas, who returns for a second season.Klopas focused on rebuilding the spine of the team, mainly the central defence and defensive midfield positions.Ciman and six-foot-four Bakary Soumare, acquired in the re-entry draft from Chicago, are likely to be the new central defence. But Montreal also brought in 21-year-old Victor Cabrera on loan from Argentine club River Plate and got 22-year-old Donny Toia in the dispersal draft from the defunct Chivas USA.Donadel, 31, came from Napoli while former West Ham, Aston Villa and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Reo-Coker, 30, also came from Chivas to give captain Patrice Bernier some competition for the holding midfield position.Gone are goalkeeper Troy Perkins, defenders Matteo Ferrari and Heath Pearce, who often formed the central defence last season, as well as defender Futty Danso and midfielders Issey Nakajima-Farran and Gorka Larrea.The Impact also saw the retirement of star striker Marco Di Vaio, who must be replaced. Klopas has two or three forwards in mind and hopes to land at least one before the season begins in March. For now, 22-year-old McInerney is their only experienced striker.The American said hes ready to do the job if needed. First-round draft pick Romario Williams is also a forward.I can only control whats in my own hands, said McInerney. If someone else comes or not, Im still going to put the work in and try tto help the team win games.ddddddddddddThe Impact fixed its attacking midfield last season with the signing of designated player Ignacio Piatti. But the Argentine is recovering from knee surgery and isnt expected to start full training until the team goes to Mexico for the second phase of camp Feb. 8.While the Impact was dreadful in league play, failing to win a road game, the consolation prize was capturing the Canadian Championship and reaching the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League.Montreal faces Pachuca in Mexico in a quarter-final Feb. 24 and plays the return leg March 3 at Olympic Stadium.We had a plan on how to improve the team and I think we addressed that, said Klopas. We talked about how we could make the spine of the team a lot stronger and I think weve done that.Were not finished, but I feel happy with where we are right now.The team met Thursday so that the newcomers and some new off-field staff could meet the returning players and management.I think everyones enthusiastic, energized, knowing what the 2014 season was like but also with the moves the club has made, said Bernier, a native of Brossard, Que. Everybody has a blank slate to prove that last year was just a mishap, that it was not the real Montreal Impact.Everybody seems to be abuzz because we also have the (CONCACAF) quarter-finals .That will be an intense, emotional game. So far, you can see everybody has a sense of revenge, to prove we are not the people of last year.Returning veterans like Bernier, midfielders Justin Mapp, Felipe Martins, Dilly Duka and Andres Romero and fullback Hassoun Camara will have some experienced help and leadership from additions like Reo-Coker.Its a very quiet dressing room, I noticed, Reo-Coker said. There are some individual personalities but they dont seem to kind of let that out yet.If we can get great team spirit, togetherness, and bond, its amazing what you can achieve in football. Youre in the right city with the right history behind it and with the fan base that has that European mentality and love for football.He sees no reason why the Impact cant be a contender, pointing to D.C. United, which finished near the bottom in 2013 but was first in the Eastern Conference last season.This league changes so much, he said. Its a fantastic challenge.Evan Bush took over from Perkins as the starting goalie midway through last season. The new backup is former Kansas City keeper Eric Kronberg.One striker the Impact targeted was Alberto Gilardino, but the 2006 World Cup champion from Italy has opted to play in Serie A with Fiorentino. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '