TORONTO - Kyle Lowry was the first player on the floor, shooting around before the game. It was just after 4:00pm, three full hours ahead of tip-off at the Air Canada Centre. Lowry has been the subject of trade speculation for the better part of two days but the Raptors point guard, who shrugged off the rumours Friday morning, continued to lead his current team, a team that looked unrecognizable in a wire-to-wire win over the road-weary 76ers. "He was a leader out there on the floor and thats what we need from him, that leadership," Casey said of Lowry, who has now led Toronto in assists in 13 straight games. "He didnt get frustrated because he couldnt get some shots to go down. He still got the ball where it needed to go and that was huge." With his name linked to multiple trade reports, Lowry faced the rumours head-on when he met with the media Friday morning. Instead of sulking or worrying about where he might end up, Lowry smiled, cracked a few jokes and promised to go about his business here until hes told otherwise. In what may have been his last home game as a member of the Raptors, Lowry recorded a season-high 11 assists, committing just one turnover despite shooting just 2-of-9 from the floor. Once again Lowry set the tone and his teammates - three of them making their Raptors debut - followed his lead. Three nights after totalling 23 assists in a loss to the Spurs, the Raptors continued to play a team game in the aftermath of Mondays Rudy Gay trade. DeMar DeRozan - also scoring 27 points - added six assists, including five in a dominant first quarter. His first three set up Terrence Ross, who had a breakout performance scoring a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. "Thats the way weve got to play," Casey said of Torontos ball movement. "Because were not going to beat anyone with stellar one-on-one play each and every night. Weve got to help each other with the screen and trust the pass." Averaging just 18 assists per contest this season, the Raptors have totalled 66 dimes in three games since Gay was traded. They opened the evening with 12 assists on 14 made field goals, outscoring Philadelphia 36-21 in the first quarter and would later seal the game on a play that embodied this teams new offence. With just under two minutes remaining, the scrappy 76ers down two, DeRozan caught the ball off a screen on a pass from Lowry. Once the double came, DeRozan swung it back to Lowry who hit Ross in the corner for a momentum shifting three-pointer. Amir Johnson scored seven of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, sending the 76ers away with their 10th straight loss on the road. In their Raptor debuts, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez were the first three players off Torontos bench. With all three on the floor at the same time to begin the second quarter, Philadelphia ripped off a 20-7 run, cutting Torontos lead to two. The learning curve was apparent. "Theyre learning," Casey acknowledged. "Theyre learning the system, were kind of learning to play with each other." "I like what I saw," he said. "Going forward I think they are going to mix in quite well." Patterson shot just 1-of-5, scoring five points in 18 minutes while Salmons scored three in just under 20 minutes of action. Vasquez was the most impressive of the three but not in the way he would have hoped. "Tonight I did not have that many assists," said the pass-first Vasquez, who recorded just two but hit five of his seven shots for 12 points in 17 minutes. "The thing that stood out for me was that we were moving the ball without me in the game. We were passing and getting shots and that is fun to watch." "If we keep doing what we did tonight we are going to be really hard to guard and we will win a lot of games." For the first time all season, Casey could comfortably rest Lowry without fearing the significant drop-off that would inevitably ensue at the point guard position. With Lowry on the block, Vasquezs role figures to expand. Up next The Raptors travel to Chicago to face the Bulls (9-12) in the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday. Chicago had lost five of six games before defeating the Bucks 91-90 in Milwaukee Friday night. The fourth Raptors newcomer, Chuck Hayes, will not be available to play or practice until he completes routine baseline cardiac tests at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday. K... Love Authentic Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. . 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After deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league would consider pulling out of Sochi if something "significant" happens before players arrive, those set to participate are trying not to worry about that scenario. "Between the NHL and the NHLPA and the Olympic people, in communication obviously with the people in Russia, theyre going to advise us if we shouldnt go," Ken Holland of Canadas management team said Tuesday. "Im looking at the lead of the NHL. "Until they tell us were not going, Im going to Newark and going to jump on a plane and go to Sochi." A Hockey Canada spokesman said the organization had no official comment, adding nothing has changed about the situation. Charter planes are scheduled to leave for Sochi on Feb. 9, two days after the opening ceremony. Security concerns are keeping athletes on edge well before that, though Daly said in an email to the Associated Press he doesnt expect the plan to change. "Obviously, if something significant were to transpire between now and February 9 that causes us to question that conclusion, we will re-evaluate," Daly told the AP. Forward Tomas Tatar, who will represent Slovakia, read about that Tuesday morning before the Detroit Red Wings morning skate. "There would (have to) be a good reason if something happens before," Tatar said. "Obviously that would be not everythings OK there, so I would probably agree with the people here — why we should go there if something is not good? Hopefully nothing will happen and I think everythings in good hands." Olympic teammate Andrej Meszaros, a defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers, said that possibility is in the back of his mind even if he doesnt want it to be. "It would be disappointing, thats for sure, but safety first," Meszaros said. "Theres nothing you can do about it. "Unfortunately, the world is like it is with the threats and theres nothing you can do about it. People are (ticked) off. Well see what happens in the next few days." Mark Streit, who represented Switzerland in Salt Lake City in 2002, Turin in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010, is trying to keep his focus on the Flyers upcoming schedule and not the off-chance NHL players wont go to Sochi. "Thhe NHL will do what they think is the best for the players and for our safety and for the families safety," Streit said.dddddddddddd"Thats out of (our) control. Im not really worried about that." Jimmy Howard, whos expected to be the third U.S. goaltender, is more worried about bouncing back from another knee injury. He insisted hes not thinking about Olympic contingency plans or security concerns. "Im trying not to let that consume me,"Howard said. "I look at it as this could be possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "Im hoping everything goes off without a hitch." U.S. forward James van Riemsdyk said after the Maple Leafs morning skate in Toronto on Tuesday he doesnt have any family members going and that its tough not to wonder about the safety of athletes in Sochi. "Theyve reassured us that theyre taking a lot of measures over there," van Riemsdyk said. "All the players want to play, thats not really the issue here. Safety is the No. 1 priority." Jakub Voracek of the Czech Republic is hoping the Russian government has spent enough money to keep everyone safe. "I think the security, its very tight there," the Flyers winger said. "Obviously its going to be a pain, probably, for the people that want to watch the games or something. But its what you got to do. "In todays world you never know what happens. You go into the mall right here and theres a shooting. You go to the movie theatre, you get shot. A lot of crazy people running around in the world today. Its not only in Russia. Youve got to make sure that the securitys very tight." While Howard hopes these are just "empty threats" against the Olympics, Holland recalled similar concerns going into Vancouver. Political concerns in that region of Russia have made this seem like a more dangerous situation. "I think in this world we live in today, unfortunately there are times that you always have concern," Holland said. "But you have to trust that the people that are in charge of security are going to be on top of things." The Players Association said in a statement "the NHLPA continues to be in contact with Olympic and security officials regarding plans for the Olympic Games in Sochi, and will work closely with all concerned to monitor matters in advance of and during the Games." [url=http://www.cheapnfljerseysauthentic.us.com/]cheap nfl jerseys authentic jerseys nfl wholesale wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '