TORONTO -- It was a game Dwane Casey figures the Toronto Raptors lose two months ago. Reeling from an 18-3 run by the Brooklyn Nets to start the second half, Toronto was down 10 points against a team looking to win its season-high sixth straight game. But rather than rollover, the Raptors fought back, showed what their head coach called newfound "mental toughness" and coasted to a comfortable 96-80 victory before a sellout crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre. "I think our guys showed mental toughness and won a slug out game which I dont know if we could have won a few months ago, no less last year," Casey said of the Raptors second straight win, which gave them a four-game lead over the Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division. "Its a testament to our guys mental growth and mental toughness to win a game like that." After Brooklyn built its biggest lead of the night at 10 points at the midway mark of the third quarter, the Raptors went on a 28-5 run over the next 10:33 to secure their seventh win in their last nine games. After 35 games, the Raptors are 18-17. At this point last season, Toronto was 13-22. "Guys are growing up," Casey said when asked to explain the difference in the Raptors this season from last. "Theyre getting tired of me preaching physicality, dont get knocked down in a street fight." Leading the way for the Raptors was DeMar DeRozan, who poured in a game-high 26 points. Terrence Ross added 14 points for the Raptors while Patrick Patterson had 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Raptors took a 47-42 lead into the halftime break on the strength of 11 first-half points from Ross, who hit half of Torontos six three-pointers in the opening 24 minutes. Toronto, which shot an anaemic 38.6 per cent from the field in the first half, led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter but the Nets continued to fight back. But then the visitors took over the game -- and silenced the boisterous crowd celebrating Drake Night in honour of the hometown rapper and Raptors global ambassador -- before Toronto regained control. After Brooklyns Shaun Livingston hit a six-foot jump shot to restore the Nets 10-point lead with 4:54 to go in the quarter, the Raptors scored 16 of the final 18 points to close it out. DeRozan scored the final seven points of the third quarter, capping it with a 25-foot three-pointer. The Raptors then went on a 10-1 run to open the fourth quarter and put the game away. "We stayed patient. We knew they were going to make a run, especially in the second half," DeRozan said. "We stayed disciplined, understood we had to get stops, rebound the ball and push it. "If Ive got to step up to win, Im going to do as much as I can." In addition to praising the "big time" performance by DeRozan, Casey also lauded the contributions of Patterson and John Salmons -- who came over as part of the trade for Rudy Gay -- to the teams toughness. The Raptors win ended a five-game win streak for Brooklyn (15-22). "Well, it was an important game," said Toronto guard Kyle Lowry, who had 12 points. "Every game we play is important. We cant take any game for granted. "It was really important with them being a divisional team and them playing really well now. We needed to get this win for our confidence." The Raptors close out their three-game homestand against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. [url=http://www.jerseysshopnetherlandssoccer.com/world-cup-luciano-narsingh-foot... Narsingh Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. [url=http://www.jerseysshopnetherlandssoccer.com/world-cup-jordy-clasie-football... Clasie Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. DURHAM, N.C. -- Theyll remember the OT from the first Syracuse-Duke game -- and the Ts that decided Round 2. The rematch of one of college basketballs best games of the season ended with Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim ejected after he charged onto the court to argue a block/charge call. Rodney Hood scored 13 points and drew that game-changing charging call, which helped No. 5 Duke beat No. 1 Syracuse 66-60 on Saturday night. "I just thought that was the worst call of the year, thats all," Boeheim said. "I hated to see the game decided on that call." Freshman Jabari Parker had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (22-6, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). Jerami Grant had 17 points and C.J. Fair, the player who was called for the charge, finished with 13 for the Orange (25-2, 12-2). The first meeting between these teams was an overtime game considered an instant classic and won by Syracuse. The rematch was just as close but it will be remembered more for Boeheims exit with about 10 seconds to play. "Both teams were worthy of winning this game, and both teams were worthy of winning up there," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "So going 1-1 was probably the way it should be." Syracuse had the ball down 60-58 when Fair drove for an apparent tying layup. But official Tony Greene whistled Fair for charging -- and Boeheim shot onto the court to argue. Greene slapped him with two technical fouls and ejected him. "People will remember this one for 30 years because the old coach went out there and got a little excited," Boeheim said. "I think the fans will remember Jim Boeheim down here. Two great games." Quinn Cook iced it by hitting three free throws with 10.4 seconds left to make it 63-58. That helped the Blue Devils bounce back from a loss to hated rival North Carolina less than 48 hours earlier. It meant they avoided their first regular-season losing streak since 2009 and it extended their winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium to 31 games. "Thats the way its going to be in the ACC tournament and then the NCAA," Parker said. "Weve got to play back-to-back competitive games, but I think were going to get used to it." Meanwhile, the Orange -- whose 25-0 start was spoiled three nights earlier by an overtime loss at home to sub-.500 Boston College -- are the first top-ranked team to lose twice in a week since Texas in 2010. "I dont think well probably play anymore," Boeheim said, his words laced with sarcasm. "I think well just give up." It was Dukes ninth win over a No. 1-ranked team and first since 1997. Star freshman Tyler Ennis of Brampton, Ont., finished with nine points on 2-of-13 shooting and he and fellow starting guard Trevor Cooney combined to miss all five of theiir 3-point attempts for the Orange.dddddddddddd. Three times in the final 90 seconds, they had the ball down by three or fewer points -- but all anyone will remember is that drive by Fair. He blew past Tyler Thornton along the left baseline and -- as Hood slid over to cut him off -- he flipped up a shot that banked in. Greene blew his whistle and waved it off to call Fair for charging. "Regardless of whether they called a block or a charge, I was going to be there and help Tyler out," Hood said. "I honestly didnt know (what the call would be). ... I thought I was there the whole time, but you never know." That brought an incensed Boeheim off the bench and well onto the court to argue. Once he was tossed, the game was effectively over. "I think maybe (if) we didnt get the techs, we probably still had a chance to win," Fair said. This one always seemed destined for a tight finish, even after Duke appeared to take control down the stretch. The Blue Devils scored on six consecutive possessions, keyed by Cooks 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 53-47 with just under 7 minutes left. Three trips later, Parker soared to dunk the rebound of Hoods missed 3 -- which restored the Blue Devils six-point lead and sent the Cameron Crazies into earsplitting delirium. But Ennis followed with a layup and Grant hit a jumper in transition, and things stayed tight until those technical fouls. The game again matched the two winningest mens coaches in Division I history in Hall of Famers Krzyzewski and Boeheim -- who, by the end of the night, combined for 1,924 victories. Round 1 went to Boeheim earlier this month in a game for the ages, with the Orange claiming a 91-89 victory in overtime after Dukes Rasheed Sulaimon hit a buzzer-beating, tying 3 at the end of regulation before 35,446 fans at the Carrier Dome. There were about one-quarter of that many at 9,314-seat Cameron -- but the 74-year-old building rocked all night with a ferocity usually reserved for the annual visit from North Carolina. "Another great game. Different from the first one because it seemed like both teams were scoring easy up in Syracuse, and today it was really difficult to score," Krzyzewski said. "I dont know how either team could play any harder." And from the opening tip, this one felt like a continuation of that OT thriller -- with players from both sides turning in highlight-reel plays, from Marshall Plumlees vicious dunk of a missed 3 by Sulaimon, to Ennis emphatic block of a layup by Cook. Syracuse maxed out its lead at nine on a 3-pointer by Duke transfer Michael Gbinije midway through the first half. The Blue Devils rallied to tie it at 26 at the break on Sulaimons fast-break layup with about a minute left, and it stayed tense the rest of the way. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '