(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Raptors will look to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2008 when they host the Boston Celtics tonight at the Air Canada Centre in the back end of a home and home. After picking up a rare win in Boston, the Toronto Raptors will be back on familiar ground when they host the Celtics Friday from Air Canada Centre. Terrence Ross led the Raptors with 24 points in a 99-90 triumph, while Kyle Lowry continued his recent tear with 23 and nine rebounds. DeMar DeRozan rounded out the 20-point scorers with exactly that many and Jonas Valanciunas ended with 15 points and 14 rebounds for Toronto, which has alternated results in the last six games. The Raptors broke an 11-game losing streak in Boston, last winning there on Jan. 23, 2008. "That was a character test for us," said Toronto head coach Dwane Casey. "I think this team has a lot of character. Situations were not there yet, but again its not from a lack of fight and togetherness." Casey needs three wins to reach 100 victories with the team. The Raptors last posted 40 total wins in a season in 2009-10 (40-42) and the fastest team to reach 40 wins was the 1999-00 squad after 70 games. The current unit needed 71 games to reach the mark. Lowry has scored 19 or more points in each of the last 11 games, averaging 22.5 points in that span. DeRozan is averaging more than 20 points per game against Atlantic Division foes. Toronto leads the division by 2 1/2 games ahead of Brooklyn and is even with Chicago for the third spot in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is 21-14 north of the border this season. Boston has lost two in a row and nine of its last 12 games, and was paced by Jared Sullingers 26 points (19 in fourth quarter) and eight rebounds on Wednesday. "Sully (Sullinger) got hot and I thought even though we were really undersized we played pretty well in that time," said Boston head coach Brad Stevens. Avery Bradley had 16 points, Rajon Rondo chipped in nine and 15 assists and Chris Johnson added 13 points off the bench. The Celtics shot 41 percent from the floor and had a 51-7 advantage from their reserves. The Celtics will try to stop an eight-game road losing streak in Toronto and have an 8-26 mark as the visitor. Their previous road win was Feb. 10 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Celtics forward Jeff Green had six points in 20 minutes on Wednesday and is bothered by a stiff neck. Green hopes to play against the Raptors. Rondo needed stitches to close a cut on his forehead and returned to the game to cover Raptors All-Star DeRozan. "I think it obviously says a lot. He wants to play and not only, I think the most important part about it is he came back in and guarded DeRozan (DeMar)," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Rondo. "He went after it and I thought he did a pretty good job on him." Toronto is 2-1 against the Celtics this season, but the latter has prevailed in four of the last seven meetings between the teams. Boston has lost two straight, four of five and five of its last seven trips to Canada. .J. Mayo was suspended one game by the NBA on Saturday for punching New Orleans Pelicans centre Greg Stiemsma in the throat. [url=http://www.germanysoccerproshop.com/World-Cup-Per-Mertesacker-Germany-Jerse... Mertesacker Soccer Jersey . Erik Bedard (4-4) threw seven scoreless innings for the win, allowing just three hits and striking out five to snap a brief two-game losing streak for Seattle. Ervin Santana (3-7) allowed two runs on eight hits and three walks while fanning seven through 6 2/3 innings for LA. . Mikhail Grigorenko scored in the shootout to give Buffalo a 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night in the first pre-season game for both teams. [url=http://www.germanysoccerproshop.com/World-Cup-Oliver-Kahn-Germany-Jersey.ht... Kahn Germany Jersey . The 44th-ranked Williams, playing courtesy of a wild card, also won this title in 2009 and 2010. Shes won her last 15 matches in Dubai. Williams, who will move up to No. 29 in Mondays updated rankings, last won a title at the 2012 Luxembourg tournament.CHICAGO -- The Cubs may be hanging on to Ryan Dempster for a little longer than expected. They placed the right-hander on the 15-day disabled list Monday with tightness in his right lat muscle. Dempster, who has been subject of trade speculation over the past few weeks, said its something he had been dealing with since his June 5 start at Milwaukee. "Its just gotten harder and harder to get loose and maintain," Dempster said. "I felt like I was going south in the way I was feeling versus feeling better each time." Ironically, the start against the Brewers began a stretch of 22 scoreless innings by Dempster that will now be put on hold. He has allowed just 11 hits and three walks, winning all three starts. Dempster is 3-3 this season and his 2.11 ERA is second in the major leagues despite playing on the worst team in the majors. He earns $14 million this season and will be a free agent at the end of the year. With the Cubs rebuilding, the 35-year-old Dempster has acknowledged that its unlikely hell be with the team beyond the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein was reluctant to discuss trade talks involving Dempsterr, but said the injury could set back a potential move.dddddddddddd "Generally when players have these minor injuries, its typical to wait until they come back and establish health before theres trade talks," Esptein said. The team offered no timetable on Dempsters return, but Epstein said the team is taking a cautious route. "Were going to play it conservatively with this one as well hes throwing," he said. "We want to nip this in the bud and make sure it doesnt turn into a strain or anything like that." The Cubs recalled left-handed reliever Scott Maine from Triple-A Iowa to fill the roster spot. Right-hander Randy Wells will start in Dempsters place on Wednesday in the series finale against the White Sox. Two of Wells 10 appearances this year have been starts. Hes 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA on the season. Maine is up for the third time this year. He is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in six relief appearances. Also on Monday, the Cubs activated catcher Geovany Soto from the 15-day DL and optioned backup Welington Castillo to Iowa. Soto was in the lineup Monday, catching and batting eighth for the series opener against the White Sox. ' ' '