erdogs we will figh

TORONTO -- In the immediate moments after the Raptors 101-87 victory over Detroit on Wednesday, Toronto coach Dwane Casey sat down to watch the dying minutes of the Miami-Brooklyn game. Marcus Stroman Jersey . Amir Johnson checked the result on his phone. With 20 games left on a thrilling season that sees Toronto poised for a playoff position for the first time in six years, the Raptors are excited, and thinking about little else. "Hell, yeah. Without a doubt, man," DeMar DeRozan said. "Thats why I work so hard, and it always bugged me going home early, and just sitting there doing nothing. It used to make me so hungry just watching." DeRozan poured in 25 points, while Johnson scored 20 and grabbed nine rebounds in a game that was no thriller but served its purpose -- one step closer to the teams second Atlantic Division title and its first playoff berth since 2008. The Nets, who edged Miami 96-95 on Wednesday, are three games behind Toronto for the division title. "Ive got a lot of friends that play in the playoffs and I had to hear all summer them talking about their experience in the playoffs. It always pushed me even further," DeRozan said. "You just want to get there. Not even for myself, just for this organization as well. It definitely feels good that were moving in the right direction now." Kyle Lowry had 19 points and six assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 13 rebounds to go with eight points for the Raptors (36-27), whove won 10 of their last 13 games. The affair wasnt pretty. The Raptors coughed up double-digit leads a couple of times -- including an 18-point third-quarter advantage that the Pistons whittled down to just five -- in a game they could have put out of reach far earlier. The Raptors went into the fourth quarter with a narrow 74-69 lead in front of the 18,247 fans at the Air Canada Centre that braved the rare March snowstorm. They scored the first nine points of the fourth to go up by 14. A wide-open three by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 8:23 to go cut the Raptors lead to nine points, but that was as close as the struggling Pistons would come. Brandon Jennings topped Detroit (25-40) with 24 points, while Andre Drummond had 16 points and nine rebounds and Greg Monroe had 13 points to go with 10 boards. Ugly or not, the Raptors were happy to tick off another win. "Absolutely. Im ready," Johnson said, when asked if hes thinking post-season. "Were going to win as many games as we possibly can going down the home stretch, collect these wins." Casey said hes happy his players are enjoying their success, but warns that theyve got to focus on themselves down the stretch. "It is fun. But weve got to take care of our business. We can watch (what other teams are doing), but if we dont take care of our business, its not worth crap," the coach said. "Im more concerned with what we do, and how were playing, . . .and losing leads, moreso than anything else. "I hope (the Raptors) are enjoying it but still understand how hard it is, getting there first, and then after you get there, its even harder." DeRozan, whos in his fifth season in Toronto thus has never stepped on the court for a playoff game, said he has always forced himself to watch the post-season, regardless of how frustrating it was. "I had to, just to understand and see how it was," he said. "Youre playing the same team possibly seven times in a row. Seeing the different schemes. Just trying to get a knowledge of how its played every single day." He said hes particularly thrilled to be sharing this seasons success with Johnson, who last made the playoffs with Detroit in 2009. "Thats my dog, man. Its definitely cool," DeRozan said. "I knew Amir, and Amir knew me when I was running around with the same pair of dirty shoes on, playing basketball. Amir is a helluva dude, how hard he works, and how good of a person he is." Johnson was key Wednesday night in containing Detroits frontcourt -- what Casey had predicted would be a "huge test" for Toronto. The Pistons lead the league in points in the paint and offensive rebounds, thanks largely to Drummond. The Raptors were effective inside, outrebounding Detroit 54-39 and outscoring their visitors in the paint 44-38. Casey wasnt thrilled with the second unit, saying it was "playing in mud a little bit." "We needed to keep the pace going, I thought the pace slowed down," he said. "For whatever reason we got stagnant and lost a couple of leads and thats something we have to work on." The Raptors raced out to a nine-point lead four minutes into the game, stretching it to 14 on a pullup jumper by John Salmons before ending the first quarter up 29-21. The Raptors went almost five minutes without a point to open the second, and Bynum drained a three with 8:37 left in the half to tie the game 29-29. The Raptors managed to cobble together another 10-point lead and took a 52-45 advantage into the dressing room at halftime. A three-pointer by Lowry stretched Torontos lead to 18 points just four-and-a-half minutes into the third but the Raptors couldnt maintain it. The Pistons ended the quarter on a 14-2 run to send the game into the fourth with Toronto leading 74-69. NOTES: Patrick Patterson missed his third straight game with an elbow injury. . . The game was the first of three straight at home. The Raptors host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday before playing a pair on the road at Atlanta and New Orleans. . . The Raptors have won four of their last five against the Pistons. J.A. Happ Jersey . The punch happened in the fourth quarter of Milwaukees 116-102 loss to the Kings on Wednesday when the two players became entangled while battling for rebounding position. Kendrys Morales Jersey .S.-Portugal game on June 22 in the Amazonian jungle city of Manaus. FIFPro, the international soccer players union, had pressed FIFA to avoid the earliest kickoffs in the hottest and most humid weather. http://www.teambluejaysprostore.us/Josh-Donaldson-blue-jays-jersey/ . -- Victor Bernardez tied the game with his second goal in the 95th minute and the San Jose Earthquakes drew 3-3 with Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.Harry Kane is in contention to lead the line for England against Scotland when the two nations meet in their World Cup Qualifier at Wembley on Friday night. International Football: FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers November 11, 2016, 10:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass The Spurs forward returned from seven weeks out with an ankle injury to play 73 minutes in the north London derby draw on Sunday and could feature alongside Wayne Rooney, who will captain the side.Interim boss Gareth Southgate is set to manage England for the third time, following a victory over Malta and a goalless draw in Slovenia, with Tuesdays friendly against Spain his final match before the Football Association make a long-term decision on his future. England interim manager Gareth Southgate confirms Wayne Rooney will captain England in Friday nights World Cup qualifier with Scotland Scotland sit fourth from six teams in World Cup qualifying Group F, having picked up four points from their opening three matches, while England top the group on seven points.Gordon Strachans side suffered a 3-0 defeat away to Slovakia in their previous fixture, but the Scotland boss is expected to welcome Scott Brown back following the midfielders decision to reverse his international retirement. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Team newsSouthgate confirmed England have no fitness concerns heading into the match, with Rooney retaining the captaincy.The England boss does have a decision to make on Kane after the Tottenham striker came through unscathed against Arsenal. Kane has worked with Gareth Southgate with England U21s Steven Fletcher is a doubt for the visitors after injuring his knee, but he is Scotlands only worry.Celtic midfielder Brown, who captained his country under Strachan before retiring from internationals, is likely to recover from a dead leg suffered on Saturday. Key battle: Henderson v Fletcher Jordan Henderson v Darren Fletcher: The key battle when England host Scotland Opta statsThis will be the third time that these two sides have met in an international match this century, with England winning the previous two; 3-2 in August 2013 and 3-1 in November 2014.The last time that England and Scotland met in a competitive fixture was back in November 1999 at Wembley. Scotland prevailed 1-0 thanks to a goal from Don Hutchison, but lost the Euro 2000 play-off tie 2-1 on aggregate. Thousands of Scotland supporters are expected at Wembley for the World Cup qualifier against England This will be only the third time that these two sides have met in a World Cup Qualifier - the previous two were both won by England (1950 and 1954).Rooney scored two goals from just three shots in Englands 3-1 win over Scotland in November 2014 at Celtic Park. Ed Draper is joined by Paul Merson to look ahead to Fridays World Cup Qualifier between England and Scotland The Three Lions have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three matches - they havent kept four in a row since October 2015.Five of Englands last seven international wins have come from a goal scored in the 83rd minute or later. Fulham and Scotland striker Chris Martin does not believe Gordon Strachans team should fear England England are currently unbeaten in 32 international qualifiers (World Cup and Euros combined); winning 24 and drawing eight. Joe Carter Jersey. The last 10 goals scored by England in qualification matches have all come from different players. Former Scotland manager Bobby Brown takes us through some of his memorable moments v England Scotland have won just two of their last eight qualification games (World Cup and Euros combined) and these two wins have come against Gibraltar and Malta (D3 L3).Strachans side have failed to score in three of their last four international matches played outside of Scotland. Danny Higginbotham discusses tactics with Rob Wotton as they look ahead to the World Cup qualifying clash between England and Scotland at Wembley Only Germany (71.9 per cent) and Spain (71.8 per cent) have averaged more possession than England (71.2 per cent) in the 2018 World Cup qualification stages so far.England also have the second best passing accuracy in qualification (89.1 per cent), behind only Germany (89.6 per cent). Aaron Cresswell gives his reaction to receiving an England call-up Charlie predictsEveryone is saying England arent very good but they are good, theyre just not a great side. Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish has mixed memories of Wembley both as a fan and as a player Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling are the two that concern me the most. Sterling is a player who can really open us up with his pace.I dont think a draw does Scotland much good, whereas a win gets us back in the mix. Id rather get beat 3-1 than lose 1-0 defending, although its easy for me to say that. Jordan Henderson captained England in their last match but thinks the returning Wayne Rooney will add vital experience As underdogs we will fight and scrap but please have an attacking method as well. I do expect England to win. Im a realist and in my mind I think England will prevail by at least two goals.Charlie predicts: 3-1 and Sterling to score first (45/1 with Sky Bet)Watch highlights of England v Scotland on Sky Sports 1 HD at 10pm on Friday. Also See: Key battle: Henderson v Fletcher Rooney captain against Scots Martin not afraid of England Eng v Scot: Cost of squads Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL T-shirts NFL Jerseys China ' ' '