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BROOKLYN - For the third time in three days, Dwane Casey took control of the narrative, channelling his inner Aaron Rodgers in delivering a message to those who have been especially critical of his team recently. Relax. Im a firm believer in that and I said that the other night, the Raptors coach said leading up to Fridays 127-122 overtime win in their return to Brooklyn. Were in the best [situation] the franchise has ever been in and every day all I hear are questions [about] what were not doing, what theyre not doing. Stemming from the teams mid-season slide - losing seven of nine games earlier this month - there has been some lingering angst among some of Torontos fan base and media. Concern over their middling defensive numbers, offensive inconsistencies and a 10-11 record against winning competition. Questions surrounding his rotation and minute distribution with Terrence Ross going to the bench, James Johnson losing playing time and Jonas Valanciunas sitting late in games. Those looking to find holes could do so fairly easily in Fridays dramatic victory. The Raptors surrendered a 17-point second-half lead, allowing Brooklyn to regain control late in the fourth. They failed to secure some crucial defensive rebounds and allowed the Nets to shoot 49 per cent on the evening. But in spite of their flaws, the Raptors are now 32-15 for a reason. Resilient and opportunistic once again, Toronto made plays when it mattered most, forced overtime and came away with the victory, their fifth straight, to improve to a perfect 9-0 against divisional opponents. It was ugly but guys found a way, Casey said after the game. We had a Navy SEAL come in and talk to us before the season [and he] talked about how theres never an easy day. In this league theres never an easy day. Our guys find a way. I wanted to win, said DeMar DeRozan, whose 26 points - 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime - and season-high nine assists lifted the Raptors to victory. Every day is extra motivation, honestly. Win every single game. Theres a lot of things we can clean up, Casey continued. I wish we had 10 days of practice but we dont so were trying to do things on the fly. But I thought our guys came in and competed, battled, got stops when we needed to. Casey has heard all the criticism, hes read it and hes pleading for positivity in the midst of a historic season for the Raptors franchise. These guys are playing as a team, he said. You take Atlanta out of the equation, I would argue that our guys are playing as well as a team as anybody in the league. Are we going to win every game? No. Are we going to play perfect basketball? No. Are we who we are going to be? No. But I would argue that we are ahead of the curve as a team. Thats why the karma of positivity, if thats a term, should be there. Casey steered the discussion in this direction following Wednesdays 119-102 win over Sacramento, their most decisive in nearly two months, while his message after Fridays shoot-around and ahead of their game in Brooklyn remained the same. Although the level of competition has been modest, the Raptors have seemingly found their way again. Of course, both external and internal expectations have changed since the beginning of this season, a hot start will do that. Instead of judging this team as the growing, 48-win group they were a year ago, many have wondered why theyre no longer looking like the version that topped the East for 60 straight days heading into 2015. Most of his players would never admit to reading whats written about them, listening to whats being said about them, but Casey believes some of those unrealistic expectations have seeped into the locker room. They hear it, the Raptors coach said. Players hear it. What about this guy, what about that guy, what about this guy? They can read and they can hear. They understand and again my job is to coach them, to get on them and also to cultivate a culture of positive approach, a growing approach, not let the weight of the world be on our shoulders as we grow. Lets have fun competing, have fun playing hard, have fun playing together, and not let that cloud just loom over us. Theyve come a long way in a short amount of time. The Raptors held their shoot-around at a nearby college in Manhattan Friday morning, the same venue they use when theyre in town to play the Knicks. A year ago Kyle Lowry sat in that very same gym, facing questions about his uncertain future and involvement in trade rumours just ahead of Februarys deadline. Its crazy how things work out and they worked out for the better, said Lowry, who is now locked up as the centrepiece of the Atlantic Divisions best team. Im here in a situation where Im happy. Last year was a different situation. So to look back on it its crazy how things kind of turn into a full circle because it was here when the rumours were going on. They are a better team then the one that turned around their season amid uncertainty a year ago. Theyre a better team than the one that fell to these same Nets in last springs seven-game playoff series, the last time they were in Brooklyn. Theyre a good team, but it takes time to become great. Casey is asking for patience, encouraging you to enjoy the ride in the meantime. We are ahead of the curve, he said. We should be, our city and fans should be excited for what these young men have achieved, the direction they are going. Are we a finished product? No. Are we a championship-caliber team right now? Trying to be, but were not there yet. Ive told our coaches weve got to coach that way, Ive got to be that way and to expect the players to be that way. Thats the message were going to continue to talk about. I think thats the difference between where we were last year and where we are this year. Matt Martin Jersey . -- Hal Steinbrenner says Alex Rodriguez is "a great player" and "obviously an asset," but the New York Yankees managing general partner wouldnt discuss the third basemans possible return to the team following a season-long suspension. Casey Cizikas Jersey . Its Wu-Tang and Outkast in the final. Now, we all know youve played the role of Andre 3000 in the past, does that mean Outkast is getting your vote?AJ: You know it, you know it. http://www.nhlislandershockeystore.com/ ... rsey/.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. Scott Mayfield Jersey . - Vince Wilfork has played only two career games in Kansas City. Nikolay Kulemin Jersey . The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday.DETROIT -- The offensively challenged and banged-up Detroit Red Wings proved to the defending Stanley Cup champions that theyre still tough to beat. Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. "Were a little depleted, but we still have a great team and we showed that," said Patrick Eaves, who had the second of his teams three goals in the shootout and a game-tying goal in the first period. "It was nice to get rewarded for playing well." The Blackhawks faced Detroit for the first time since beating the Red Wings in overtime in Game 7 of their second-round series last year to complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit. They are only scheduled to play one more time in the regular season because the Red Wings were moved to the Eastern Conference this season as part of the NHLs realignment. "Any time you play the Red Wings, its going to be an intense game given the rivalry and whats happened in the past," Chicagos Patrick Kane said. "Theyre playing through some injuries and havent had any luck as of late in that area, but its still a dangerous team. Sometimes you get these young guys that come up from the minors, they want to prove themselves and prove they belong." Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored on his teams first attempt in the shootout and Patrick Sharp scored on the second before Kane was stopped with a chance to win a game the Blackhawks led 2-0 in the first period. "They played better as the game went along," Toews said. Gustavsson, playing for the injured Jimmy Howard, made 31 saves in his first game in nearly a month. "It was a good test and I felt good," said Gustavsson, who has been on injured reserve three times this season with a groin injury. "I didnt feel any pain." Corey Crawford gave up four goals on the first 17 shots hhe faced and finished with 27 saves for the Blackhawks.dddddddddddd "We werent very good," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "They worked hard. They were a hard-working team." Chicago took a 2-0 lead when Marian Hossa and Shaw scored 1:45 apart midway through the first period and it looked like the Red Wings were in trouble. Tomas Tatar, though, scored less than a minute later and Eaves tied the game at 2 late in the opening period. "To make it 2-1 was a key in the game," Eaves said. Sharps slap shot just seconds into a power play early in the second put the Blackhawks ahead again, but Kyle Quincey responded 1:17 later in the period with a game-tying goal. Detroits Gustav Nyquist was set up perfectly in front of the net on a go-ahead goal off Henrik Zetterbergs third assist of the night after Justin Abdelkader hustled for loose puck in a corner. "Abby played hard and chased down the puck and set up Z," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. The Red Wings were without injured forwards Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Daniel Alfredsson and Joakim Andersson. They did get defenceman Jonathan Ericsson in the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23 when he broke ribs in a game against the New York Islanders. "Getting Big E back made a huge difference for us matchup-wise," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. NOTES: Datsyuk missed his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury, but has begun to skate again and said he will "for sure" play for Russia has its captain next month at the Winter Olympics. ... Crawford hadnt given up four goals since Dec. 5, 2013, since a 4-3 loss to Minnesota and had allowed five goals in two games earlier in the season. ... Chicago was 9-0-1 in its previous 10 regular season games in Detroit. ... Kane hasnt scored in 11 games, the longest streak without a goal since going 12 games without a goal during the 2008-09 season. ... Detroit plays March 16 at Chicago. Cheap NFL Gear Wholesale Authentic Jerseys NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap Black China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 ' ' '