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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. 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. Cheap Air Jordan Retro . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship. Air Jordan Shoes Wholesale . - Dolphins safety Louis Delmas has been carted off the field with a right knee injury against the Ravens. http://www.cheapairjordanfastshipping.com/ . Five straight losses (and six in the past seven) now dot the schedule – matching their longest skid of the year – after they fell again in New Jersey on Sunday night, topped 3-2 by Cory Schneider and the Devils. Cheap Nike Jordan Basketball . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Cheap Jordans Shoes For Sale . - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels 7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul didnt let a slow start against the Sacramento Kings throw him off course. A quick pep talk by coach Doc Rivers and some encouraging words from his teammates convinced Paul to keep jacking up shots until they started to fall. Just like that, Pauls sizzling start to the season rolled on. Paul had 26 points and 10 assists for his third straight double-double, and the Clippers came back after blowing a 15-point lead in the second half to beat the Kings 110-101 on Friday night. "I came out a little slow and tried to let the game develop, but I cant be that way," Paul said. "I have to be more aggressive. Once I got more aggressive, that opened up things for everybody." Blake Griffin added 20 points, 17 rebounds and six assists while reserve Jamal Crawford had 18 points for the Clippers, who have won two straight since a season-opening loss to the Lakers. Six players scored in double figures for Los Angeles, which trailed 92-90 midway through the fourth quarter before going ahead for good on a 3-pointer by Paul. The Clippers point guard had nine points over the final 6 minutes, including four consecutive free throws to extend the lead to 108-101. Paul got into it with Sacramento centre DeMarcus Cousins. The two exchanged words and had to be separated in the first quarter after it appeared Paul tried to push on Cousins face while the Kings centre was on the ground. Cousins later drew a technical in the fourth quarter after blocking a shot by Paul when he appeared to taunt the guard. Isaiah Thomas, who led the Kings with 29 points, was also hit with a technical foul while Los Angeles reserve Matt Barnes was called for a flagrant foul. "It was a track meet and it was physical, too," Rivers said. "It had a little bit of everything." The Clippers led most of the game and were ahead 66-51 early in the third quarter before the Kings made their best run of the night behind Thomas. Thomas, Sacramentos diminutive backup point guard, scored seven points including a driving layup as he crashed to the court. That helped the Kings trim the gap to single digits, and Travis Outlaws tip-in following Cousins missed 18-footer cut the Clippers lead to 79-77 heading into the fourth quarter.dddddddddddd "I love the fact that we got back in the game and we didnt stop competing," Sacramento coach Michael Malone said. "But you cant beat a good team if you allow them to shoot 50 per cent from the field and from the 3-point line." A driving layup by Thomas tied the game at 90-all, and Jason Thompsons jumper gave the Kings their first lead since early in the first half. It didnt last long. Paul scored five straight points and fed DeAndre Jordan with an alley-oop pass for a dunk that gave Los Angeles a 97-94 lead. Cousins, who finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, scored on a short hook to pull the Kings within 102-99 but Jared Dudley and Paul made two free throws apiece to help the Clippers seal the win. "Im one of those people that let my teammates get me going, and I need that," said Paul, who shot 7 of 14 from the field. "Doc talks to me about it but its my teammates that help me." Los Angeles led comfortably until Sacramentos push in the second half. Barnes and J.J. Redick made consecutive 3s as part of a 12-0 run by the Clippers midway through the first quarter. The Kings pulled even at 22-all on two free throws from Thomas before Crawford made a runner in the lane to give Los Angeles the early lead. Crawford scored six of the Clippers first nine points in the second quarter and Griffin added four on a driving layup and two free throws to help Los Angeles take a 41-31 lead. The Kings shot just 38.1 per cent in the first half but pulled within 52-45 on a free throw by Thomas with 21.5 seconds left. Paul answered with a 15-footer to extend the Clippers lead to nine at halftime. Sacramento made it close in the second half but couldnt close out after taking a lead with just over 6 minutes left. "We have to get better on the defensive end," Cousins said. "They got going, and instead of us stopping the bleeding we let them continue to do that. They didnt beat us. We beat ourselves." NOTES: Paul is averaging 27.3 points through the first three games. ... Crawford was 7 of 10 from the field. ... Former NBA star and current Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson was among those seated courtside. 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