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TORONTO -- The clock was ticking down and the Toronto Raptors were clutching a one-point lead. Jonathan Bullard Jersey . And Kyle Lowry, the player who has so often carried them down the stretch, was in the locker-room getting treatment for a sore and swollen knee. But with DeMar DeRozan leading the way, the Raptors showed the resiliency that has become part of their makeup this season en route to a 107-103 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. "Every win is great for us right now for what were trying to do, especially with Kyle out and Amir (Johnson) out," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Hopefully it gives our guys some confidence. . . guys who stepped in, to go where we need to go." Johnson missed all but the first three minutes with an ankle injury. DeRozan poured in 29 points, and was key in the fourth quarter, doling out a couple of assists and uncharacteristically taking a charge. "Those are the winning plays that hes learning to make and hes making now, other than just scoring," Casey said. "Hes doing a great job of scoring but theres so many other things when he plays those kinds of minutes, especially now with Kyle out, hes got to do a lot more." When he somehow cut his finger with just over three minutes to go, he continued to play despite the blood that was smeared across his shorts. "I kind of split the middle of my hand, the webbing of my hand, I didnt even notice," said DeRozan, who estimated he had four or five stitches. "I looked down and my whole hand was soaked." Jonas Valanciunas and Greivis Vasquez added 15 points apiece, and Terrence Ross finished with 14 for the Raptors (43-32). James Harden scored 26 points to top the Rockets (49-25), who were missing Dwight Howard (ankle) for the third consecutive game. Chandler Parsons added 20. Lowry missed the game after a hard knee-on-knee collision with LeBron James in the Raptors 93-83 loss to Miami two nights earlier. His X-rays were negative, so there was no structural damage. Johnson played the first three minutes but headed to the locker-room with a sore right ankle. But despite the absence of not only two of the teams top contributors but arguably its two hardest workers, the Raptors werent going to let this game slip away. With seven games to go, every game is meaningful as the Raptors fight for a favourable opponent in the post-season and homecourt advantage. Vasquez, who started at point guard, said its no surprise that DeRozan and the Raptors stepped up so well in Lowrys absence. "Its not hidden that (DeRozan and Lowry) are our leaders. We go as they go. And everybody else understands that," said Vasquez. "This is why we have a healthy locker-room, were not fighting egos, we know whats going on. Those two guys are going to score, those two guys are going to make winning plays. And whenever one of those guys goes down, weve got their back. Thats what this team is all about. "This is not a fluke. We earn wins, and we earned a win tonight." Houston, which has now dropped seven straight decisions in Toronto, was coming off a 105-96 loss the previous night at Brooklyn, and arrived in Toronto at 3 a.m. Wednesday. The Raptors led by as much as 20 points in the third against the fourth-place team in the mighty Western Conference. But they allowed the Rockets to pull within 90-80 heading into the fourth and it was during a stretch in the final 12 minutes that the Raptors really felt the absence of Lowry and Johnson. The Rockets pulled within two points with 8:45 to play but that was as close as the visitors would get, and when a wide-open Ross drained a three-pointer with four minutes to play it brought the crowd to its feet and gave Toronto a six-point lead. There were some tense moments as Houston showed some life late. Jeremy Lin drained a three-pointer to cut Torontos lead to three points with nine seconds left, but a free throw by Vasquez sealed the Raptors victory. "We are a team that is desperate for a win right now," Lin said. "Weve dropped three in a row, definitely not a good feeling. We just have to regroup. The one thing I will say is that Im proud of how hard we played but we didnt play great in terms of execution, in terms of coverage and a lot of those little things." As for Lowrys knee injury, Casey said sitting his starting guard wasnt a matter of getting him rest. Wednesdays game was one the coach really wanted to win, so if Lowry could have played, he would have. "Theres a pride factor, you want to win, you want to win a division, you want to win and try and get home court," Casey said. "Were in position, so theres no use of letting off the pedal now. Every game for me is desperate. "But its not live or die or anything like that, were not going to risk a kids health to try to do that." Lowry is averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Johnson, whos averaging 10.8 points and 6.8 boards, has long battled bad ankles, but the hardworking forward normally plays through the pain. The fact he left the game is worrisome. The Raptors are tied with Chicago for third in the Eastern Conference and two-and-a-half games ahead of Brooklyn. The good news is Wednesdays game was the Raptors last against a Western Conference opponent. And of the remaining games, Toronto plays last-place Milwaukee twice, and Philadelphia (second-last) once. The Raptors got off to a sloppy start, falling behind by 12 points midway through the first quarter. Toronto ended the quarter with a 12-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Vasquez and trailed 25-23 heading into the second. DeRozan led the way with 15 points in a second quarter that Toronto finish with a 13-4 run, and when the Raptors all-star drilled a 32-footer at the buzzer it sent Toronto into the dressing room with a 55-50 lead. A pair of free throws by Salmons gave the Raptors a 20-point lead -- their biggest of the game -- with just under four minutes to go in the third. But the Rockets finished with an 18-8 run to make it a 10-point game with a quarter to go. NOTES: The Raptors have another tough game Friday when they host the Indiana Pacers. The Raptors are in Milwaukee on Saturday before returning home to face the Sixers and New York Knicks. . . Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne DeRosario was at the game. Mark Sanchez Jersey . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City. Custom Chicago Bears Jerseys . - A mixed martial arts fighter who changed his name to War Machine was ordered Friday to stand trial in Nevada state court on 34 felony charges including attempted murder, sexual assault and kidnapping that could get him life in prison for allegedly attacking his porn star ex-girlfriend and her friend. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Authentic_Tom-Compton_Bears_Jersey/ . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games.NASHVILLE -- When Seth Jones slipped past the first three picks in this years NHL draft, the Nashville Predators rushed to the podium to grab him at No. 4. They earned their first reward on Saturday night. Jones scored his first NHL goal, and the Predators edged the New York Islanders 3-2. Nashville has won two of three. The Islanders were beaten for the third time in four games -- including twice in two nights. Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Ellis had the other Nashville goals. Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored for New York. Pekka Rinne needed to make only 14 saves for the win. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 28 shots in the loss. After a scoreless opening period, Jones gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:03 of the second. With Nashville on a power play, Shea Weber had the puck at the right point. Weber found David Legwand on the right boards, and Legwand slid a cross-ice pass to Jones at the top of the left circle. Jones took the puck and beat Nabokov on the short side with a slap shot. "The seam was there for a couple of seconds, and I was hoping that Leggy saw me," Jones said. "Hes got good vision, so he did." The 19-year-old defenceman was put on the left side of Nashvilles top defensive pairing alongside Weber. He took that spot after Roman Josi sustained a concussion just over a week earlier in a game at Colorado. Nielsen tied it at 12:39 of the second after Kyle Okposo found him with a pass as Nielsen came through the high slot unchecked. He snapped a wrist shot past Rinne. Less than three minutes later, Tavares gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead when he banked in a shot from below the goal line off of RRinnes right pad. Pernell McPhee Jersey. Hornqvist sent the teams into the second intermission tied at 2 after his shot from the right circle beat Nabokov with 53 seconds remaining in the period. "It was a huge goal," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "He sort of willed that puck in the net. You can say what you want; good goal, bad goal, whatever. I really believe that it was that extra effort that helped us get that goal." It was Hornqvists first of the season. "That was a big goal for them, obviously, under a minute left to go in the second period," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. Ellis netted the winning goal 3:23 into the third when his slap shot from just inside the blue line on the right side beat Nabokov on the stick side. "Just put the puck on net. I think that is what we have been doing lately, but we werent getting bounces," Ellis said. "Tonight we did get a few, and thats what we need to win." The Islanders managed only five shots in the third. Right after Ellis goal, Nashvilles Matt Hendricks was assessed a double minor for high-sticking, giving New York a four-minute power play. "We had a four-minute power play that didnt generate much, which is not good enough," Tavares said. "We have to find a way to get better in those areas at those times in the game." NOTES: Nashville LW Viktor Stalberg made his season debut after missing the first four games because of a shoulder injury. After playing three seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks, Stalberg signed a four-year deal with Nashville in July. ... Capuano coached in his 200th NHL game. ... 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