TORONTO - Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters just minutes before tipoff Saturday night that when his team finally had its edge back, everyone would know.Youll see it. Everybody will see it. Its that obvious, Casey said — perhaps sensing the end of the slump.Turns out, Casey was right. Everybody saw it Saturday night in a dominant 109-96 victory over the Boston Celtics that saw Torontos four-game losing skid come to an end, and the Raptors play with more energy — especially on the defensive end — than theyve shown in weeks.I thought our defensive mojo was back, Casey said after the win. I saw guys moving their feet, cracking down, rebounding, doing the things we needed to do with activity and anticipation.Kyle Lowry scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, Lou Williams also had 19 points, while James Johnson, Amir Johnson, and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 15 apiece for Toronto (25-11). Patrick Patterson finished with 10 points.I think we just got more defensive-minded and we really werent worried about the offensive end, Lowry said. We knew shots would fall. I think we put a real emphasis on defence tonight.Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., had 23 points — his best-ever performance in Toronto — to top the Celtics (12-23), while Avery Bradley added 17.The Raptors had been mired in their worst slump in over a year, losers of five of their previous seven games before Saturday. Prior to this cold spell, they hadnt lost more than two in a row this season.Casey shook up the lineup, reinserting the athletic and hardworking James Johnson into the starting five. He covers up a lot of mistakes. He covers a lot of floor, a lot of ground. His effort has been unbelievable this season and we need him to keep it up, Lowry said of Johnson. We love his energy, we love his enthusiastic nature and what he brings to the table.The Raptors got off to another sluggish start, but picked it up in the second quarter, and broke the game open in the third. Lowrys step-back jumper with just under three minutes to play in the third capped a 23-6 run that put Toronto up by 15 points, brought the capacity crowd of 19,800 out of their seats, and breathed some life back into the Air Canada Centre.We were tired of it, James Johnson said, of the change in momentum. Everybody buckled in. Everybody took responsibility for what they were doing and we started playing Toronto Raptors defence.The Raptors, who were playing Game 2 of a six-game homestand, took an 82-65 lead into the fourth, and back-to-back three-pointers by Lowry, Amir Johnson, then Lowry again, gave them a 100-80 lead with 5:29 to play.The Celtics responded with threes from Olynyk and Jared Sullinger to cut Torontos lead to 12 points, but that was as close as Boston would come.Caseys pre-game talk with reporters was dominated by the Raptors funk. He said they badley needed to break out of it, but added that its something that every team goes through at some point in a season.Im watching the games (Friday) night, and there are teams that look like theyre playing in mud. Theyre trying. Theyre running. Their arms are flailing. But theyre just not going anywhere. In an 82-game season, you have stretches, Casey said. But you go through that. Every year Ive been in the league Ive gone through it.DeMar DeRozans absence certainly hasnt helped the Raptors, who played their 20th game without him Saturday. The all-star had targeted this week for his return, but he and the team are playing it safe rather than taking any risks by rushing him back. DeRozan said hes looking to play some time next week.It was a strong performance in what was a homecoming of sorts for Olynyk. He was born in Toronto, where his mom Arlene was a scorekeeper for the Raptors and his dad Ken was the head basketball coach at the University of Toronto. The family moved to Kamloops when he was 12.Canada basketball is huge up here. . ., Olynyk said afterward. Its always nice to come up here and play well in front of your country.The rebuilding Celtics were playing the day after sending Brandan Wright to Phoenix in a trade for a protected first-round draft pick. Wright came to Boston in the Dec. 18 trade that sent guard Rajon Rondo to Dallas.Theyre at a different level than we are right now and we need to look at them as a team that we can learn a lot from, Boston coach Brad Stevens said of Toronto.The Raptors got off to yet another woeful start — the ninth time in 11 games theyve been outscored in the first quarter. A running layup by Olynyk put the Celtics up by nine midway through the frame, and they led 26-19 going into the second.Toronto used a 12-0 run in the second to take a three-point lead with a minute-and-a-half to play in the first half. Williams finished off a steal and pass from Patterson with a slam dunk to send the Raptors into halftime with a 47-43 lead.The Raptors kept their foot on the gas in the third, outscoring the Celtics 35-22 in the quarter to lead by 17 at the end of the period.Toronto hosts Detroit on Monday, then Philadelphia, and Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta, before capping its homestand Jan. 18 versus New Orleans. Comprar Botella Swell . Justine finished first with a score of 22.44 while Chloe was second with 21.66 points. Defending champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S., was third at 21.49. A third Dufour-Lapointe sister, Maxime, failed to make the final group and finished 12th while Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was 10th. Swell Botellas De Agua . With the players association in the midst of meetings in Las Vegas, a vote will be held on Friday to decide the CFLPAs presidency and other executive positions. http://www.botellasswellespana.com/. In mens doubles, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Croatian Mate Pavic and Andre Sa of Brazil. Swell Botellas . Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff underlined the squads enormous potential on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria. Swell Bottle Comprar . LA (SportsNetwork.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, Everyone does it, everyone knows it happens but what can referees to stop the delaying tactics used by teams after an icing call? In the first period between Vancouver and Buffalo on Sunday, Buffalo iced the puck and suddenly Zenon Konopka needed a new stick. However, it took the equipment manager about 30-40 seconds trying to find one and gave the team a quick rest. When he finally got near the faceoff dot, the linesman did a quick drop of the puck and the Canucks eventually scored off the resulting play. I know the Canucks sometimes will send in a winger to purposely get waved out to get a breather, but how long do referees give a team before they are able to give a delay of game penalty? Do they have to warn the team first? Gareth Gareth: Even though it is within the referees authority to assess a minor penalty once a player or team deliberately delays the game following an icing, I can think of far more appropriate situations for a referee to flex his muscles and assess a penalty. As you admit Gareth, everyone does it and everyone knows it happens. A warning would typically have to be issued before a delay of game penalty would be assessed in this situation. When Zenon Konopka felt it necessary to change his stick (for whatever reason) following the Sabres icing infraction the referee was caught between a rock and a hard place and must allow the player to obtain a replacement. Can you imagine the nuclear fallout for the ref, following the Canuck goal, if Konopka had been denied the change and his stick had broken on the ensuing face-off? Forcing Knopka to grab any old replacement off the bench other than his own pattern could also set the ref up for some abuse. In the course of a game there are times when a referee must dig his skates in and take a hard-line position but I believe a ref should pick his battles wisely and with good purpose. In my opinion, a slow face-off following an icing isnt typically worth throwing the gauntlet down. That being said, one thing that any referee has little tolerance for is to be publicly embarrassed and played for a fool. What I didnt much care for, as I watched this apparent "sheell game" being play out at the Buffalo bench, were the snickers and laughter that took place at the referees expense.dddddddddddd The equipment managers and training staff for the Buffalo Sabres are very professional in their duties; as are all NHL team equipment personnel. To believe that a players stick wasnt available in the rack just isnt within the realm of possibility. Gareth, let me suggest one possible way to deter a team from abusing rule 81.4—line changes on icing. My approach would have to laugh right along with them right up to the end of the little charade when Zenon Konopka was finally handed his replacement stick and before he sprinted to the face-off dot with a grin. At that point I would issue Coach Ted Nolan an "official warning" that any undue delay by him or his players on a future icing would result in bench minor penalty. I would be sure to say it with a smile on my face but there would be little doubt that the gauntlet had been dropped! You might also be curious Gareth (like me) as to why a lengthy rest delay was even required by the Sabres fourth line on just their fourth shift of the game; if in fact that was the intention of Zenon Konopka and the Sabres bench staff. Heres the interesting breakdown for you. The Sabres fourth line, comprised of Zenon Konopka, John Scott and Nicolas Deslauriers, had played a total of one minute and seventeen seconds (1:17) in three well spaced shifts prior to their fourth shift when the icing infraction was called. Their third shift lasted only 20 seconds and was followed by over two minutes of rest on the bench. The fouth line then changed on the fly and skated for 21 seconds prior to a 25 second breather before play resumed following a Canuck end zone face-off. Once the puck was dropped, they skated for another 13 seconds before the whistle blew for the icing call. I dont think these finely tuned athletes would have been all that fatigued considering my unofficial ice-tracker stats. If locating a missing stick at the Sabres bench is truly a ploy to slow things down after an icing, perhaps they should pick their spot more wisely and utilize it when players really are fatigued. In any event, this play should now be "one and done!" The gauntlet has been dropped I hope. ' ' '