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TORONTO -- It was a game Dwane Casey figures the Toronto Raptors lose two months ago. Reeling from an 18-3 run by the Brooklyn Nets to start the second half, Toronto was down 10 points against a team looking to win its season-high sixth straight game. But rather than rollover, the Raptors fought back, showed what their head coach called newfound "mental toughness" and coasted to a comfortable 96-80 victory before a sellout crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre. "I think our guys showed mental toughness and won a slug out game which I dont know if we could have won a few months ago, no less last year," Casey said of the Raptors second straight win, which gave them a four-game lead over the Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division. "Its a testament to our guys mental growth and mental toughness to win a game like that." After Brooklyn built its biggest lead of the night at 10 points at the midway mark of the third quarter, the Raptors went on a 28-5 run over the next 10:33 to secure their seventh win in their last nine games. After 35 games, the Raptors are 18-17. At this point last season, Toronto was 13-22. "Guys are growing up," Casey said when asked to explain the difference in the Raptors this season from last. "Theyre getting tired of me preaching physicality, dont get knocked down in a street fight." Leading the way for the Raptors was DeMar DeRozan, who poured in a game-high 26 points. Terrence Ross added 14 points for the Raptors while Patrick Patterson had 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Raptors took a 47-42 lead into the halftime break on the strength of 11 first-half points from Ross, who hit half of Torontos six three-pointers in the opening 24 minutes. Toronto, which shot an anaemic 38.6 per cent from the field in the first half, led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter but the Nets continued to fight back. But then the visitors took over the game -- and silenced the boisterous crowd celebrating Drake Night in honour of the hometown rapper and Raptors global ambassador -- before Toronto regained control. After Brooklyns Shaun Livingston hit a six-foot jump shot to restore the Nets 10-point lead with 4:54 to go in the quarter, the Raptors scored 16 of the final 18 points to close it out. DeRozan scored the final seven points of the third quarter, capping it with a 25-foot three-pointer. The Raptors then went on a 10-1 run to open the fourth quarter and put the game away. "We stayed patient. We knew they were going to make a run, especially in the second half," DeRozan said. "We stayed disciplined, understood we had to get stops, rebound the ball and push it. "If Ive got to step up to win, Im going to do as much as I can." In addition to praising the "big time" performance by DeRozan, Casey also lauded the contributions of Patterson and John Salmons -- who came over as part of the trade for Rudy Gay -- to the teams toughness. The Raptors win ended a five-game win streak for Brooklyn (15-22). "Well, it was an important game," said Toronto guard Kyle Lowry, who had 12 points. "Every game we play is important. We cant take any game for granted. "It was really important with them being a divisional team and them playing really well now. We needed to get this win for our confidence." The Raptors close out their three-game homestand against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. WHOLESALE NBA JERSEYS CHINA . PAUL, Minn. WHOLESALE CHINA JERSEYS . - A lot of scenarios ran through Terrell Suggs head when the Baltimore linebacker prepared to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. http://www.chinacheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/. Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. CHEAP AUTHENTIC NBA JERSEYS . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining. CHEAP NFL JERSEYS WHOLESALE . The question all fans want to know heading into this light heavyweight affair is will Rua display his true potential. Working with UFC welterweight fighter Demian Maias team in Sao Paulo Brazil and having training partners such as fellow UFC stand outs Fabio Maldonado and Daniel Sarafian, the 32-year old feels very well prepared for Friday nights encounter.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Clippers will try to stay on the right path when they entertain the Indiana Pacers Wednesday at Staples Center. The Clippers have won 10 of their last 12 games and halted a two-game slide with Mondays 113-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Blake Griffin scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Coming home and closing a team out is a really good feeling, Jordan said. After losing two games in a row it feels like you lost 10. Chris Paul posted 11 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who have won five in a row at home. Indiana ended an eight-game losing streak with Mondays 110-91 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.dddddddddddd Rodney Stuckey posted 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while C.J. Miles also scored 20 points for the Pacers. Defensively, we made it tough on them, Miles said. We have to go out there and know its not going to be given to us. The Pacers will also visit Denver and Minnesota on the trek. Indiana suffered a 103-96 loss to the Clippers on Dec. 20, as Paul scored 17 points, handed out 15 assists and pulled down eight rebounds. Miles led all scorers with 30 points off Indianas bench. ' ' '