Bewerbungen » to finish the game with 19 points. The 16 free

TORONTO -- A half-time message woke up the Raptors on a night when Toronto found itself sleepwalking against the struggling Detroit Pistons. "We pretty much said, This is a must-win game," Amir Johnson said after Toronto trailed Detroit by four at the break but finished with a 112-91 win Wednesday. "We had to go out and take it. We did that." After Johnson and DeMar DeRozan started the game cold, their teammates kept things close and allowed a second-half turnaround to take place. Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 11 rebounds while Kyle Lowry scored 21 points and added nine assists in a game the Raptors needed to work themselves into. "The first half was a little sluggish but we picked it up and thats most important," said Lowry. "Thats a team. You need everybody, all 15 guys and all 13 that are dressed to step up and take advantage when the opportunity comes." Toronto (17-17) needed strong performances from Valanciunas and Lowry. DeRozan and Johnson combined to shoot 0 for 16 from the floor in the first half with the team making just 33 per cent of their field goals compared to 47 per cent shooting from the Pistons. Brandon Jennings led the way for Detroit (14-22), scoring 22 points to go with nine assists in the loss. Andre Drummond added 16 rebounds as the Pistons lost their sixth straight. After going up 11 midway through the second quarter, the Raptors went more than five minutes without a field goal and allowed Detroit to go on a 14-0 run to take a 54-50 lead at the half. "We started off terrible," DeRozan said. "We didnt have any legs and we told ourselves that we can have no excuses. We had to pick it up because that wasnt us in the first half." Things flipped in the third quarter when the Raptors outscored Detroit 34-20 while making 11 of their 22 field-goal attempts. DeRozan and Johnson were able to shake off their starts to help Toronto build a 10-point advantage going into the fourth. "There was a big difference," Toronto head coach Dwane Casey said of the two halves. "We knew it was going to be a grind out game and thats something we are learning to do, to grind things out possession by possession, quarter by quarter. "We knew DeMar and Amir werent going to go zero-for, in the second half. The defensive intensity (after halftime) is what changed the game." The final quarter resembled the third as Toronto outplayed the Pistons and broke the game open with five minutes remaining and the lead up to 18. All five of Torontos starters finished the game in double figures after the team dropped its last two contests against the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. DeRozan finished the game shooting just 3 for 15 from the floor, but connected on 13 of his 16 free-throw attempts to finish the game with 19 points. The 16 free throws tied a career-high. "He went to plan B and thats what hes got to do," Casey said about DeRozans night. "About a year or two ago he wouldnt have done that. He did a good job of attacking the feet and taking what the defence gave him." Johnson finished the game with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Terrance Ross scored 17 points. "Hes improving as a basketball player," Lowry said of Rosss evolving game. "Catching and shooting, his confidence is unbelievable. Hes showing his versatility. He can play defence. Hes scoring, but if you look at the defensive assignments hes had in the past few weeks, hes done a great job at it ... I know I tip my hat to him." Lowrys explanation for the strides Ross has taken was simple -- hes playing more. "Thats how you get better," he said. "Once you get more minutes, more repetition, thats how you get better." Toronto finished the game shooting 41 per cent from the floor as compared to 40 per cent for the Pistons, but the Raptors shot 91 per cent from the free-throw line, making 31 of their 34 attempts. Detroit made just 19-for-35 shots from the line. Notes: Torontos Tyler Hansbrough missed his fourth straight game with a left ankle sprain. ... Rodney Stuckey returned to action for the Pistons after missing three games with a sore shoulder. ... The Raptors return to the court Saturday at home to the Brooklyn Nets. Brad Marchand Bruins Jersey . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. Sean Kuraly Bruins Jersey . -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. http://www.thebostonbruinshockey.com/kev...-hockey-jersey/. “Momentum is only as good as the next days starter,” the long-time Baltimore Orioles manager famously quipped. David Krejci Jersey .40 metres at the Drake Relays. Drouin, from Corunna, Ont., bested his own record of 2.38 metres set in Aug. Bobby Orr Jersey . This weeks topics include his take on the Kevin Pillar incident, All-Star snubs, the firing of Padres general manager Josh Byrnes and more.Olympic downhill contender Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein says she is struggling with a leg injury ahead of Wednesdays race. Weirather withdrew from the super-combined on Monday, and posted on Facebook that it was a "difficult moment." The 24-year-old ski racer, who trains with the Switzerland team, was treated at a hospital for bruising to her right tibia after a fall in a downhill training run Sunday. Swiss team spokesman Lorenz Liechti says Weirather is "not too bad, she can walk," adding that shed be assesssed "day by day whether she can compete.dddddddddddd" Weirather is second in the World Cup downhill standings this season behind Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany. Weirather has been on the podium nine times this season across three disciplines, with two victories. Her mother Harti and uncle Andreas Wenzel accounted for six of the Liechtensteins nine Olympic medals, which all came in alpine between 1976 and 1988. Harti Weirather, her Austrian father, was one of the best downhillers in the early 1980s. ' ' '