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TORONTO - As Dwane Casey called a timeout late in Fridays victory, one of his teams most impressive of the campaign, an honorary addition to the Raptors coaching body was the first to race out and rally the troops. Donning a charcoal blazer on top of his white t-shirt, Kyle Lowry immediately pulled aside his replacement, Greivis Vasquez, as the two point guards calibrated by the bench with less than a minute remaining. A reluctant spectator for the second straight contest, nursing his bruised knee, Lowry refused to take the night off. Not that anyone truly expected him to. "He was like our second or third coach," said Jonas Valanciunas. "He was kind of doing the same thing he does when hes in the game," added Terrence Ross. "Helping us with plays, drawing things up for us, being vocal." The Raptors would rather have him in uniform, dressed in red and white while leading his team in the trenches instead of on the sidelines, but they have more than held their own in his absence. For the second time in three days, Toronto - missing both Lowry and forward Amir Johnson - was able to knock off a top-six team, as the teams confidence continues to grow heading into the playoffs. "With us we feel like we can beat anybody when we step out there on the court, honestly," said DeMar DeRozan, who tallied 20 points and nine assists in his teams inspiring 102-94 win over the Indiana Pacers. "Theyre [a] top team in the East. We understand tonight was a big win at this time of the season." The Pacers - a team the Raptors could see in the second round of the playoffs, should they advance - are backing into the postseason. Frank Vogels club, losers of six straight games on the road and six of eight overall, had occupied the Easts top seed for most of the season before surrendering it to Miami last week. Vulnerable as Indiana may be, the Raptors have split the season series and given that they were without two starters on Friday, their latest victory was of the statement variety. "If theyre looking for themselves, whatever it is, its a win," Casey said. "Whatever their deal is, theyve won 53 games. Thats the way I look at it. Its a quality win." Fresh off a similarly opportunistic win over a Rockets team missing Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, the Raptors displayed characteristics you wouldnt expect from a young, undermanned group. They were resilient, hitting back after the Pacers cut into their 11-point cushion and took a lead of their own late in the game. They were tough, winning the battle on the boards and refusing to back down from Indys intimidation tactics. They embodied the seemingly irreplaceable qualities of their fallen comrades, Lowry and Johnson. Lowry - for better or for worse, in uniform or not - is the engine that drives this ship and even from the bench he couldnt help but to take control. "Its a little bit worse than what he does when hes in the game with you," DeRozan joked. "He just wont stop talking but hey, we deal with it, its cool. He shut up a little bit more once we were winning." "Id rather have him in uniform than in street clothes and coaching," Casey said, also having some fun at the expense of the vocal Lowry. "I tell Kyle this all the time, that when he becomes a coach I cannot wait to come watch his teams play." "Ill tell you what, Imma be that heckler in that stands. Boooo, coach." The relationship between Casey and Lowry has grown exponentially over the past 18 months. Theyre both strong-willed, passionate competitors. Whatever rift they may or may not have had last season - when the team was losing and Lowrys minutes were sporadic - appears to be a thing of the past. They understand and respect each other. Winning will do that. "I mean we have the same goals and thats to win as many games as we can win, make noise in the playoffs and compete our butts off," Casey said before the game. "Were tied together from that standpoint." The Raptors have navigated through the toughest stretch of their late-season schedule without Lowry and Johnson - out with a lingering ankle ailment - and can now afford to be more cautious with the health of their stars. Torontos final six regular season games come against sub-.500 competition, beginning with Saturdays contest against the lowly Bucks in Milwaukee. "The big picture is the most important thing," Casey acknowledged, "keeping guys healthy going forward." Sophomores stepping up Facing elite defenders at their positions, the Raptors duo of second-year starters came up big in the absence of Lowry and Johnson. Valanciunas, who scored 22 points on 14 shots, anchored Torontos defence and pulled down crucial rebounds in crunch time while vastly outplaying Pacers all-star centre Roy Hibbert. Meanwhile, Ross picked up the slack on offence, leading the team with 24 points - including five made threes - against a couple of tough wing defenders in Paul George and Lance Stephenson. "They came in and played with a lot of confidence, a lot of energy," Casey said of his sophomores. "They continue to get better and work hard at it every single day," DeRozan added. "They understand they play a key role on this team and us being successful. I credit tonights game to them because they came up big." De Colo making an impact With Vasquez stepping into Lowrys slot as the teams starting point guard, Casey has looked to trade deadline acquisition Nando De Colo off the bench. Even without scoring, the former Spurs guard has been making an impact with his energy and basketball intellect. He logged 23 minutes on Friday - most hes played with the Raptors - and with the increased role came a greater comfort level offensively. "He knows that hes going to get extended minutes with Kyle out," Casey said of De Colo, who scored 10 points and dished out five assists. "When youre in that situation you play a little more free and a little looser. Hes [being] himself and hes done an excellent job." The stat DeRozan, who had a team-high nine assists Friday, has now recorded five or more dimes in 24 games this year after doing so 18 times in his first four seasons combined. The quote "It should help their confidence," said Casey on the win. "To go against a team like Indiana without our two starters helps us but its not worth a darn if we dont come out [Saturday] night and have the same focus and energy and effort. Were happy, were excited about the win. I dont want to poo poo on it but weve got to turn it up and crank it up again tomorrow night. Jae Crowder Jersey . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. Tony Bradley Jersey . Calgarys Bo Levi Mitchell and Montreals Troy Smith will be the starting quarterbacks in a CFL season-opener for the first time in their careers. Both want to reinforce their No. 1 status. You can watch the game live in the first half of a doubleheader on TSN and TSN GO at 3:00pm et/Noon pt. http://www.jazzauthentic.com/kids-pete-maravich-jazz-jersey/. Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact. Jeff Hornacek Jersey . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. Ricky Rubio Jersey . Bilbaos first victory in four rounds lifted it four points clear of Real Sociedad and kept it in command of Spains last Champions League berth for next season. In contrast, Betis was left 11 points from safety after a dismal performance that at times bordered on self-destruction amid some questionable refereeing decisions.SAN FRANCISCO - In the middle of a champagne-and-beer-soaked clubhouse after the San Francisco Giants won the NL Championship Series, Tim Hudson was given the chance to speak to his team.The message was as simple as Hudsons approach on the mound: World Series, baby!After 16 years, 214 regular-season wins and seven failed trips to the post-season, Hudson has finally made it to baseballs biggest stage at age 39.Hudson is set to take the mound Friday night for the Giants when they return home to face Jeremy Guthrie and the Royals in Game 3 of the World Series after a two-game split in Kansas City.Its almost a sense of relief that its finally here, that what Ive hoped and dreamed for throughout my career is finally here, and theres not going to be anybody on the field thats more ready than I am tomorrow night, Hudson said Thursday.Hudsons brilliant career began on the other side of San Francisco Bay as he helped Oakland make four straight trips to the post-season that ended with Game 5 losses in the division series.Hudson got back to the playoffs with Atlanta, losing in the division series in 2005 to Houston and 2010 to San Francisco. The Braves made it again last year when Hudson was hurt but lost again in the division series.After signing a $23 million, two-year contract this off-season with San Francisco, Hudson finally got to experience post-season success.You often wonder, is it ever going to happen? Obviously, last year the way my season ended with my ankle injury, things looked a little bleak there for a few moments, Hudson said. But Im just really lucky.Hudson got no-decisions in his first two post-season starts, allowing five runs in 13 2-3 innings against Washington and St. Louis.The limited work of late has paid dividends. Hudson looks much fresher than he did in September when he went 0-4 with an 8.72 ERA in five starts to end the season while dealing with a bum hip. He finished the season with a 9-13 record for his first losing campaign ever.Its hard enough to play this game when youre healthy, but when youre pitching and your hips bothering you a little bit — and hes a warrior, managerr Bruce Bochy said.dddddddddddd. He was never complaining. He was never making excuses, but it was a fact. I think it was affecting him a little bit.Guthrie had a long wait just to get to the playoffs. He made his first post-season appearance at age 35 when he allowed one run in five innings of a no-decision against Baltimore in Game 3 of the ALCS.That start is Guthries only outing the past four weeks; he did not pitch in the division series sweep against the Angels. So Guthrie has done his best to stay sharp with side work instead of pitching in games.He has also spent time serving as a translator for some of Kansas Citys Spanish-speaking players. Guthrie completed a Mormon mission to Spain when he was in college, not picking up a baseball for two years.But Guthrie revived his career when he returned and transferred to Stanford, becoming a first-round pick in 2002 and eventually a major leaguer.He said he learned at Stanford the importance of going deep into games — something that was most evident when he went 13 innings to beat Cal-State Fullerton in the NCAA tournament his final year there.Four days before the draft, Scott Boras my agent, or adviser at that time, was there, and I dont think he was anticipating or hoping for 13 innings that close to the draft, Guthrie said. But it was 147 pitches. Again, it was a reflection of competing to the end, its yours to win, and watching kind of the pitchers pitch by pitch, and seeing how theyre doing versus kind of letting the number dictate when they were going to be taken out.With a stellar bullpen led by Greg Holland, Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis behind him in Kansas City, Guthrie knows he wont be asked to go that deep on a team that has had only one starter pitch into the seventh this post-season.Thats been the result, but were out there trying to get as deep as we can, Guthrie said. For us to win a game without having to throw all three of our relievers at the back end, Kelvin, and Wade, and Greg, will only give our team a better chance to win throughout the series.___AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report. 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