," Therrien said. "At this time of the year, you need to b

The Toronto Raptors are still seeking improvement even though they own the Eastern Conferences best record. The Detroit Pistons are near the other end of the standings amid their worst single-season home losing streak in nearly half a century. The Raptors will be in search of a fifth straight victory tonight when they try to extend the Pistons home slide to 12 games. Toronto (20-6) posted a 105-89 home win over Brooklyn on Wednesday, gaining a measure of revenge against the team that knocked it out of the playoffs a season ago. Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 12 assists, and Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who reached 20 wins quicker than any team in club history. My hat is off to (the players), coach Dwane Casey said. But everybody in that room knows there are a lot of areas where we can get better. There are clearly plenty of areas where Detroit (5-21) can improve. The Pistons fell 117-106 to Dallas on Wednesday for their 11th consecutive defeat at The Palace of Auburn Hills, marking their longest single-season home skid since a franchise-record 15 straight Dec. 6, 1966-Jan. 31, 1967. Smith, the teams second-leading scorer at 13.2 points per game, had seven points and four field-goal attempts Wednesday. It marked his lowest shot total since he took three April 13, 2011, with Atlanta. Jennings, meanwhile, is shooting 24.1 percent in December for the lowest mark of any player with at least 50 attempts. He averaged 4.7 points during a string of seven straight games without reaching double digits before scoring 13 versus the Mavericks. He could get untracked in the first game with Toronto since he averaged 21.0 points in last seasons three meetings in his point guard matchup with Lowry, who averaged 22.7 and 7.3 assists in those games. The Raptors swept the series for the second time in their history, winning by an average of 14.7 points. Pistons center Andre Drummond averaged 12.0 points and 14.0 rebounds last season against the Raptors. Drummond was spectacular Wednesday with 19 points and 24 rebounds - two shy of his career high. That was probably Andres best game of the season, and it is definitely the hardest he has played all year, coach Stan Van Gundy said. He was getting up and down the floor and he was active on defense. Drummond is among the NBA leaders with 12.3 rebounds per game and 14 double-doubles. He figures to be matched up with Valanciunas, who has half of his eight double-doubles in the Raptors last six games. Toronto isnt taking anything for granted heading into a weekend in which it faces two of the Easts worst teams, with New York visiting Sunday. Right now, my minds beginning to think about Detroit and what we can do tomorrow, what we can do in shootaround to get ready for Detroit, Casey said after Wednesdays win. Weve got New York coming back through so we cant rest and think about a rivalry or whoever were playing. Weve got to go to next game. Wholesale Lebrons China . "Back in 2011, when they announced that the game was coming here, we knew that it was going to be pretty important that we had a good year and hopefully could get into it, let alone win it, so I felt some pressure obviously within for sure," Taman said Monday, less than 24 hours after the Riders won the championship. Best Cheap Lebrons . The English Football Association had charged the German right back with violent conduct after retrospectively reviewing video evidence of an incident that was missed by match officials at Craven Cottage on Saturday. http://www.cheaplebronsfromchina.com/. - David Tomasek had two goals in regulation time and was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Belleville Bulls upset the Oshawa Generals 6-5 on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Lebrons For Sale .ca. Kerry, I hope you address Ron MacLeans comment during the second intermission of Game 4 in Montreal-Tampa series. Basically, he suggested that the NHL should not have used a referee from Quebec, following the Game 3 disputed non-goal, because the referee could be biased towards Montreal. Cheap Lebrons Online . Arsene Wenger reportedly wants to convert the player into an attacking force, much like he did with Robin Van Persie.TORONTO - When Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price looks at the Toronto Maple Leafs, he sees a big, physically strong team. "Theyre in your face," Price said. "Theyre a playoff team." The Leafs may be built for playoff hockey, but getting there could be a challenge down the stretch, especially after losing 4-3 to the Canadiens on Saturday night at Air Canada Centre. Montreal moved five points up on Toronto in the Atlantic Division standings and in the process made it far less likely that this thrilling, back-and-forth affair could be a first-round playoff preview. "I think thats what everybody would want to see, and Im sure its going to happen sooner or later," said Habs forward Rene Bourque, who had a goal and an assist and was not yet born the last time these teams met in the playoffs back in 1979. As the Habs won for the fourth time in five games, the Leafs (36-28-8) dropped their fourth in a row as part of a troubling late-season swoon in the absence of injured goalie Jonathan Bernier. Toronto still occupies the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but leads Detroit by just one point and Columbus by two and has played two more games that the Red Wings and Blue Jackets. The Leafs could fall out of playoff position by the end of Sunday. James Reimer, who allowed four goals on 37 shots, including a short-side game-winner by Tomas Plekanec, said he and his teammates have a "healthy sense of urgency" with 10 games remaining. "I think we know we played well tonight and I think we made some mistakes but I think they made some mistakes too," Reimer said. "Really, it was kind of one bad bounce that decided the game. I think we can hold our heads high on this one and go into tomorrow (at the New Jersey Devils) feeling good about ourselves." The Habs are feeling good about themselves after winning a track meet of a hockey game that featured three goals in the first period — by Montreals Max Pacioretty, Bourque and captain Brian Gionta and Torontos Joffrey Lupul and Tyler Bozak. Montreal coach Michel Therrien liked the way his team dictated the play early. But it was bouncing back in the third period after Nazem Kadri tied the score for the Leafs that impressed Price, who finished with 33 saves. "That was definitely a test of character," Price said. "When a team scores in the third period to tie it up when theyre at home, youre on the road, they grab a lot of momentum. ... Being able to grab the lead and then hold it with a good team effort like that is, I think, rewarding." The Habs reward if these winning ways keep up is either second or third place in the Atlantic Division, crucial spots that would mean avoiding Mondays opponent, the Boston Bruins, or the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Now five points back of Montreal and six behind the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won in Toronto on Wednesday night, the Leafs will need an uphill climb to avoid a wild-card spot and a tough matchup. But now theres some legitimate concern, given recent woes, that a playoff spot altogether might be in danger. This loss, which winger Mason Raymond said "stings" and captain Dion Phanuef called "disappointing," didnt help that cause.dddddddddddd "You have to turn the page," Phaneuf said. "Theres no looking back on today, tomorrow. Tomorrows a new day, weve got to pull ourselves out of it. Its this group thats going to get us out of this bind. Weve been close, but close isnt good enough right now. We know that were going to get out of it, weve just got to find a way." The Leafs and Habs (29-26-7) were close because this was such a back-and-forth game with plenty of chances at either end. The turning point came 9:14 into the third when Toronto winger James van Riemsdyk was called for goaltender interference when he steam-rolled Price. Habs defenceman Andrei Markov appeared to make contact with van Riemsdyk before he hit Price, but the goalie went to the ice and believed he was interfered with. "Its contact to my head, so I thought it was a penalty, personally," Price said. Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, who conceded he didnt see a replay of the incident, was more worried about the impact of the penalty. Plekanec scored just as van Riemsdyk was being released from the box at 11:14, sneaking a shot in the tiny space between Reimer and the right post. "We clawed back into the hockey game and then we take a penalty early in the third and they score," Carlyle said. "It was the difference in the hockey game, and the margin of error now in these games is so close that one bounce or one mis-play or one unfortunate mistake cost us points." Mistakes — be it turnovers by Phil Kessel, David Clarkson and Kadri or soft goals allowed by Reimer — hurt the Leafs dearly. Another slow start wasnt ideal, either. "Obviously we were behind the 8-ball a little bit early on giving up two goals," Raymond said of allowing two goals in the games first seven minutes. "I like the way we battled back, but turnovers killed us a bit and thats tough." The Habs benefited because they pounced on so many mistakes the Leafs committed. In front of an early-spring crowd of 19,789 thats hungry for playoff hockey, Montreal executed like a team ready for that next step. "Both teams need those points. We were ready to play," Therrien said. "At this time of the year, you need to be in a playoff mindset. And our mindsets like that." NOTES — Montreals streak of consecutive penalties killed was snapped at 25 on Kadris power-play goal at 2:49 of the third. The last time the Habs surrendered a goal on the power play was March 6 at the Phoenix Coyotes. ... Leafs centre Dave Bolland played just 9 minutes 1 second in his return to the lineup. Bolland missed the previous 56 games after suffering a severed tendon in the back of his ankle Nov. 2. ... Habs forward Lars Eller suffered a lower-body injury, Therrien said, and did not play in the third period. Michael Bournival was called up, and he will meet the team in Boston. .... Bernier, who has now missed four straight games with a groin injury, will miss his fifth in a row Sunday when the Leafs visit the Devils. Carlyle said the 25-year-old will not make the trip. ' ' '