TORONTO -- The clock was ticking down and the Toronto Raptors were clutching a one-point lead. DaeSean Hamilton Broncos Jersey . And Kyle Lowry, the player who has so often carried them down the stretch, was in the locker-room getting treatment for a sore and swollen knee. But with DeMar DeRozan leading the way, the Raptors showed the resiliency that has become part of their makeup this season en route to a 107-103 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. "Every win is great for us right now for what were trying to do, especially with Kyle out and Amir (Johnson) out," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Hopefully it gives our guys some confidence. . . guys who stepped in, to go where we need to go." Johnson missed all but the first three minutes with an ankle injury. DeRozan poured in 29 points, and was key in the fourth quarter, doling out a couple of assists and uncharacteristically taking a charge. "Those are the winning plays that hes learning to make and hes making now, other than just scoring," Casey said. "Hes doing a great job of scoring but theres so many other things when he plays those kinds of minutes, especially now with Kyle out, hes got to do a lot more." When he somehow cut his finger with just over three minutes to go, he continued to play despite the blood that was smeared across his shorts. "I kind of split the middle of my hand, the webbing of my hand, I didnt even notice," said DeRozan, who estimated he had four or five stitches. "I looked down and my whole hand was soaked." Jonas Valanciunas and Greivis Vasquez added 15 points apiece, and Terrence Ross finished with 14 for the Raptors (43-32). James Harden scored 26 points to top the Rockets (49-25), who were missing Dwight Howard (ankle) for the third consecutive game. Chandler Parsons added 20. Lowry missed the game after a hard knee-on-knee collision with LeBron James in the Raptors 93-83 loss to Miami two nights earlier. His X-rays were negative, so there was no structural damage. Johnson played the first three minutes but headed to the locker-room with a sore right ankle. But despite the absence of not only two of the teams top contributors but arguably its two hardest workers, the Raptors werent going to let this game slip away. With seven games to go, every game is meaningful as the Raptors fight for a favourable opponent in the post-season and homecourt advantage. Vasquez, who started at point guard, said its no surprise that DeRozan and the Raptors stepped up so well in Lowrys absence. "Its not hidden that (DeRozan and Lowry) are our leaders. We go as they go. And everybody else understands that," said Vasquez. "This is why we have a healthy locker-room, were not fighting egos, we know whats going on. Those two guys are going to score, those two guys are going to make winning plays. And whenever one of those guys goes down, weve got their back. Thats what this team is all about. "This is not a fluke. We earn wins, and we earned a win tonight." Houston, which has now dropped seven straight decisions in Toronto, was coming off a 105-96 loss the previous night at Brooklyn, and arrived in Toronto at 3 a.m. Wednesday. The Raptors led by as much as 20 points in the third against the fourth-place team in the mighty Western Conference. But they allowed the Rockets to pull within 90-80 heading into the fourth and it was during a stretch in the final 12 minutes that the Raptors really felt the absence of Lowry and Johnson. The Rockets pulled within two points with 8:45 to play but that was as close as the visitors would get, and when a wide-open Ross drained a three-pointer with four minutes to play it brought the crowd to its feet and gave Toronto a six-point lead. There were some tense moments as Houston showed some life late. Jeremy Lin drained a three-pointer to cut Torontos lead to three points with nine seconds left, but a free throw by Vasquez sealed the Raptors victory. "We are a team that is desperate for a win right now," Lin said. "Weve dropped three in a row, definitely not a good feeling. We just have to regroup. The one thing I will say is that Im proud of how hard we played but we didnt play great in terms of execution, in terms of coverage and a lot of those little things." As for Lowrys knee injury, Casey said sitting his starting guard wasnt a matter of getting him rest. Wednesdays game was one the coach really wanted to win, so if Lowry could have played, he would have. "Theres a pride factor, you want to win, you want to win a division, you want to win and try and get home court," Casey said. "Were in position, so theres no use of letting off the pedal now. Every game for me is desperate. "But its not live or die or anything like that, were not going to risk a kids health to try to do that." Lowry is averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Johnson, whos averaging 10.8 points and 6.8 boards, has long battled bad ankles, but the hardworking forward normally plays through the pain. The fact he left the game is worrisome. The Raptors are tied with Chicago for third in the Eastern Conference and two-and-a-half games ahead of Brooklyn. The good news is Wednesdays game was the Raptors last against a Western Conference opponent. And of the remaining games, Toronto plays last-place Milwaukee twice, and Philadelphia (second-last) once. The Raptors got off to a sloppy start, falling behind by 12 points midway through the first quarter. Toronto ended the quarter with a 12-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Vasquez and trailed 25-23 heading into the second. DeRozan led the way with 15 points in a second quarter that Toronto finish with a 13-4 run, and when the Raptors all-star drilled a 32-footer at the buzzer it sent Toronto into the dressing room with a 55-50 lead. A pair of free throws by Salmons gave the Raptors a 20-point lead -- their biggest of the game -- with just under four minutes to go in the third. But the Rockets finished with an 18-8 run to make it a 10-point game with a quarter to go. NOTES: The Raptors have another tough game Friday when they host the Indiana Pacers. The Raptors are in Milwaukee on Saturday before returning home to face the Sixers and New York Knicks. . . Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne DeRosario was at the game. Royce Freeman Jersey .5 million. University officials released the term sheet signed by Harsin Wednesday, the day the former Broncos walk-on player and Boise native was named the successor to Chris Petersen, who left for Washington last week. Sua Cravens Jersey . The four-time Grand Slam champion has beaten Hantuchova nine straight times, with the Slovaks only win coming when they first played 10 years ago. "I had a tough first opponent who can play extremely good tennis," Sharapova said. http://www.authoritybroncosshop.com/josey-jewell-broncos-jersey-c-79/ . JOHNS, N. WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals rookie pitcher Tanner Roark wanted to keep going. He had thrown 101 pitches -- 23 more than hed ever thrown in a single game -- but still wasnt ready to call it a night. "I said, Nice game. He said, You sure Im through?" Nationals manager Davey Johnson said as he began to smile. "I said, Yeah, youre through." Roark was through, but Washington certainly isnt. The right-hander threw seven shutout innings, and the Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 to sweep a day-night doubleheader Tuesday, ensuring the Braves leave Washington without the NL East title. The Nationals entered the nightcap, which followed their 6-5 win in the makeup of a series opener postponed by a shooting rampage a day earlier at the nearby Navy Yard, within 4 1/2 games of Cincinnati for the NLs second wild-card berth. Washington, which has won 10 of 11, has 11 games remaining. Roark (7-0) allowed just two hits, struck out six and retired the final 13 batters he faced. Johnson even seemed to make up a word -- "posure," apparently a cross between poise and composure -- to describe Roarke. "Its not smoke and mirrors right now," first baseman Adam LaRoche said. "When you get guys coming down to first talking about how good his stuff is, some really good hitters that are praising him, it says a lot." After being called up in August, Roark was making just his third start. "Im just trying to do the same thing as I was doing all year and not trying to change anything," Roark said. "Keep the same mentality, a bulldog mentality, not giving in to anybody in any sense." Roarke and the Nationals got cushion in the eighth inning, when Ryan Zimmerman hit a home run, Ian Desmond hit an RBI double and Adam LaRoche hit an RBI single. Steve Lomardozzi had a second-inning RBI single off Freddy Garcia (1-2). Denard Spans fifth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 28 games, breaking a tie with Colorados Michael Cuddyer for the longest in the major leagues the last two seasons. The Braves have lost nine of 13, but they still lead the division by eight games over Washington despite the sweep. "We need to start playing a little better baseball and start swingiing the bats," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. Marquette King Jersey. "I like where we are, our position, but theres still baseball games to be played, and weve just got to get back on a roll again." Craig Kimbrel had converted 37 consecutive save chances since early May, and Andrelton Simmons began the day with the second-best fielding percentage among National League shortstops. But they conspired to blow a three-run lead in the ninth inning of the first game. Simmons allowed Spans grounder off Kimbrel to bounce through his legs as two runs scored on the game-ending play. Pinch-hitter Chad Tracy had an RBI grounder against Kimbrel as Washington kept Atlantas magic number at four for clinching the NL East for the first time since the Braves streak of 11 consecutive division titles from 1995-05. A sweep of the day-night doubleheader would have sealed the division for Atlanta. Kimbrel (3-3), who leads the major leagues with 47 saves, blew a save chance for just the fourth time this season. In the ninth, LaRoche walked on a full count, Wilson Ramos reached on an infield single and Anthony Rendon walked on a 3-2 pitch. After Tracys grounder, Atlanta elected to pitch to Span with first base open, and he hit a three-hopper over the mound that rolled past Simmons into centre field. Span was given an RBI, with the second run scoring on the error. Ian Krol (2-1) faced two batters in the ninth, giving Washington its first win in seven home games against Atlanta this year. Before the games, both teams stood in front of their dugouts, heads bowed, and a colour guard was stationed behind home plate during a minute of silence to pay tribute to the people killed Monday and those affected by the shootings. NOTES: RHP Stephen Strasburgs bullpen session Monday went "great," Johnson said. Strasburg is set to start Thursday against Miami after missing Fridays turn due forearm tightness in his pitching arm. . Adm. James Winnefeld, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, greeted players in the Nationals clubhouse before the game, handing out blue and gold Navy caps to wear during warmups. . Freeman became the first Atlanta player with 100 RBIs in a season since Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur in 2007. 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