n his Oilers debut against Minnesota on Tuesday in a shootout. Each

TORONTO - Drake stood from his courtside seat, his arms over his head motioning for the sellout crowd to get on their feet as the final buzzer sounded and his iconic anthem, "Started From The Bottom" blared over the Air Canada Centre loudspeakers. The Raptors global ambassador was the guest of honour on Saturday but - as he explained to the hoard of media that assembled in front of him before the game - he did not want the evening to be about him, although the night was in fact titled Drake Night. It could have been and very nearly turned out to be a sideshow. The Toronto-born recording artist handed out free shoes while his DJ entertained a captivated audience of 19,800 at halftime. Moments later the buzz that had filled the arena abruptly disappeared as the Raptors came out flat in the third quarter, trailing by as many as 10 to the division-rival Brooklyn Nets, winners of their previous five contests. In the end, Drake asked for noise and the ACC faithful obliged, saluting the team and its ambassador. The Raptors had earned it, putting on a show of their own and sending their fans home with more than just a black and gold OVO T-shirt. "I think we just got a spark there," coach Dwane Casey said after the Raptors closed out the game on a 40-18 run to defeat the Nets 96-80. "I thought our guys showed mental toughness and won a slug-out game, which I dont know if we could have won a couple months ago, no less last year. [Its] a testament to our guys mental growth and mental toughness to win a game like that." "We stayed patient," said DeMar DeRozan, who led all scorers with 26 to go along with seven rebounds and a team-high five assists. "We knew they were going to make a run, especially in the second half and we understood that. We stayed disciplined, understood we had to get stops, rebound the ball and push it." DeRozan scored the last seven points of the third and first two of the fourth as the Raptors began to take advantage of a veteran Nets team that had played a double overtime game against the defending champions a night earlier. Toronto held the visitors without a point for over seven minutes of game time and without a field goal for over nine minutes during a 22-1 run midway through the final frame. Despite their 41 per cent field goal shooting and just 16 assists, the Raptors were able to get out in transition - besting the Nets 13-6 on the break - and take advantage of Kevin Garnetts absence on the boards (the 37-year-old was rested on the second night of back-to-back). As a team the Raptors grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, five of them from Patrick Patterson, who continued to be a game-changer off Torontos bench. The Raptors outscored Brooklyn by 40 with Patterson on the floor Saturday. He finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds while fellow reserve John Salmons added 13, connecting on all five of his shots. The Nets and their rookie head coach Jason Kidd were struggling when they visited Toronto in late November, having lost five in a row before narrowly defeating the Raptors. This time around, they came to town riding a five-game winning streak, which included impressive victories over the Heat, Warriors and Thunder. Without Garnett, Deron Williams (nursing an ankle injury) and Brook Lopez (out for the season after foot surgery) in the lineup on the second night of a grueling back-to-back, Toronto seized another opportunity during this crucial stretch against sub-.500 teams. The Raptors have now won seven of their past nine contests overall and five of their last six at home, pulling within one-game of third place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference standings. With some assistance from Drake, the in-arena atmosphere reflected the teams recent success on Saturday and did not go unnoticed by those in the locker room. "I definitely think (Drake) succeeded," Amir Johnson said. "He got fans hyped, they had some sweet t-shirts in the crowd, everybodys screaming, every play everybody seemed like they were standing up cheering for us and thats what we need from our fans." "The atmosphere was great, I hope we can continue having that. Weve got to keep winning though." Accompanied by an entourage that included Tim Leiweke and Masai Ujiri before the game, Drake showed off his suit jacket, lined with a retro Vince Carter jersey. He also pitched in during the pre-game introductions, announcing the Raptors starters with his own unique twist. "Tonights not really about me, despite the title of the night," he said. "I think its just more about the momentum in the city, bringing the city together, how well these guys have been playing, honouring this squad that is really finding [itself], finding stability with each other and the revamp of this team." Given the result, its safe to say his mission was accomplished. Margus Hunt Youth Jersey . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone. Margus Hunt Jersey . Jannero Pargo scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help the Charlotte Bobcats erase a 21-point deficit and rally for an 83-76 preseason victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/authentic-johnny-unitas-colts-jersey/ . Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games. Malik Hooker Youth Jersey . Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. Bobby Okereke Youth Jersey . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are desperate for wins as they try to get into the playoffs for the 23rd straight time. On a night in which they barely beat the worst team in the Western Conference, coach Mike Babcock didnt diminish the importance of the much-needed victory. Tomas Tatar scored on Detroits third shootout attempt, and Jimmy Howard stopped all three Edmonton attempts to lift the Red Wings to a 2-1 win over the Oilers on Friday night. "Huge," Babcock said. "Howie, obviously, in the shootout, bailing us out was a real positive for us. "It gives us some confidence." Howard finished with 21 saves. Edmontons Ryan Smyth tied the game midway through the third period. Smyth scored on a shot from the slot that was set up by Detroit defenceman Brendan Smiths backhanded giveaway. "I absolutely didnt expect that," Smyth said. "I thought he was going to throw it around the boards. Smith just threw it up the middle." Riley Sheahan put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 late in the first period. They lost the lead and failed to take advantage of power plays late in regulation and midway through overtime. The banged-up Red Wings are missing numerous key players, including Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, because of injuries and that is forcing players such as Sheahan to go from prospects to NHL players. Sheahan, who played only once in the league in each of the previous two years, said playing 26 games for the Red Wings has made him more comfortable. "Every day is a little step further," he said. "The guys have been awesome. Its a fun atmosphere and a great team to play for." Edmontons franchise is far from the greatness it enjoyed decades ago and is close to being eliminated from the playoff race for the eighth straight season. Oilers coach Dallas Eakins, though, has been pleased with how much effort his players appear to be giving despite their place in the standings. "What weve been preaching to them and they understand, down the stretch aree the building blocks for training camp," Eakins said.dddddddddddd "We dont want to go into full-teaching mode when we hit training camp. We want to hit the ground running and have a foundation on how were going to play. On a lot of nights, were starting to see how we want to play. "We still have such a long way to go to get up to be able to play with the top teams on a nightly basis, but were taking the necessary steps." The last time the Oilers were in the playoffs they beat Detroit in the first round and went on to lose to Carolina in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup finals. With much less at stake, the Oilers went into the third period with a shot to win at Joe Louis Arena for the first time since 2009. Detroits young lineup didnt generate many scoring chances against Viktor Fasth, who made 22 saves. He was acquired from Anaheim earlier this month for draft picks and won his Oilers debut against Minnesota on Tuesday in a shootout. Each team had only one shot in the opening five minutes of the lacklustre game, which had many more sloppy moments than spectacular stretches. "I didnt think either team was real smooth," Babcock said. "It was kind of a grind." Detroit was up 1-0 after two periods and probably didnt feel comfortable after losing one-third of their previous 27 games when entering the third with the lead. The Red Wings allowed the Oilers to pull into a tie because Smith failed to clear the puck out of their end or at least pass it to a teammate, and Smyth took advantage. "If (Smith) puts it on the guys tape on our team and you skate out through the middle, I like it," Babcock said. "When you turn it over, it doesnt look very good." NOTES: Babcock said he hopes F Darren Helm, who has been out with a concussion since March 4, will play Tuesday night at home against Toronto. ... The Red Wings had lost two straight. ... Edmonton has lost three of four. ... The Red Wings are 13-0-1 in their last 14 against the Oilers, who have lost eight straight in Detroit. ' ' '