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TORONTO - Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters just minutes before tipoff Saturday night that when his team finally had its edge back, everyone would know.Youll see it. Everybody will see it. Its that obvious, Casey said — perhaps sensing the end of the slump.Turns out, Casey was right. Everybody saw it Saturday night in a dominant 109-96 victory over the Boston Celtics that saw Torontos four-game losing skid come to an end, and the Raptors play with more energy — especially on the defensive end — than theyve shown in weeks.I thought our defensive mojo was back, Casey said after the win. I saw guys moving their feet, cracking down, rebounding, doing the things we needed to do with activity and anticipation.Kyle Lowry scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, Lou Williams also had 19 points, while James Johnson, Amir Johnson, and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 15 apiece for Toronto (25-11). Patrick Patterson finished with 10 points.I think we just got more defensive-minded and we really werent worried about the offensive end, Lowry said. We knew shots would fall. I think we put a real emphasis on defence tonight.Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., had 23 points — his best-ever performance in Toronto — to top the Celtics (12-23), while Avery Bradley added 17.The Raptors had been mired in their worst slump in over a year, losers of five of their previous seven games before Saturday. Prior to this cold spell, they hadnt lost more than two in a row this season.Casey shook up the lineup, reinserting the athletic and hardworking James Johnson into the starting five. He covers up a lot of mistakes. He covers a lot of floor, a lot of ground. His effort has been unbelievable this season and we need him to keep it up, Lowry said of Johnson. We love his energy, we love his enthusiastic nature and what he brings to the table.The Raptors got off to another sluggish start, but picked it up in the second quarter, and broke the game open in the third. Lowrys step-back jumper with just under three minutes to play in the third capped a 23-6 run that put Toronto up by 15 points, brought the capacity crowd of 19,800 out of their seats, and breathed some life back into the Air Canada Centre.We were tired of it, James Johnson said, of the change in momentum. Everybody buckled in. Everybody took responsibility for what they were doing and we started playing Toronto Raptors defence.The Raptors, who were playing Game 2 of a six-game homestand, took an 82-65 lead into the fourth, and back-to-back three-pointers by Lowry, Amir Johnson, then Lowry again, gave them a 100-80 lead with 5:29 to play.The Celtics responded with threes from Olynyk and Jared Sullinger to cut Torontos lead to 12 points, but that was as close as Boston would come.Caseys pre-game talk with reporters was dominated by the Raptors funk. He said they badley needed to break out of it, but added that its something that every team goes through at some point in a season.Im watching the games (Friday) night, and there are teams that look like theyre playing in mud. Theyre trying. Theyre running. Their arms are flailing. But theyre just not going anywhere. In an 82-game season, you have stretches, Casey said. But you go through that. Every year Ive been in the league Ive gone through it.DeMar DeRozans absence certainly hasnt helped the Raptors, who played their 20th game without him Saturday. The all-star had targeted this week for his return, but he and the team are playing it safe rather than taking any risks by rushing him back. DeRozan said hes looking to play some time next week.It was a strong performance in what was a homecoming of sorts for Olynyk. He was born in Toronto, where his mom Arlene was a scorekeeper for the Raptors and his dad Ken was the head basketball coach at the University of Toronto. The family moved to Kamloops when he was 12.Canada basketball is huge up here. . ., Olynyk said afterward. Its always nice to come up here and play well in front of your country.The rebuilding Celtics were playing the day after sending Brandan Wright to Phoenix in a trade for a protected first-round draft pick. Wright came to Boston in the Dec. 18 trade that sent guard Rajon Rondo to Dallas.Theyre at a different level than we are right now and we need to look at them as a team that we can learn a lot from, Boston coach Brad Stevens said of Toronto.The Raptors got off to yet another woeful start — the ninth time in 11 games theyve been outscored in the first quarter. A running layup by Olynyk put the Celtics up by nine midway through the frame, and they led 26-19 going into the second.Toronto used a 12-0 run in the second to take a three-point lead with a minute-and-a-half to play in the first half. Williams finished off a steal and pass from Patterson with a slam dunk to send the Raptors into halftime with a 47-43 lead.The Raptors kept their foot on the gas in the third, outscoring the Celtics 35-22 in the quarter to lead by 17 at the end of the period.Toronto hosts Detroit on Monday, then Philadelphia, and Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta, before capping its homestand Jan. 18 versus New Orleans. Adidas NMD Mens Clearance . Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. Adidas NMD Womens Black Pink .C. - Steve Clifford isnt exactly singing his teams praises after the Bobcats won for the sixth time in seven games. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/ . And thats about it. After the Salukis 73-65 loss at Murray State on Tuesday night, Hinson called his players "uncoachable," "a bunch of mamas boys" and compared the disciplining of his young team to housebreaking a puppy. Adidas NMD Womens Clearance . The move is retroactive to Aug. 1. Hosmer was originally hit on the hand in the first inning of a July 20 loss to Boston. He has played most of the time since, but missed a few contests due to the injury, then departed Thursdays win over the Twins and had tests that revealed the fracture. Cheap Fake NMD . His brother — Red Lake chiropractor Richard Radford — is en route to Sochi to cheer on his younger brother. "Ive been getting texts from Eric and he just says the atmosphere is amazing, its special,” he said.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The recipe for small-market success in baseball generally goes something like this: Develop talent through your farm system, strike on a couple reclamation projects, uncover a few diamonds in the rough and then make one or two big trades to put you over the top. The Kansas City Royals have followed that blueprint to near-perfection, a big reason why the long-downtrodden franchise is leading the AL Central and on the cusp of its first playoff appearance in nearly 30 years. "Its hard. Theres very little room for error when youre a small-market club," general manager Dayton Moore said in an interview with The Associated Press. Indeed, the notoriously frugal Royals play in a market a fraction of the size of Los Angeles or New York. They draw smaller crowds that pay a pittance compared to Angels and Yankees fans. And the result is a much thinner checkbook than most of their big league brethren. The Royals opening-day payroll? Just over $91 million, a record for the club. But midway through last week, the five other division leaders — the Orioles, Angels, Nationals, Brewers and Dodgers — had an average payroll of nearly $147 million. And the Tigers, who are chasing the division-leading Royals, were shelling out more than $163 million. Its the same struggle that has taken place in Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Colorado and elsewhere in recent years: the haves versus the have-nots, the well-heeled against the wishful thinkers. Yet the Royals, just like others have done in the past, are defying the odds. And with a finishing stretch filled with last-place teams, there is genuine optimism that a team that hasnt made the playoffs since 1985 might end the longest post-season drought in major pro sports. "Theres a lot of confidence," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We knew we were capable as a group of doing special things. They had that confidence, and now that confidence level has even increased knowing they have what it takes to take this thing all the way through." So, how have the Royals done it? How have they turned around an entire franchise accustomed to losing given the financial situation inherent in the game? Well, Moore provided a step-by-step look at the recipe, and it all started with: DEVELOPING THEIR OWN PLAYERS: The Royals had one of the worst farm systems in baseball when Moore arrived in 2006. But several years of high draft picks — thank you very much, 100-loss seasons — gave him a chance to replenish. First baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and catcher Salvador Perez are all homegrown players who are regular starters. "We knew we had to build a strong farm system and graduate players to the major leagues, and we knew it would take some time," Moore said. "History tells us its three or four years of producing at the minor league level if everything goes right, and two to four years of playing at the major league level. We had to have patience." Thats not always easy to have, especially for a long-suffering fan base. Developing talent from within merely forms the foundation for a championship team, though.dddddddddddd Even the best GMs will occasionally miss on the draft. No, success also takes: STRIKING ON RECLAMATION PROJECTS: The Royals gave away virtually nothing a couple years ago for Jeremy Guthrie, and hes proven to be a reliable starter. They gave Jason Vargas a $32 million contract this past off-season, even though he was merely mediocre with the Angels last season, and hes outperformed the deal in almost every way. Vargas is 10-6 with a career-best 3.17 ERA. "Our scouts have made some great recommendations," Moore said, "and I do my best to weigh the information and make good decisions. And you expect them all to work, but know they wont." When they dont, poor decisions can be costly. The Royals gave forgettable pitcher Gil Meche a $55 million contract early in Moores tenure, and it set the rebuilding process back years. In other words, striking on reclamation projects takes a little of luck. So does: FINDING DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH: Small-market franchises rarely outbid big-market clubs for top international talent. The Royals cant match the Yankees when they dole out $155 million to Masahiro Tanaka, or the Rangers when they spend lavishly to bring Yu Davish over from Japan. Instead, theyve had to scour the globe for relative bargains. The Royals signed Perez as a 16-year-old from Venezuela, and now the 24-year-old catcher is a two-time All-Star. Yordano Ventura signed for a $28,000 bonus in 2008 and the rookie flamethrower is 10-9 with a 3.40 ERA. All-Star closer Greg Holland was drafted in the 10th round out of Western Carolina, and speedy outfielder Jarrod Dyson in the 50th round from a Mississippi junior college. "We all come from different places," Dyson said. "I think thats one of our strengths." The draft, the player development, the reclamation projects and diamonds in the rough — that might be enough to be competitive. But to get over the top, to truly contend, it still takes: ONE OR TWO BIG MOVES: The Royals have made two blockbuster trades since Moores arrival, and both of them have proven to be critical in establishing their winning roster. The first happened in 2010, the Royals traded Cy Young winner Zack Greinke to Milwaukee for a package of prospects that included outfielder Lorenzo Cain and shortstop Alcides Escobar, both of them now starters. The second deal happened prior to last season, when the Royals sent several top prospects to Tampa Bay for James Shields, their ace, and Wade Davis, their setup man. Whether thats enough to put the Royals over the top will be born out the final month of the regular season. But at least for now, the Royals are back to playing meaningful baseball. "Weve got a long way to go, as you know. We certainly believe in our players. We have from Day 1," Moore said. "But its still such a long, long way to go. We have a month left. We have a lot of baseball to play. We just have to keep pushing." ' ' '