TORONTO - Kyle Lowry was the first player on the floor, shooting around before the game. It was just after 4:00pm, three full hours ahead of tip-off at the Air Canada Centre. Lowry has been the subject of trade speculation for the better part of two days but the Raptors point guard, who shrugged off the rumours Friday morning, continued to lead his current team, a team that looked unrecognizable in a wire-to-wire win over the road-weary 76ers. "He was a leader out there on the floor and thats what we need from him, that leadership," Casey said of Lowry, who has now led Toronto in assists in 13 straight games. "He didnt get frustrated because he couldnt get some shots to go down. He still got the ball where it needed to go and that was huge." With his name linked to multiple trade reports, Lowry faced the rumours head-on when he met with the media Friday morning. Instead of sulking or worrying about where he might end up, Lowry smiled, cracked a few jokes and promised to go about his business here until hes told otherwise. In what may have been his last home game as a member of the Raptors, Lowry recorded a season-high 11 assists, committing just one turnover despite shooting just 2-of-9 from the floor. Once again Lowry set the tone and his teammates - three of them making their Raptors debut - followed his lead. Three nights after totalling 23 assists in a loss to the Spurs, the Raptors continued to play a team game in the aftermath of Mondays Rudy Gay trade. DeMar DeRozan - also scoring 27 points - added six assists, including five in a dominant first quarter. His first three set up Terrence Ross, who had a breakout performance scoring a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. "Thats the way weve got to play," Casey said of Torontos ball movement. "Because were not going to beat anyone with stellar one-on-one play each and every night. Weve got to help each other with the screen and trust the pass." Averaging just 18 assists per contest this season, the Raptors have totalled 66 dimes in three games since Gay was traded. They opened the evening with 12 assists on 14 made field goals, outscoring Philadelphia 36-21 in the first quarter and would later seal the game on a play that embodied this teams new offence. With just under two minutes remaining, the scrappy 76ers down two, DeRozan caught the ball off a screen on a pass from Lowry. Once the double came, DeRozan swung it back to Lowry who hit Ross in the corner for a momentum shifting three-pointer. Amir Johnson scored seven of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, sending the 76ers away with their 10th straight loss on the road. In their Raptor debuts, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Greivis Vasquez were the first three players off Torontos bench. With all three on the floor at the same time to begin the second quarter, Philadelphia ripped off a 20-7 run, cutting Torontos lead to two. The learning curve was apparent. "Theyre learning," Casey acknowledged. "Theyre learning the system, were kind of learning to play with each other." "I like what I saw," he said. "Going forward I think they are going to mix in quite well." Patterson shot just 1-of-5, scoring five points in 18 minutes while Salmons scored three in just under 20 minutes of action. Vasquez was the most impressive of the three but not in the way he would have hoped. "Tonight I did not have that many assists," said the pass-first Vasquez, who recorded just two but hit five of his seven shots for 12 points in 17 minutes. "The thing that stood out for me was that we were moving the ball without me in the game. We were passing and getting shots and that is fun to watch." "If we keep doing what we did tonight we are going to be really hard to guard and we will win a lot of games." For the first time all season, Casey could comfortably rest Lowry without fearing the significant drop-off that would inevitably ensue at the point guard position. With Lowry on the block, Vasquezs role figures to expand. Up next The Raptors travel to Chicago to face the Bulls (9-12) in the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday. Chicago had lost five of six games before defeating the Bucks 91-90 in Milwaukee Friday night. The fourth Raptors newcomer, Chuck Hayes, will not be available to play or practice until he completes routine baseline cardiac tests at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday. Tom Jackson Broncos Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Terrell Davis Youth Jersey . As if the individual strands of grey hair or the increasing amount of joint pain werent reminders enough, the impending end of Jeters career is a slap-in-the-face indicator of a generations fleeting youth. http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Bronco...s-Smith-Jersey/. Armstrong was given the rank of "Chevalier" -- or Knight -- in the "Legion dHonneur" in 2005, the last year of his seven consecutive Tour de France victories. Joe Flacco Broncos Jersey . Louis Blues have returned to the top spot in the TSN. Brian Dawkins Broncos Jersey .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage.TORONTO -- Jerry DAmigo has watched the Toronto Maple Leafs seven-game losing streak from the nearby Marlies of the AHL. In a hockey market like this, its impossible to avoid hearing all about it. Now DAmigo will likely be thrust into the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night to try to do his part -- however small it might be -- to end the skid and save the Leafs playoff hopes. "Im not trying to solve the whole thing here," DAmigo said. "Im just going to put in my best effort and give the guys some energy here. Hopefully (raise) them up a little bit." Unless DAmigo manages to score or create a big goal, itll take much more than a fourth-line energy guy to make the Leafs rise up and find a consistent level of play that has been lacking of late, even against a banged-up opponent. If theres any time to find that extra gear, its against a Red Wings team the Leafs are tied with at 80 points. "Obviously weve been fighting it of late," winger Mason Raymond said. "But this is a team we are battling with for a playoff spot. Theyve been doing well of late so we have quite the test ahead of us." Figuring 92 points as a legitimate target to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, a loss to the Red Wings at Air Canada Centre would just about force the Leafs to win out in their final six games. A victory and some help from the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Wasshington Capitals puts Toronto right back into it.dddddddddddd Coach Randy Carlyle knows this is a difficult spot but doesnt find it difficult to remain positive when speaking with his players. "This isnt a fun place to be right now, Ill tell you that, and theres pressure being applied in different areas, but the No. 1 thing that we have to do is we have to focus on self-improvement by a certain amount, and that will help the team grow," Carlyle said. The Red Wings havent been in a tailspin like the Leafs, but theyve been in the thick of this playoff race long enough to know what to expect Saturday night. "They need a win and we need a win and thats been the case each night weve played probably for 20 games," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "So were used to the environment were in. It should be a lot of fun here tonight. They need a win and we need a win, its just that simple." NOTES -- Jonathan Bernier is expected to be in goal for the Leafs, which would mark the first time this season he starts on back-to-back days. Jimmy Howard starts for Detroit. ... Toronto is 6-9 in the second half of back-to-back games, including losses in the last two of those situations. ... Defenceman Paul Ranger (neck) is "an option" for the Leafs, according to Carlyle. If Ranger plays, it could mean going back to 11 forwards and seven defencemen, though it was not clear which forward would come out of the lineup. ' ' '