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TORONTO - Its not a trait that Dwane Casey is entirely proud of, certainly not one hes comfortable relying on, but his team has mastered the art of procrastination. The Raptors had an early deadline Sunday, a dreaded afternoon game, and they left the bulk of their work until the last minute, as theyve done so many times before. Casey - like an angry parent, stringent teacher or meticulous boss - gave them the wake-up call they sorely needed. Down by as many as 14 points and allowing the visiting Hawks to shoot 54 per cent in the first half, the Raptors coach stormed into the locker room and addressed his team at intermission. "I sang them a lullaby," he joked. "I gave them some milk and cookies and said, lets go." You didnt have to be a fly on the wall to gauge the tone of Caseys halftime sermon. "Oh, man, he came in here yelling," said DeMar DeRozan after Torontos 96-86 comeback victory over Atlanta. "Once Casey yells, you either have to do your job or youre going to hear him yelling after the game. We understood." Having dropped their first four Sunday afternoon games this season - allowing at least 112 points in each of them - the Raptors hit the snooze again on this day. Toronto shot 28 per cent in the opening quarter, scoring 16 points and committing seven turnovers. "I told Tim Leiweke on the way in [the locker room], it was like pulling teeth," Casey said. "It was like going to the dentist office in that first half." "We were playing terrible [in] that first half," echoed DeRozan. It took nearly 17 minutes of game-time before he registered his first field goal. It took nearly 20 minutes before Kyle Lowry made his first bucket. "We knew what we had to do." Trailing by nine points to begin the fourth quarter, the Raptors finally got to business. Led by its two best players, Toronto scored 36 points in the final 12 minutes - more than they tallied in the first and third combined - while holding the Hawks to 15. On the season, Toronto has scored 209 points more than its allowed in the fourth quarter, the best mark in the NBA, and its not close. The two-time defending champion Miami Heat, second best, have outscored opponents by 141 in the final frame. Conference leaders San Antonio and Indiana are third and fourth best. The Raptors have won 10 games in which theyve trailed after three quarters this season, something they accomplished just three times a year ago. "Were just resilient, to be honest, man," said DeRozan. He and Lowry combined for 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the fourth after scoring 23 on 9-of-24 in the first three quarters. "We understand how important the game is coming out in the fourth quarter," continued, DeRozan, who finished with 21 points. "Everything matters. Our attention to detail on both ends definitely steps up. We understand weve got to pull out a win somehow, someway." Lowrys minutes down in win Less than five minutes into the game, Lowry was sent to the bench, replaced by Greivis Vasquez. It was an unprecedented early-game benching for the Raptors point guard who has been logging heavy minutes, playing the bulk of, if not the duration of the first quarter. He did not seem hurt, nor did it appear to be for disciplinary reasons. Later, less than six minutes into the third, he was replaced again. Limiting Lowrys minutes was the plan going in, Casey explained after the game. "Hes had a lot of minutes," said the Raptors coach. "I was talking to our medical people, and as an organization, were going to try to keep his minutes down as much as possible. Thats hard, believe me, as a coach and for him. Hes such a competitor." Theres nothing specific thats ailing Lowry, Casey said and he confirmed. Its the wear and tear of a long season that has the team concerned about Lowry, who is averaging nearly 37 minutes per night, a career-most. "I dont think [any] player in the NBA right now feels 100 per cent," said Lowry, after scoring 25 points Sunday. "Its that time of the year where everyone has nicks and nacks and bruises and all that stuff." Lowry logged 27 minutes, his fewest since Feb. 3 in Utah, a game he left with a knee injury. Amir goes down, and gets back up Battling for a rebound late in the fourth, Amir Johnson collided with Hawks guard Shelvin Mack and went down hard, holding his left knee. You may not be surprised when Johnson hits the deck, although its usually after tweaking one of his rickety ankles, but you shouldnt be surprised when he hops back up, which was the case again Sunday, waving off the trainers and remaining in the game. "It wasnt a scare, it was just initial pain," said Johnson, who had six points to go along with eight boards against the Hawks. "Once I walked it off, I was fine." His teammates have come to expect the occasional injury scare from him but that doesnt make it easier to cope with. "To be honest, hes probably our heart and soul so when that happened, it kind of scared us a little bit," Lowry said. "Ive seen Amir get hit by a Mack Truck and get up," joked DeRozan. "I always hate to see him go down. One thing about Amir, Amir plays through any and everything. He kind of scared me tonight. When he grabbed his knee, I kind of cussed at him a little to make sure he was alright." Going deep With Patrick Patterson out, still nursing an elbow injury, and Casey searching for bursts of energy in a lacklustre first half, the Raptors used 12 of their available players in Sundays game. Vasquez logged 28 minutes and led the bench in scoring for the fourth consecutive game with 12. No other Raptors reserve played more than Tyler Hansbroughs 12 minutes. Chuck Hayes played well, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in 11 minutes and Nando De Colo logged 10, hitting his first field goal in eight games with the Raptors. The stat Lowry extended his career-best streak of 19 or more points to nine games. Hes averaging 22.6 over that stretch, scoring 20 or more in each of his last six contests. The quote "Im only 24, Ill play the whole game," said DeRozan, on the possibility of having his minutes cut down, like Lowrys. "Kyles old. Hes damn near 30. I understand, youve got to do what youve got to do. Im ready for whatever." Cheap Custom T-shirts China . Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., were second with 77.01 points, just behind Olympic bronze medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The four-time world champs lead at 79. Custom Football Jerseys China . -- Falcons running back Steven Jackson, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday. http://www.customjerseyschina.com/ . The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date. The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima. Discount Custom Jerseys Online . MacArthur scored two goals, and the Senators outlasted Detroit in a testy third period to beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night. Wholesale Custom Jerseys . And once again, Team Homan emerged as the victor with the reigning national champions defeating Team Sweeting at the Pintys All-Star Curling Skins Game Friday night in the tournaments opening draw at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in beautiful Banff National Park.LONDON -- Liverpool kept up its Premier League title challenge with a 4-3 win against Swansea in an entertaining game at Anfield on Sunday. The victory strengthened Liverpools position in the top four after Tottenham lost 1-0 at Norwich in the days late kickoff, cutting the north London club six points adrift of fourth place and the final Champions League slot for next season. The result means Liverpool is still only four points behind leader Chelsea, which has 60 points after beating Everton 1-0 on Saturday. Arsenal is a point behind in second after thrashing Sunderland 4-1 and third-place Manchester City has 57 and a game in hand. A fast start saw Liverpool lead 2-0 after 20 minutes against manager Brendan Rodgers former club. Daniel Sturridge took the ball past Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm to open the scoring before setting up Jordan Henderson to curl a shot into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area. But former Liverpool player Jonjo Shelvey pulled a goal back on 23 minutes from long range before Wilfried Bony scored with a header four minutes later to bring Swansea back to level terms. Sturridge headed home his second in the 36th minute after being picked out by an accurate delivery from Luis Suarez -- but Swansea levelled again soon after halftime, with Bony scoring a penalty after being fouled by Martin Skrtel. Both sides then went close to taking the lead. Suarez brought a good stop from Vorm and Jonathan de Guzman went near with a free kick but it was Henderson who secured the three points for Liverpool, finding the net with his second attempt after Vorm saved his initial shot. "Today we were not quite at our best but we scored four goals and won the game," Rodgers said.dddddddddddd"It was a very, very important performance for us." Rodgers was also pleased to see Henderson getting on the scoresheet. "The first goal was outstanding, and weve been talking to him about getting up there because in training his finishing is sublime," Rodgers said. Norwich moved four points away from the relegation zone with its much-needed victory at Carrow Road. After a quiet first half, Robert Snodgrass scored early in the second with a neat finish to beat Hugo Lloris. "Everybody at this football club is pushing in the right direction," Norwich manager Chris Hughton said. "We only want results. We have 11 more games to get as many points as we can." Tottenham failed to properly challenge the Norwich defence and a second goal from the home side looked more likely. Midfielder Bradley Johnson hit the underside of the crossbar with a long range free kick and Nathan Redmond saw his effort well saved by Lloris. Elsewhere, Newcastle secured a late 1-0 victory at home to Aston Villa thanks to Loic Remys 12th goal of the season in the final minute of stoppage time. A shot from Luuk de Jong was deflected but landed at the feet of Remy, who deceived Ron Vlaar with a dummy before shooting beyond United States goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Remy had missed a great opportunity to send Newcastle into the lead on 89 minutes when De Jongs cutback found him free in the area with Guzan stranded, but he could only manage to hit the post with his shot. 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