TORONTO -- Patrick Patterson knows his role and, usually, its making an impact off the bench. But on Monday, the back-up forward got his first start since coming to Toronto two months ago and made the most of it, pouring in a season-high 22 points as the Raptors defeated New Orleans 108-101. "My role doesnt change whether its starting, or whether Im coming off the bench," said Patterson, who learned earlier in the day he would join the starting five in place of Amir Johnson, sidelined with a right ankle injury. "Setting screens, rebounding, shooting my shot, running the floor in transition and making my teammates better." Patterson, who came over to Toronto from the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 9 in a seven-player trade that sent Rudy Gay West, did all of that Monday in his first start in 30 games as a Raptor. He was a tidy 7-for-11 from the field -- including 3-for-5 from three-point range -- had six rebounds and added two assists. In his fourth season in the NBA, Patterson had 54 career starts, the majority with the Houston Rockets, coming into Monday night. He had started just six games this season, all with Sacramento. "Its all about making sure I have a positive role," Patterson said his rare start. Pattersons 22 points was one more than he had for the Kings against the Los Angeles Clippers Nov. 23. "Fifteen deep. Thats how we play. Thats how we role," starting point guard Kyle Lowry said of Pattersons ability to step into the line-up. "We won. Everybody stepped up." Lowry had another complete performance, scoring 19 points, doling out 12 assists and grabbing seven rebounds while DeMar DeRozan added 22 points as the Raptors (27-24) snapped a two-game losing streak before a crowd of 17,596 at Air Canada Centre. With the win, the Raptors, returning home from a five-game road trip out West, widened their lead over the Brooklyn Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division to three games. Toronto, 8-2 at home since Jan. 1, plays seven of its next nine at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors host the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday in their final game before the All-Star break. "We want to get both wins at home, protect home court and go into the break with a great conscience and try to hit the stretch run running," Lowry said of the teams approach to this weeks two games. The Raptors squandered a 15-point lead in the second quarter to go into halftime tied at 49. They then built up an 18-point edge in the third but again saw the Pelicans (22-29) battle back. Tyreke Evans had a game-high 23 points and 10 assists to lead New Orleans. Anthony Davis added 19. New Orleans went on a 16-5 run over the opening 5:10 of the fourth quarter to cut the Toronto lead to 87-86. But the Raptors responded with an 11-3 run over the next 2:30 to pull away for the victory. "For whatever reason, we are losing our leads with our second unit," said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. "What its doing is putting a lot of pressure on our starters and them in big minute situations." DeRozan logged 40:21 and Lowry put in 38:48 to lead in court time among all players. "Taking Patrick Patterson off the second unit hurts them a bit," Casey said. "But still we have to get a rhythm with that second unit so we can rest our starters." Adidas Shoes Clearance Sale .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday. Cheap Wholesale Adidas Shoes .Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games. http://www.cheapadidassale.com/ . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. Adidas Shoes Online Sale . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online .Then came December.Three straight losses, including a crushing 27-24 defeat to Washington (4-11) on Saturday, has the Eagles (9-6) on the brink of playoff elimination.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As long as they have Albert Pujols at the plate in a clutch situation, the Los Angeles Angels are confident they can win any close game they trail in the late innings. Pujols hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning Wednesday and Kole Calhoun also connected, leading the Angels to an 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Los Angeles took the rubber game of the three-game series after starter C.J. Wilson was chased in the fourth inning. "This team is finding ways to win, and were not out of it until the games over," Calhoun said. "The bullpen came in and did a great job keeping us in the ballgame after the starting pitching didnt go as deep as theyve usually been going. We came out and swung the bats and got enough runs to win." The Blue Jays took a 7-6 lead in the sixth on Dioner Navarros two-out RBI single against Fernando Salas, making his second appearance since coming off the disabled list after missing 19 games because of inflammation in his shoulder. Pujols responded with a drive that hit the top of the centre-field fence beyond the outstretched glove of Colby Rasmus and bounced over for his 20th homer of the season and 512th of his career, tying Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews for 21st place all-time. It scored Mike Trout, who reached on a fielders choice grounder after Calhoun drew a leadoff walk from Aaron Loup (2-2). The homer was the first allowed by Loup this season after 43 1-3 innings. "The curious thing was that they had the righty warmed up, and Albert hit that home run off a lefty. So we were like, Oh, awesome. Theyre leaving him in to face Albert, and he came up with a huge homer," Wilson said. "So it was great for us. We have a tenacious team, and the nature of our clubhouse is that we always believe that its going to happen." Jason Grilli (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning for his first AL victory since 2009 with Texas, striking out cleanup hitter Jose Bautista with two on to end the seventh. The 12-year veteran was acquired June 27 in a trade that sent Ernesto Frieri to Pittsburgh. Joe Smith worked the ninth for his 12th save. "We (threw) away a good opportunity today," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "We had the lead, coughed it up,, then took a slim lead.dddddddddddd So it was disappointing. But hey, we left so many guys on base (12), and there comes a time youve got to blow open a game." Marcus Stroman was charged with five earned runs and eight hits through 4 2-3 innings in his eighth big league start. The 23-year-old right-handers teammates staked him to a 6-3 lead with a five-run fourth, but David Freese scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half and Calhoun drove his 10th homer into the lower seats in the right-field corner. "Early on against me, I felt like he was putting the ball anywhere he wanted to. But with a 2-0 count, I got a fastball that got a lot of the plate and I put a good swing on it," Calhoun said. The Blue Jays parlayed three hits, two errors and a bases-loaded wild pitch into their five-run rally against Wilson. He was charged with six runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings. He is 3-3 with a 5.70 ERA in 10 starts since May 17, when he threw 127 pitches in a five-hit shutout against Tampa Bay. "I think my delivery was a lot better today and the ball was going where I wanted it a lot better," said Wilson, who gave up three homers in his previous start against Houston. The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the second, capitalizing on a two-base error by shortstop Jose Reyes. Howie Kendrick and Freese each had an RBI single. The Blue Jays got one run back in the third on a bases-loaded walk to Reimould. Trout, thrown out by Melky Cabrera in left field Tuesday night as he tried to stretch a double, tested Cabreras arm again in the third inning Wednesday and was cut down at home plate after Pujols single. Pujols scored on a single by Josh Hamilton that ended his 0-for-16 drought and gave the Angels a 3-1 lead. NOTES: LHP Joe Thatcher relieved Cam Bedrosian in the Toronto fifth after a leadoff double by Navarro and walked Darin Mastroianni, ending a stretch of 25 appearances in which Thatcher pitched 14 innings and faced 56 batters without walking anyone. ... Calhouns homer was the second allowed by Toronto pitchers in a span of 74 innings since the start of the month, after they gave up 27 during their final 22 games in June. ... Wilson threw 25 pitches in the first inning and gave up three hits without allowing a run. 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