so McCallum kicked it in from 16 yards out

[ldh2013]

TORONTO -- In the span of a minute Friday, Terrence Ross scored on an alley-oop, a three-pointer and a massive running dunk, taking off from near the top of the key. . The 22-year-old started his second game in place of the departed Rudy Gay, and made the most of it, scoring 24 points -- including a key three in the dying minutes -- to lift the revamped Toronto Raptors to a 108-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. "The main thing is staying focused so I can play at this level, Im really trying to just know my job, know my role and just make sure we have the chemistry going and keep winning," Ross said afterward. DeMar DeRozan poured in a game-high 27 points for Toronto (8-13) on what was a good night to be a Raptors swingman. "Talk about bouncy athletes," said Sixers coach Brett Brown. "You go with Ross and DeRozan, you take the athleticism plus they can come off screens and shoot like they do. Theyre hard guards, theyre really difficult people to defend. Those two guys had fantastic games throughout." Amir Johnson had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Jonas Valanciunas finished with 12 points to go with 13 boards, and Kyle Lowry doled out a season-high 11 assists and added six points. Tony Wroten topped the Sixers (7-17) with 23 points. Evan Turner had 21 points, while Thaddeus Young finished with 18. The game marked the first action for Raptors newcomers Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson and John Salmons since they were acquired in Mondays trade that sent Gay, plus Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy to Sacramento. Vasquez scored 12 points, while Patterson had five points and five boards and showed flashes of nice interior defence. "Theyre learning the system, learning to play with each other," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Learning where guys want the ball is huge. I thought they were a little tight playing tonight for the first time which is understandable, but I like what I saw. I think theyre going to mix in quite well." The Raptors almost coughed up an early 15-point lead several times during the game against their Atlantic Division rivals, but took an 83-76 lead into the fourth quarter in front of a crowd of 17,133 at Air Canada Centre. Johnson and Vasquez drained consecutive three-pointers to put Toronto up by 14 with just over seven minutes to go and the Raptors looked poised for an easy victory. But the Sixers battled back and a three by Turner with 2:10 to go pulled them within 100-96. A couple of nice passes on the Raptors next possession found Ross open in the corner, and he drained a three to give Toronto some breathing room, the basket pulling him to within two points of his career high. "That stopped the flow a little bit," Casey said. "His big three in the corner was huge." Casey said the challenge for Ross is to maintain a high level of play -- easier said than done for a young player. "Hes got to stay hungry, stay driven, stay consistent," the coach said. "Hes a talented young man but hes fighting consistency." DeRozan is doing his part to help Ross. "Youve seen it, Terrence definitely works hard," DeRozan said. "Every time we practise against each other in practice, I always go at him just to try to give him a lesson, give him the extra confidence when hes out there on the court." Lowry, meanwhile, played amid rumours he wasnt long for Toronto, with the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets believed to be the frontrunners to acquire the Raptors starting point guard. Lowry spoke candidly about the rumours after Friday mornings shootaround. "You see it every day, you see it whenever they update it and everyone talks about it," Lowry told reporters. "We joke about it a little bit, we make it more of a lighter type thing, dont make it a heavy hearted thing, make it a joke. "Hey, man, you still here? Make it a little bit lighter on the players in that situation." Lowry, whos in the final year of a contract that will pay him about US$6.2 million this year, admitted the speculation weighed on him. "Nobody can say it doesnt but at the same time, you have to know that this is a business, you have to know the situation that youre in, the situation that youre going to be in," he said. "You cant let it affect you too much because you still have to go out there and do a job and try to win for the team that youre playing for." Starting in place of the departed Gay, Ross scored 12 first-quarter points including a three that put the Raptors up by 11 less than three minutes into the game. Toronto closed out the quarter up 36-21. The three new Raptors started the second and the chemistry clearly wasnt there, as the Sixers opened the quarter with a 10-0 run. A pair of Wroten free throws pulled the visitors even with three-and-a-half minutes left in the half. The Raptors made just six field goals in the quarter, but held on to lead 56-48 at halftime. The Sixers chipped away at Torontos lead and pulled to within 76-74 with 1:35 to go. But Lowry grabbed a rebound and found a sprinting DeRozan with a court-long pass for a layup. The play seemed to inject some life into a sagging home team. On the Raptors final possession, Lowry grabbed his own rebound for a nice tip shot at the buzzer that gave Toronto an 83-76 lead heading into the fourth. NOTES: Chuck Hayes, also acquired from Sacramento in the trade, didnt dress as he was required to undergo baseline cardiac testing. . .The Raptors are in Chicago to face the Bulls on Saturday, then return home to host the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday. . The veteran wide receiver, who has played 12 seasons in the CFL, spent last year with the Als after stints with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and B. . Vazquez will be defending his IBF belt for the sixth time since August 2010, having lost only three of his 36 fights. Burns saw plans to defend his WBO belt dashed recently when two planned opponents withdrew from title fights. . PAUL, Minn.VANCOUVER -- It was after Week 2 of the CFL season when the B.C. Lions were stumbling along winless and looking like a team with no chance at playing in a championship Grey Cup game that they are set to host. That feels like a long time ago now after quarterback Kevin Glenn had 301 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, as the Lions rolled over the Montreal Alouettes 41-5 for their second straight victory. Glenn was impressive, going 23-for-31 before leaving late in the third with a minor muscle strain that he says isnt serious. As for those critics coming after Glenn and his Lions after Week 2 -- when they lost 24-9 to the Als in Montreal -- the quarterback says everything is right on track. "Its a marathon, and you want to gradually get better every week," he said. "Last week we werent perfect and naturally this week we werent perfect, but we made plays when they were called upon. "We want to make sure were growing as a team till the end of the year when youre playing your best football." Wide receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux caught three touchdown passes, including both of Glenns, as the Lions moved to 2-2 after last weeks impressive 26-13 win in Regina. The Als (1-3), meanwhile, have just one win on the season -- against B.C. -- and it was a tough outing for Montreal quarterback Troy Smith, who finished with a scant 45 yards passing before being replaced in the fourth. "Its not what we are, but it was what we were tonight," said a downcast Als head coach Tom Higgins. "Credit the B.C. Lions, they did almost everything that they needed to do. We did not execute." The West Coast has rarely been kind to the Alouettes as theyve now been outscored 163-30 in their last four games in Vancouver. Their last win in B.C. was way back in 2010, when the Lions played in Empire Field for one season. But as easy as it is to point to Montreals damning history in Vancouver some of the credit must go to an improving quarterback in Glenn. The 35-year-old veteran, brought in in the off-season to back up injured started Travis Lulay, has been steadily improving as of late and feeling more comfortable with the Lions offense. "Thats what happens when youre a new guy on a new team -- it takes a little time to get comfortable and get going," said Glenn. "And everybody wants it to happen faster, but sometimes its just what happens. It takes a couple games to get in the groove and the game plan running your way." Glenn surpassed a milestone on the first play of the game. He ducked a hard tackle before throwing a 16-yard bullet down the middle to slotback Courtney Taylor that put him over 40,000 career yards. Glenn then found Andrew Harris, who carried it for a gain of 33 yards to put B.C. at the 23 and a ffirst down. . Two incompletes later and Paul McCallum kicked a 30-yard FG for the games first score. Glenn was efficient on the Lions next possession, getting his team to the 36 before heaving a 35-yard TD strike to wide receiver Arceneaux for an early 10-0 advantage. That drive took only five plays and 62 yards. The Als got on the board soon after as Brandon Whitaker took Montreal 41 yards on two rushes before a B.C. roughing the passer call put the Alouettes at the 35. After Troy Smiths pass was nearly picked off, Sean Whyte kicked in a 42-yarder to make it 10-3 at 4:31 of the first. McCallum kicked B.C. to a 13-3 lead at 3:48 of the second thanks to a drive by Glenn. He slung a 25-yard pass to slotback Shawn Gore before finding both Stefan Logan and Taylor to put B.C. inside the red zone. Glenn couldnt finish the drive, so McCallum kicked it in from 16 yards out. It got worse for Montreal minutes later when a blocked punt by Khreem Smith was recovered by defensive tackle Eric Taylor, who huffed it 19 yards to put the Lions back in scoring position. Courtney Taylors 7-yard TD was called back to the one, but backup QB Travis Partridge punched it in - his first pro TD - and the Lions had a 20-3 lead at the half. B.C. went right back to work in the third as a scampering Glenn found Arceneaux for a 35-yard gain and then again down the middle to put the Lions back in the redzone. From deep in the pocket it was once again Glenn connecting with Arceneaux as B.C. took control with a 27-3 lead at seven minutes. Smiths nightmare game continued on the next possession when rookie DE Alex Bazzie sacked him for a quick three and out. "Some of the challenges that people just dont know is theres times when its just not the quarterbacks fault," said Higgins. "(Smith) is standing there and someones not running where theyre supposed to. We need to examine all of those things." Lions backup John Beck came in for the third and picked up where Glenn left off, hitting Arceneaux with a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 34-3 and put the game out of reach. That was Arceneauxs third major of the game. "Mannys an elite player," said Lions head coach Mike Benevides. "Hes a big time player. As hard as he works and as gifted as he is, Im not surprised at all (hes playing well). Im so grateful thats he on our team." Notes: The Lions honoured the 1994 Grey Cup Champion team at halftime ... Safety Matt McGarva left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return. ... The Als and Lions have split their season series 1-1 since 2007. ... The Lions continue their home stand in Week 5 with a visit from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-1). Montreal has a bye before hosting the Argos in Week 6. ' ' '