TORONTO -- Late in the third quarter Friday night, some angry jostling between John Salmons and Paul George quickly turned into a shoving match. The dust-up brought the cheering crowd at the Air Canada Centre to its feet and earned both players matching technical fouls. But even more, said Salmons, it said everything about this Toronto Raptors team. Theyre not afraid of anyone. Terrence Ross led the way with 24 points as the short-handed Raptors slayed another significant foe, defeating the Indiana Pacers 102-94. "Were not going to back down from anybody, were not going to quit, were going to be there, were going to fight," Salmons said. "Our leader (Kyle Lowry) hasnt been playing the last two games, but were still fighting. . . Were definitely not going to back down, were going to continue to fight." Jonas Valanciunas added 22 points and nine rebounds, while DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points and doled out nine assists for the Raptors (44-32), who claimed their fifth win in six starts despite missing starters Lowry and Amir Johnson. "We feel like we can beat anybody when we step out there on the court," said DeRozan. "Theyre a top team in the east, and thats a team that were fighting to be in their position. Tonight was a big game at this time of the season." Greivis Vasquez and Nando De Colo had 10 points apiece, while Patrick Patterson, who started in place of Johnson in only his third game since missing 11 with an elbow injury, had seven boards. Paul George had 26 points to top the Pacers (53-24), while David West added 21. "This is a playoff team," George said of Toronto. "Down the stretch they just got a lot of bounces that created second shots for them. If you give a playoff team another look or an opportunity they are going to knock you down." There was a definite post-season vibe to the Eastern Conference battle between two teams that could potentially meet in the second round of the playoffs. The Pacers had led the East all season until a recent slide saw them fall below the Miami Heat on percentage points. The playoff-bound Raptors are third in the conference. "Were a scrappy team, a scrappy grind-it-out team, so if one player goes down, we have other players that can come in, help us off the bench, give us that same spark," Ross said. "Thats how weve been winning games." It was see-saw battle for the first half before the Raptors cobbled together an 11-point lead in the third quarter, but it was short-lived as Indiana outscored Toronto 22-11 to send the game into the fourth tied 75-75. The Pacers went on a quick 7-0 run midway through the quarter to take a three-point lead, but the resilient Raptors responded with a run of their own, and when Valanciunas grabbed his own rebound and finished with a lovely hook shot, it put Toronto up 96-94 with three minutes to play. Valanciunas would score the next basket to make it a four-point lead, and the Raptors held fast on the defensive end the rest of the way, to the delight of the fans at Air Canada Centre, who were on their feet for the final few minutes. When DeRozan stepped to the line to calmly drain two free throws with 13 seconds left, the crowd chanted "M-V-P!" It was the second straight game without Lowry, who has a bruised kneecap, and Johnson -- although Johnson did play three minutes in Wednesdays 107-103 win over Houston before leaving the game. Dressed smartly in a charcoal suit, Lowry could have been mistaken for one of the coaches and he hollered at teammates and gave instructions from the bench. "Id rather see Kyle in uniform than in street clothes and coaching. I told Kyle this all the time, that when he becomes a coach, I cannot wait to come watch his teams play," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said, laughing. "Im going to be that heckler in the stands Boo coach!" DeRozan added dryly: "(The coaching) was a little bit worse than he does when hes in the game with you, because he doesnt stop talking." The Raptors have six games to go in their quest for the Atlantic Division title, and their battle for a favourable opponent in the post-season. Theyre also on pace for their best regular-season record ever. Their most wins in a season is 47, set in 2000-01 and 2006-07. The good news: Indiana was the Raptors last opponent with a plus-.500 record. And of their remaining opponents, they play Milwaukee -- the leagues worst team -- twice, and Philadelphia (second worst) once. "(The division title) is important, (but) its not worth jeopardizing someones health," Casey said. "Weve got players who are nicked up, banged up, weve got to make sure theyre healthy and we cant run them into the ground at the sake of trying to win now." The Pacers have been struggling, losing three straight and five of six before a win over Detroit on Wednesday. Still, Casey wasnt about to take anything away from the Raptors win. "Its a win. Its a W. Whatever the deal is (with the Pacers), theyve won 53 games, thats the way I look at it," Casey said. "Its a quality win." Ross shot 4-for-4 for 10 points in an opening quarter that saw 10 lead changes and neither team lead by more than four. The Pacers took a 28-27 advantage into the second. The back-and-forth battle continued into the second before the Raptors took control with a 15-5 run, capped by a Valanciunas layup, to send Toronto into the dressing room with a 54-46 halftime lead. A three-point play by Valanciunas gave the Raptors their biggest lead of the game -- 11 points -- midway through the third, but Indiana buckled down on defence and it was all tied up with 12 minutes to play. NOTES: The Raptors are at Milwaukee on Saturday then get a much-needed three-day break before hosting Philadelphia on Wednesday. . . Hip-hop artist and Raptors global ambassador Drake had a courtside seat. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . He scored two highlight-reel goals in a three-minute span -- the second on a sideways bicycle kick in the 78th minute -- to give the Whitecaps a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers before a crowd of 20,303 at B. Authentic NFL Jerseys China . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. http://www.nflauthenticchinawholesalejerseys.com/ . -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale . A fully booked flight forced me to leave two hours later. After a nice meal in which I studied the stats of the Argo win, I prepared to leave the restaurant. As I was gathering my things to leave many large individuals began to walk up and wait for tables. Discount Football Jerseys . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. NEW YORK -- A wet field gave the New York Yankees one weird win. Brett Gardner hit a tiebreaking homer off All-Star ace Yu Darvish, and New York beat the Texas Rangers 2-1 Wednesday night in a rain-shortened game called in the fifth inning under bizarre circumstances. Once the rain stopped, the grounds crew did its best to dry out the field. But both managers expressed concern about players getting hurt on the soft basepaths, and the game was called after an unusual delay that lasted 1 hour, 49 minutes. "The field was just not playable," umpire crew chief Dale Scott told a pool reporter. During the delay, the last-place Rangers reached an agreement to trade closer Joakim Soria to Detroit for minor league pitchers Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel. David Phelps (5-4) pitched out of a jam just before the storm, and Francisco Cervelli doubled twice to help the Yankees win for the fifth time in six games on a 10-game homestand following the All-Star break. Chase Headley had a double in his first start for New York after he was acquired in Tuesdays trade with San Diego. Phelps gave up five hits in his first career complete game. After a one-out triple by Leonys Martin in the fifth, the right-hander retired Chris Gimenez on a foul popup and struck out Rougned Odor. Phelps and Cervelli pumped their fists as they headed toward the dugout -- perhaps knowing how important that last out might be, making the game official with heavy rain in the forecast. Play was halted with one out in the bottom of the fifth, and the grounds crew struggled mightily to pull the tarp through the mud as a heavy downpour soaked the field. It appeared the teams were ready to resume at one point, but managers Joe Girardi and Ron Washington were worried about more injuries to their banged-up teams. "Neither one of us can afford to lose another player on the DL because of conditions players shouldnt be on," Girardi said. After much discussion with the umpires and head groundskeeper Dan Cunningham, a light rain returned and the tarp was put back on the field. Less than 10 minutes later, the game was stopped for good -- giving the Yankees the victory. "What made me complain was because of them not being able to get the tarp on the field," Washington said, adding he had never seen a similar situation in his career. "This game shouldnt come to us losing it. It should have been suspended." But there was no avenue for a protest, Washington acknowledged. New York lost a rain-shortened game to the Orioles on July 13, the last day before tthe All-Star break.dddddddddddd "We lost in Baltimore because of Mother Nature. We won tonight because of Mother Nature. That just happens in our game," Girardi said. Darvish (9-6) allowed four hits and threw 67 pitches in his second complete game of the year. He struck out five and walked none. When the rain started, it took 13 minutes and three tries for the grounds crew to drag the soaked tarp over a drenched infield. Bat boys, clubhouse attendants and security guards in clear ponchos rushed out to help. One stumbled and briefly got trapped underneath. It took more than 30 men to finally finish the job, bringing a roar from the crowd. Only 15 minutes later, the rain had stopped and workers removed the tarp. But the playing surface was so wet, it took about 50 minutes to dry and prepare the field. A public-address announcement informed fans the game was scheduled to resume at approximately 10:05 p.m. But as Darvish headed back to the mound and other players warmed up, Girardi stalked around near first base testing the surface. He motioned for an audience, and the huddle that ensued included both managers, Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux and Cunningham, who appeared to be doing much of the talking. The umpires and grounds crew headed back underneath the stands, and Texas players milled around in front of their dugout for about 20 minutes waiting for word. Darvish flipped a ball, and even pawed at the dirt near third base. When the rain started falling again around 10:25 p.m., the tarp was placed back over the infield. And that was it. Cervelli hit a leadoff double in the third and scored on Darvishs second career balk. Gardner followed with his 10th home run, the first time hes reached double digits in seven major league seasons. "Thats amazing. Hes been doing that for us the whole year," Cervelli said. Texas scored in the third on Odors double-play grounder after consecutive singles by Martin and Chris Gimenez. NOTES: Rangers RF Alex Rios returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sprained right ankle. ... Washington said there are still "ghosts" at the new Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. "I think they just came across the street," he said. ... RHP Michael Pineda (right shoulder muscle) is scheduled to throw 30 pitches over two innings in a simulated game Thursday. ... There wont be any update on RHP Masahiro Tanaka (elbow) for another two weeks, Girardi said. New York is hoping Tanaka can avoid Tommy John surgery and return in September. ... CC Sabathia had his season-ending knee surgery. ' ' '