P.J. Carlesimo put his head in his hand, sighed and brushed back his hair, hardly looking like a guy with a 9-1 record.

”I’m really struggling,” he started, adding that the Brooklyn Nets faced a ”major, major concern.”

It’s a good one, though. They simply have so many guys playing well that it’s tough for Carlesimo to get them all minutes.

Brook Lopez had 22 points and nine rebounds, Joe Johnson and Deron Williams each scored 21 points, and the Nets extended their season-high winning streak to seven games with a 113-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.

Andray Blatche added 14 points for the Nets, in the midst of their longest winning streak since running off 14 in a row late in the 2005-06 season. A .500 team when they fired Avery Johnson late last month, Brooklyn has won nine of 10 under its interim coach and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the New York Knicks for the Atlantic Division lead…

Kyle Lowry scored 21 points for the Raptors, who have dropped two in a row but still have 10 wins in their last 15 games. Jose Calderon and Amir Johnson each finished with 15 for the Raptors, whose 14 turnovers led to 24 points…

Mirza Teletovic added 10 points off the Nets’ bench, keying a second-quarter hot streak that snapped Brooklyn out of a sluggish start…

Lowry, who was expected to miss the second half after spraining his left ankle, brought the Raptors within eight, but seven straight points by the Nets reopened a 15-point advantage on Johnson’s jumper with 3:52 to go, and a final flurry by Lowry, who scored 19 in the fourth, was not enough.

– Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Milwaukee’s Larry Sanders has made a name for himself as a shot blocker this season. Few have been as pivotal as the one he pulled off against Toronto on Sunday.

Brandon Jennings had 19 points and 10 assists, rookie John Henson scored 19 and the Bucks rallied from a 20-point first quarter deficit to beat Toronto 107-96, their eighth straight victory over the Raptors.

Sanders extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one block to 23 with a pair of rejected shots. His biggest, however, was a block on DeMar DeRozan’s layup attempt with 3:09 to play and the Bucks clinging to a 92-91 lead.

”He’s a flier,” Sanders said of DeRozan. ”I just had to try and get the timing right.” …

Sanders finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks, who won for the 12th time in 15 meetings with the Raptors.

Monta Ellis scored 17 points and Dunleavy had 15 as the Bucks improved to 3-1 under new coach Jim Boylan…

Amir Johnson had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Ed David had 20 and 12 for the Raptors, who led 32-12 early but lost their fifth straight home meeting with the Bucks.

DeRozan scored 23 points and Jose Calderon scored 15 of his 21 in Toronto’s big first quarter, but the Raptors couldn’t hold on, losing for the first time in three games.

– Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Alan Anderson scored 16 points against his former team, Jose Calderon had 15 and the Toronto Raptors won for the 10th time in 13 games Friday night, beating the Charlotte Bobcats 99-78.

Amir Johnson had 13 points and eight rebounds while Ed Davis had 12 points and eight boards for the Raptors, who led by as many as 24.

Anderson had four of Toronto’s 12 3-pointers, while Calderon and Kyle Lowry each made three.

Toronto has not trailed in each of its past three victories, including home wins over Portland on Jan. 2 and Philadelphia on Jan. 9.

Starting for the second straight game, Toronto’s Landry Fields matched his season high with 11 rebounds.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kemba Walker and Ben Gordon each scored 12 points as Charlotte’s modest streak of two straight road victories came to an end.

Ramon Sessions scored 11 for the Bobcats, and rookie Jeff Taylor had 10.

– Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

After finishing off a long stretch of games with another deflating defeat, the Philadelphia 76ers are finally getting a chance to rest.

Jrue Holiday, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

Amir Johnson had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Jose Calderon added 14 points and 11 assists, and the Toronto Raptors never trailed in a 90-72 victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday night, handing the slumping 76ers their fifth straight loss.

Holiday and Thaddeus Young each scored 16 points and Evan Turner had 10 as the Sixers set a season low in points and lost for the 13th time in 16 games. Philadelphia has played 12 of its past 16 on the road, winning just twice…

Starting for the first time since Nov. 7, Toronto’s Landry Fields set season highs with 10 points and 11 rebounds…

DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points and Ed Davis had 17 for the Raptors, who had lost six of their previous seven meetings with Philadelphia, including three straight…

Philadelphia’s Jason Richardson did not play because of a sore wrist. Collins said he gave Richardson, who has missed time with back and ankle injuries this season, ”a San Antonio Spur day.”

– Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Toronto’s run of good fortune — back-to-back losses aside — has coincided with the return to the lineup of Alan Anderson.

Anderson provided an unexpected boost late last season, when he earned a contract after originally coming aboard on a 10-day stipend.

Now, he is helping power a three-point-reliant offence (Anderson leads the club with 1.9 makes from outside per game) and is helping lead a bench unit that has mostly outplayed the starters over the past couple of weeks.

In all, since Anderson’s Dec. 14 return from a foot injury, Toronto has won 8-of-11 contests.

Though field-goal percentage is not a strength (he shot just 38.1% in December), Anderson is currently sizzling, shooting 47.5% over his past three games (averaging 17 points).

– Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun

To Kevin Durant, an early afternoon start in Toronto against an improving Raptors team was a trap waiting to be sprung on Oklahoma City.

But with a balanced offensive attack, and a defensive correction in the second half, the Thunder steered clear of getting caught.

Russell Westbrook scored 23 points, Durant had 22 and Oklahoma City beat the Raptors 104-92 on Sunday, giving the Thunder a winning start to a stretch that sees them play 11 of 13 on the road…

Serge Ibaka had 19 points and eight rebounds and Kevin Martin scored 16 for Oklahoma City, who came in having played an NBA-low 12 road games this season but improved to 9-4 as visitors…

Nick Collison had 10 points and eight rebounds to help the Thunder win for the fifth time in eight games since their season-long 12-game winning streak.

Oklahoma City is 14-0 this season when at least five players score in double figures.

”Everybody participated, everybody chipped in and everybody did their job,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. ”We’re good when we force the defense to chase the ball around and the ball finds a good shot. It’s not really who finds it, just as long as it’s a good shot.”

Westbrook and Durant each had seven assists. For Durant, that was his most since dishing out a career-high 10 against Golden State on Nov. 18…

Alan Anderson scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the second quarter and Amir Johnson had 19 for the Raptors, who lost their second straight after winning eight of nine.

”I praised our guys, the way we fought and scrapped,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. ”But at the end of day reality set in.”

DeMar DeRozan scored 11 points but made just four of 16 field goal attempts. DeRozan made only 3 of 11 attempts in Friday’s loss to Sacramento.

– Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Sacramento Kings coach Keith Smart called DeMarcus Cousins ”the guy who makes it all work for us.”

Friday night’s performance was the perfect example of that.

Cousins scored a season-high 31 points and matched his career high with 20 rebounds, John Salmons scored eight of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and the Kings topped the Toronto Raptors 105-96.

”He had the right energy to start the game, he had the right mindset of not trying to score 50 but trying to let his teammates play,” Smart said of Cousins. ”He’s in a good spot as a basketball player right now and he’s only going to get better.”

Salmons said Cousins is helping the Kings win by trusting his teammates and giving up the ball when he gets double-teamed…

Jason Thompson scored 14 points and Isaiah Thomas had 11 as the Kings won their second straight road game. They’d gone 1-13 away from home before winning at Cleveland on Wednesday…

Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and Ed Davis had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who came in having won eight of nine and a season-best five straight at home.

”We did not have an answer for DeMarcus Cousins inside,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. ”We did not play with any zip. We were flat.”

Alan Anderson scored 20 points, DeMar DeRozan had 14 and Jose Calderon added 13 for the Raptors, who also lost 107-100 at Sacramento on Dec. 5.

– Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

The last time they played Portland, the Toronto Raptors were at their worst. On Wednesday night, they showed just how much they’ve turned things around.

Terrence Ross scored a career-high 26 points, DeMar DeRozan had 24 and the Raptors snapped an eight-game losing streak against Portland by beating the Trail Blazers 102-79.

”This team beat us by a lot last time,” Ross said. ”We had to get our revenge.”

Ross and the Raptors were bent on reversing what happened in their most recent meeting with the Blazers: an 18-point loss at Portland on Dec. 10, the final game in an 0-5 road trip in which starters Kyle Lowry and Andrea Bargnani left injured, Amir Johnson was ejected for throwing his mouthguard at a referee and the Blazers won despite setting an NBA record for shooting futility, missing all 20 of their 3-point attempts.

”They hit bottom when they came to Portland,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said before the rematch.

Things sure have changed. This was Toronto’s eighth win in nine games, a surge that has wiped out talk of coaching changes and locker room discord…

Ed Davis had 19 points and Amir Johnson 17 in Toronto’s first victory over the Trail Blazers since a 116-109 double-overtime win on Jan. 13, 2008.

Ross had a career-best six 3-pointers as the Raptors opened their season-high six-game homestand in style, never trailing and leading by as many as 25.

– Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Jose Calderon added 15 points and 10 assists, helping the Toronto Raptors to an easy 123-88 victory over the injury-depleted Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

Rookie Ed Davis had 18 points and seven rebounds as Toronto won for the seventh time in eight games. The Raptors, who hit a season-high 15 3-pointers, got 16 points apiece from Kyle Lowry and Terrence Ross.

Rookie Andrew Nicholson led Orlando with a career-high 22 points. Arron Afflalo added 14 points and Ish Smith had 13 points and six assists.

The Raptors hit nine of their first 10 attempts from behind the 3- point line and built a 67-47 halftime lead. Orlando cut the deficit to 76-65 after two free throws by Nicholson with 5:16 left in the third quarter, but that was as close as the Magic would get the rest of the game.

The Magic played without starting point guard Jameer Nelson (hip) and his backup E’Twaun Moore (elbow). But their real problem was at the defensive end.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Add tight defense to a triple-double, and it was quite a game for Jose Calderon.

Calderon had 18 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds to lead short-handed Toronto over the Houston Rockets 103-96 Sunday, giving the Raptors consecutive wins for the first time in eight long months.

Calderon started for the third straight game in place of the injured Kyle Lowry, who has a tear in his right triceps.

The 31-year-old Spanish guard, who’s the longest serving Raptor, has been a perennial backup in Toronto…

Alan Anderson had 24 points, while DeMar DeRozan added 19 points for the Raptors, who hadn’t won consecutive games since April 13 and 15 of last season.

Ed Davis added 13 points for Toronto.

James Harden scored 28 points for the Rockets, while Marcus Morris added 19.

The Raptors took a 77-71 lead into the fourth quarter, and stretched their advantage to nine points. But Houston made for some tense moments late in the game, cutting Toronto’s lead to four points with a couple of minutes to go.

– Reported by the Associated Press

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday the following injury updates:

- Guard Kyle Lowry has a partial tear to his right triceps muscle. He will be treated symptomatically with an estimated return time of 10 days. Lowry sustained the injury at the 11:02 mark of the third quarter Monday at Portland.

- Forward-centre Andrea Bargnani has a ligament tear in his right elbow and a strained right wrist. He will be treated symptomatically and is out indefinitely.   Bargnani sustained the injury at the 4:22 mark of the first quarter Monday at Portland.

- Guard-forward Alan Anderson has been working out with the team and is expected to participate in a full practice Thursday with an anticipated return to the active roster for Friday’s game versus Dallas. Anderson sustained a partially torn plantar fascia in his left foot with five seconds remaining in the third quarter of the November 10 game versus Philadelphia.

- Forward-guard Landry Fields will have a second follow-up visit Thursday with surgeon Dr. Andrew Weiland in New York City. Fields continues aggressive conditioning with limited ball handling.  Fields underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery November 14 to address compression/entrapment in his right elbow.

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday rookie forward Quincy Acy has been recalled from the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.

Acy was reassigned to the Jam on December 6. He appeared in three games, averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 21.7 minutes. He posted his highs of 18 points, five rebounds and 23 minutes in his debut December 7 at Reno.

Acy has appeared in three games with the Raptors. He has played 21 minutes, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds. The club selected Acy with the 37th choice in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Acy will be available for tonight’s game versus Brooklyn at Air Canada Centre. Game time is 7 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE/Sportsnet Radio FAN 590)

Amir Johnson of the Toronto Raptors has been suspended one game without pay for throwing his mouthpiece and hitting a referee it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter of Toronto’s 92-74 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, Dec. 10 at the Rose Garden.

Johnson will serve his suspension on Wednesday, Dec. 12 when the Raptors host the Brooklyn Nets at Air Canada Centre.

To view the play click on this link.

Injuries, an ejection and a dubious record.

The Portland Trail Blazers’ 92-74 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night had a little bit of everything.

Both sides were beset by injuries, with Portland missing starters Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum, and Toronto losing starters Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry during the game.

Then Toronto’s Amir Johnson punctuated his ejection from the game by throwing his mouthpiece at the official who tossed him.

And finally, the Blazers went 0 for 20 from 3-point range, a new NBA record for futility.

”I don’t want to break records like that,” said Portland star LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 30 points and 12 rebounds.

J.J. Hickson added 16 points and 11 boards for the Blazers, who led by as many as 18 points in the second half. DeMar DeRozan had 20 points for the Raptors, who have dropped eight straight games against Portland…

The Raptors were hurt late in the first quarter when Bargnani went to the locker room after falling awkwardly on a dunk. The Raptors said later that X-rays on his elbow were negative, but he did not return…

The Raptors lost Johnson when he was ejected with 5:01 left in the third quarter. He had words with referee David Jones while trying to take the ball from him following a Portland free throw. After Johnson was ejected, he threw his mouthpiece at Jones and fellow players had to restrain him before he was escorted from the floor.

– Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

The Los Angeles Clippers were lacking energy through three quarters. Their backups came in and changed the game again.

Jamal Crawford led a fourth-quarter rally by the reserves with 16 points and the Clippers defeated Toronto 102-83 on Sunday to win their sixth in a row while handing the Raptors their 10th consecutive road loss.

The backups gave Los Angeles its first double-digit lead of the game after Toronto kept it close through the first three periods before dropping its fourth straight and 10th in its last 11. The Raptors have just four wins this season.

Eric Bledsoe added 14 points on his 23rd birthday to help the Clippers’ reserves outscore their counterparts 47-24.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 19 points. Chris Paul added 16 points and DeAndre Jordan had 10 rebounds. Caron Butler was the only starter to play in the fourth, coming in only after Matt Barnes was ejected with 1:36 to play…

Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points in his hometown. Linas Kleiza, who started in place of injured Mickael Pietrus, added 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Amir Johnson had 11 points and 12 rebounds…

Pietrus didn’t play because of left knee tendinitis that flared up after Friday’s loss in Utah. … Clippers G Chauncey Billups missed his third straight game with tendinitis in his left ankle.

– Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

The pregame talk was about 6-foot-11 center Enes Kanter making his first career start for the Jazz.

But it was Utah’s ‘’small” lineup that delivered the knockout blow in the second quarter, with the Jazz hitting five 3-pointers in a 3 1/2-minute span to set the tone in a 131-99 rout of the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

”It’s just like anything, when you see someone else on your team make the extra pass to the open guy, then you’re going to come down and make the extra pass to the open guy,” guard Randy Foye said. ”It’s contagious.”

In the end the Jazz hit 13 of 23 shots from beyond the arc - the sixth-highest total in team history. Marvin Williams, Foye and DeMarre Carroll finished with three 3s apiece.

”It felt good to see those guys firing them up and them going in,” said Paul Millsap, who led the Jazz with 20 points but didn’t attempt any 3s…

Kanter finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in place of Al Jefferson, who did not play because of back spasms…

Hayward added 17 points off the bench as Utah (11-10) improved to 8-1 at home…

Bargnani led Toronto with 20 points and eight rebounds. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points while Amir Johnson scored 10 off the bench.

– Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have assigned forward Quincy Acy to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League. Acy will continue to be included on the Raptors’ roster and will be placed on the team’s inactive list.

Acy has appeared in three games with the Raptors. He has played 21 minutes, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds. The club selected Acy with the 37th choice in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Acy is the sixth Raptor to be assigned to the NBA D-League. Solomon Alabi was designated on four occasions, three times to the Erie BayHawks (November 2010, January 2011 and March 2011) and once to Bakersfield (January 2012). Ed Davis was assigned to Erie for two games in December 2010. Nathan Jawai was designated on two occasions in the 2008-09 season to the Idaho Stampede. P.J. Tucker was assigned twice to the Colorado 14ers during the 2006-07 season and Pape Sow was assigned to the Arkansas Rimrockers in the 2005-06 campaign.

Bakersfield, led by Head Coach Will Voigt, has been appointed as Toronto’s NBA D-League affiliate for the 2012-13 season.

Tyreke Evans has been a solid scorer throughout his four-year NBA career. Still, the one thing he’s always lacked is a consistent outside shot.

Evans made two consecutive 3-pointers late in the game and teammate DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 13 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings beat the struggling Toronto Raptors 107-100 on Wednesday night.

The Kings used strong fourth-quarter play from Cousins and Evans to earn a rare victory. Sacramento had dropped nine of its previous 11 games, including an embarrassing 35-point loss Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Evans, back in the starting lineup after missing the past two games with a bruised left knee, scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. The point total wasn’t a surprise, but hitting back-to-back 3s was unexpected. Evans entered the season as a 25 percent career shooter from 3-point territory and had made six of 22 attempts this season…

Jason Thompson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, while John Salmons scored 12 and Aaron Brooks 11.

Lowry had a season-high 34 points, two below his career best. He also added 11 assists and five rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost two straight and eight of nine.

Mickael Pietrus scored 21 points, DeMar DeRozan added 14 and Ed Davis chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds.

– Reported by the Associated Press

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have signed free-agent guard-forward Mickael Pietrus (MY-kel PEE-trus).

Pietrus, 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, has shot .357 per cent (659-1846) from three-point range in his NBA career. He has connected at better than .350 per cent from beyond the arc in five of his past six seasons.

A veteran of nine NBA campaigns, Pietrus has averaged 8.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 21.5 minutes in 538 career games. He has appeared in 69 postseason outings, averaging 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 21.8 minutes. His best statistical season came in 2006-07 when he averaged 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 72 games with Golden State.

Pietrus was selected 11th overall by Golden State in the 2003 NBA Draft. He spent five seasons with the Warriors before splitting his last four years between Orlando, Phoenix and Boston.

Pietrus began his professional career in his native France with Pau Orthez. He played four seasons with the club, averaging 9.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 94 games.

To make room on the roster, the Raptors waived forward Dominic McGuire. McGuire appeared in 15 games and averaged 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds.

Too little, too late.

The NBA admitted on Thursday to missing a foul on the decisive play of Toronto’s loss to the Bobcats a day earlier.

“On the final possession of Charlotte’s 98-97 win over Toronto on Nov. 21, the game officials missed a foul by Charlotte’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist against Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani on a jump shot. Bargnani should have been given two free throws and the clock stopped with approximately 2.4 seconds remaining in the game,” read the missive at NBA.com.

Credit the league for admitting the error, but it won’t do much for the Raptors.

The ninth loss of the season (against three victories) stays on the books and the disappointment remains.

– Reported by Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun