With just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, Amir Johnson sat on the bench, wincing in pain as he watched the game an

BROOKLYN - With just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, Amir Johnson sat on the bench, wincing in pain as he watched the game and, in effect, his teams season slip away. Wholesale Twins Jerseys . That seemed like an appropriate time to get a head start on the Raptors playoff obituary. Their first-half onslaught had evaporated, the 17-point lead was no more and Johnson, like Kyle Lowry, was battling foul trouble and a myriad of ailments. At that point the momentum, if you believe in such things, belonged to the hosting Brooklyn Nets. This upstart Raptors team had been in similar situations throughout the season - fighting for their lives, backs up against the wall - but, tied going into the fourth quarter of a critical Game 4, this would be their biggest and most revealing test yet. They had a new audience, a brighter spotlight, a bigger stage and 12 minutes to prove something that they themselves already knew. "Everybody has something on their body that definitely hurts," said Johnson, who injured his knee in a failed attempt to draw a charge on the Nets Paul Pierce, "but we keep playing, we keep fighting. Its not the time to hold back now. Weve got to keep going." The Raptors held Brooklyn without a field goal for the final six minutes, without a point for the last five and in doing so they showed more character than they had at any point in this series. "Thats just us, man," DeMar DeRozan said after scoring a team-high 24 points in the Raptors scrappy 87-79 win on Sunday, tying their best-of-seven opening round series up at 2-2. "Were definitely resilient, were not going to give up until the games over. Were going to fight through." Just as things were at their most bleak - Lowry had picked up his fifth foul and Johnson, still on the bench, was also saddled with five - the Raptors got serious. Slightly out of character, DeRozan drew a charge, then he took another. Was that a first? "Nah, I dont think so," the all-star guard said with a smirk on his face as Lowry, sitting next to him, chuckled. "I hope its not." Then Lowry, throwing caution to the wind, reached in and poked the ball away from Pierce. Johnson followed suit and in a familiar scene - one that earned him his fifth foul and a sore knee earlier - stepped in to take the charge. Both Lowry and Johnson were one foul away from spending the rest of the game watching from the sidelines, one hit to the knee away from spending the rest of the night on the trainers table. Neither player seemed willing to allow his team to lose. "Theyre fighters," said Jonas Valanciunas. "Theyre soldiers. They go on the court anyway. So its good when you have those types of guys on your team." Everyone is dealing with bumps and bruises to some degree at this point in the season. Who wasnt limping out there tonight, Valanciunas was asked. "Julyan Stone," the young centre said with a smile. But there was Lowry, limping up and down the court between possessions, lying next to the bench to stay loose when he wasnt in the game. He had tweaked his reoccurring right knee injury early in Game 3, on top of all the nicks hes accumulated over a long season, but he gutted it out again. Where would his team be without him? "We would have probably got in a fight if I tried to take him out of the game," coach Dwane Casey joked. "Hes dealing with a lot right now and he came through with flying colours. He fought through foul trouble, a little bit of adversity throughout the game and still came through.” Lowry scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half and once again, with the game on the line, his team resembled their point guard, their leader, their best player. "I am not surprised at all that Kyle was limping around, hes a warrior, hes everything to this team," said Chuck Hayes. "The guy gives it his all, we just feed off of him. Then we tease him about it after, hes going to have probably every ice bag in here on his body." "We dont give up man, were some fighters," Hayes continued. "We play like the underdog, we were the underdog probably all year, including this series. I dont know, we just go out there and play for each other." Go ahead, underestimate them, disrespect them and count them out. They feed off it. If respect is earned in the postseason, perhaps the Raptors are starting to turn heads. "We understand that this is a group thats not going to back down, thats not going to give up," Pierce said after the game. "Theyve earned a lot of peoples respect around the league. Just because you dont have a lot of playoff experience doesnt mean youre not a good team. You can learn on the fly." Theyve done just that, now its a whole new ball game. The Raptors will return to Toronto and their raucous crowd at the Air Canada Centre after reclaiming home-court advantage for what has become a best-of-three set, beginning with Wednesdays Game 5. Have they played their best basketball? "No," Lowry and DeRozan answered in unison, but there is a growing sense of belief in the room coinciding with an ambiance of nervousness that spread throughout Barclays Center as Toronto hit back on Sunday. The Raptors may not be in over their heads after all. "Were on a mission," Casey said. "Were not just here trying to win a game. We want to make sure we stay poised, stay focused on our business. Thats what weve been about all year." Cheap Twins Jerseys China . According to TSNs Farhan Lalji, Richardson is heading to Toronto for a physical and is expected to sign with the Argonauts. Cheap Twins Jerseys Authentic . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. http://www.cheaptwinsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-jose-berrios-jersey . Jagr had a goal and two assists, Andy Greene scored 43 seconds into overtime and Marek Zidlicky had two goals as the Devils rallied past the Washington Capitals 5-4 Saturday night. LONDON -- Non-league Kidderminster will take on Premier League struggler Sunderland in the FA Cup fourth round after beating Peterborough 3-2 on Tuesday, while Fulham advanced with a 3-0 defeat of Norwich. Fifth-tier Kidderminster, which shares the FA Cup record for a non-league team after reaching as far as the fifth round in 1994, came from behind after Tommy Rowe opened the scoring for the League One club on a night of replays. Goals from Michael Gash and Jack Byrne within the space of five minutes after the restart put Kidderminster in front and Joe Lolley sealed victory after Britt Assombalonga had levelled for the hosts. The sides drew 0-0 earlier this month. Delighted with Lolleys winner, Kidderminster coach Andy Thorn said: "It was a superb strike. He had to do it because he gave the ball away for the penalty and if he had been near me I would have jumped on him." After a poor run of league form that has left it 16th in the standings, Fulham returned to winning ways courtesy of goals from Darren Bent, Ashkan Dejagah and Steve Sidwell in the only all-Premier League replay. Their earlier tie had finished 1-1. Fulham will next travel to League One side Sheffield United. New coach Rene Meulensteen praised Fulhams defensive efforts and was particularly pleased by the clean sheet. "We know its an area we need to work address," he said. "We work ever so hard at it and made it onne of our main targets today to make sure we were more solid, maybe a little less adventurous, to make sure we shut up shop. Cheap Twins Jerseys. " Wigan, which was relegated from the Premier League after winning the cup last May, was 1-0 down until the 79th minute against MK Dons -- before an equalizer from Nick Powell paved the way for a 3-1 win after extra time. Luke Chadwick put the Dons ahead after 10 minutes before Powell grabbed the equalizer for the holders from Chris McCanns cross. He scored again in extra time and Marc-Antoine Fortune added the third. Fifth-tier Macclesfield, the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, had its run abruptly ended by Sheffield Wednesday in a 4-1 defeat at Hillsborough. Wednesday needed only three minutes to open the scoring as Scotland international Chris Maguire cut inside two players and sent a fine shot into the corner. A 65th-minute penalty from Scott Boden brought Macclesfield back in the game, but Jacques Maghoma scored with 12 minutes to go before further goals from Jermaine Johnson and Miguel Llera put the result beyond doubt. Elsewhere, Watford defeated Bristol City 2-0 and Birmingham beat Bristol Rovers 3-0 while Championship club Bournemouth earned a prestigious tie at Liverpool after routing Burton Albion 4-1. Last seasons runner-up Manchester City plays Championship side Blackburn at home in Wednesdays only replay after they drew 1-1. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '