TORONTO - For months weve been hearing all about their impossibly difficult early-season schedule. Through 34 contests, the Raptors have had the most difficult slate of games in the Eastern Conference, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Theyve played 19 on the road and 16 against winning teams, both tied for most in the East. They have seen both conference finalists, Miami and Indiana three times. In spite of it all, Toronto is right where Dwane Casey had cautiously hoped they would be; at sea level. "These five games are a crucial stretch of games here at home for us," Casey said ahead of Wednesdays 112-91 victory over the Pistons, a win that got Toronto back to the .500 mark. "Its a very crucial time." Following another daunting road trip, capped off by disappointing but expected losses to the Heat and Pacers, the Raptors schedule finally begins to ease up. Wednesdays meeting with Detroit was the first of four straight against losing teams. Four of their next five are at home and only two of the remaining 12 contests in January come against opponents that went into Wednesdays games with winning records. Casey had spoken about using recent tests against the leagues best as a measuring stick for his emerging team but these upcoming few weeks may tell him more about where they stack up in the Eastern Conference. They must continue to win the games they should. Taking care of the Pistons, one of the Easts talented disasters, was a promising first step. Toronto coughed up an 11-point second-quarter lead in what turned out to be an ugly opening half for both teams. DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson combined to shoot 0-of-16 while the team was outscored by 16 points in the paint, outworked by another physical frontline. Lucky to be down only four at the break, the Raptors adjusted going into the second half, where they outscored the visitors 62-37. "We pretty much said, this is a must-win game," Johnson maintained. "We have to go out and take it and we did that." Although they shot just 41 per cent from the field, the Raptors knocked down 11 three-pointers, including five from Terrence Ross, who had 17 points on the night. Toronto improved to 8-2 on the season when connecting on 10 or more three-balls. Kyle Lowry led the team in scoring with 21 to go along with nine assists, Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas both added double-doubles and DeRozan finished with 19 points, 13 of which came from the free throw line. "We knew it was going to be a grind it out game and thats something were learning to do," Casey added. "Theres no pretty games in the NBA, its a mans league," he continued. "To win in this league, to win in the Eastern Conference especially - I found out in my three years in it - its a mans [conference]. Its a hit, knockdown, drag out [conference] and the strong survive. Were learning how to do that." The Raptors were a different team coming out of the locker room after intermission. They bested the Pistons in the paint - Detroit leads the league in that category - out-rebounded them and imposed their will on a struggling team that has now lost six in a row. After eight lead changes in the first half, there was just one in the second and it was all the Raptors needed to seize control. "Theyre must-win games," Johnson said. "Theyre all home and we need to win those games just to stay at the top of our division. Theyre must-win games and weve got to come out and play hard." With Brooklyn on deck, followed by games against the woeful Bucks and Celtics, the Raptors have to continue to do just that. Theyve got to seize this opportunity. Although Toronto is just 1-5 facing the Pacers and Heat this season, theyre 11-5 against the rest of the conference. Sitting just one game out of third place in the East - after the Horford-less Hawks upset Indiana on Wednesday - the Raptors are now in a position to validate their recent success. They can separate themselves from the heap of mediocrity theyll be facing throughout the duration of the month of they will end up blending in with them. "Theres no reason for any of us to be content or satisfied or be able to be happy about [where we are]," Casey preached. "Weve got to play like a hungry team. Weve got to continue to grow, weve got to continue to have the underdog attitude because thats where we are. " "Were nowhere near an established program. Im not kidding myself, I know what an established program is all about and were not there yet. We have a lot of growth to do with our core group of guys." Air Max 97 Canada Sale . PAUL, Minn. Nike Air Max Tailwind 7 Canada . - Houston defensive end J. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air...anada-sale.html. Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. Nike Air Max Canada Sale . Patty Mills scored 15 points, Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds in limited minutes, and San Antonio trailed for only 11 seconds late in the first quarter of a 103-90 victory over Portland on Wednesday night. Nike Air Max Flair Canada . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest.BIRMINGHAM, England -- Ana Ivanovic, the unpredictable former world number one, has reached her first ever final on grass at the Aegon Classic, a Wimbledon warm-up tournament. After beating the ninth-seeded Zhang Shuai of China 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday, Ivanovic described the prospect of winning as a "dream." "Ten years on tour and I never have a title on grass," the 26-year-old Serb said. "That would be definitely something special." Ivanovic had an different start and went 0-2 down as she struggled to land a firstt serve.dddddddddddd However, she soon became too powerful for the 25-year-old Zhang, who was taking part in only the second grass court tournament of her career. Ivanovic became more dangerous as she grew in confidence, and her timing on the slick surface belied her years of uncertainty on grass. In Sundays final, Ivanovic faces Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, who is also playing in the first grass court final of her career. The unseeded Czech survived two rain delays to beat 16th-seeded Australian Casey Dellacqua 7-6 (5), 6-1. ' ' '