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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. Jakub Vrana Jersey . There, I saw a teenaged boy with tears in his eyes, being consoled by strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee. Mike Gartner Jersey . -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A. http://www.officialcapitalsfanstore.com/...apitals-jersey/. But Paul Osbaldiston, Hamiltons assistant special teams and kicking coach, said the team still relished the championship game workout. Washington Capitals Jerseys . Louis Cardinals. He was 48. The commissioners office said Bell died in his home state of Ohio. Bell had not been feeling well over the weekend and had been scheduled to see doctors later Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. Dale Hunter Jersey .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Marvin Austin was an afterthought in the Denver Broncos $110 million defensive makeover this off-season. Long after fellow free agents DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward signed their mega deals and posed with their orange jerseys, Austin slipped into town in May and quietly began his latest comeback. The fourth-year defensive tackle who signed a one-year, $570,000 contract might just prove to be general manager John Elways latest rummage-sale find to produce a big payoff. "Camp has gone pretty good," said Austin, who moved up Tuesday to take snaps with the starters. "Most importantly I feel great, healthy, just going out there and playing with the guys. Its great to be back in football, back able to move around like Im supposed to, like people know I can. "And the coaches just want to see what I can do out there against the 1s. Weve got the top offence in the league and they just wanted to see can I bring that tenacity and fire against the 1s." He did, the latest step in his return from career-saving back surgery last November that he feared at first would end his playing days. "Oh, my spine works now," Austin said. "It feels great. Ive been humbled throughout my career, so I know what type of opportunity I have. So, Im just grateful to be here. Im grateful to be able to say that I can still play football and especially at the NFL level." Austin (6-foot-2 and 319 pounds) said this is as good as hes ever felt, and the Broncos believe he looks better than ever, too. "He was a good acquisition," coach John Fox said. "I think John and his staff did a good job in that evaluation process. He has come off of a fairly significant injury and he looks like hes got that explosiveness and quickness he had when he came out of Chapel Hill." Funny that Fox should say that because Austin said, "I feel like college again." He was a second-round draft choice of the New York Giants in 2011 but he missed his rookkie season with a torn chest muscle.dddddddddddd He played in eight games in 2012 while dealing with a bad back that resulted in a weak right leg. And he played in a total of three games last season for Miami and Dallas. The Cowboys released him after just one game and one tackle when his bad back acted up in practice. Told he needed surgery, "I just cried my eyes out," Austin said. "I knew my career was over, being a second-round pick, being cut, and then coming back to that situation. It was over with for me in my mind." He underwent surgery to remove a herniated disc in his lower back and to take out part of the vertebral arch in order to decompress the corresponding spinal cord or spinal nerve root. The surgeon also "took out some of the bone in my spine to open up my spinal canal because I was born with a little bit of stenosis," Austin said. "I feel 10 million times better now," he said. He said his surgeon told him his back was in such bad shape its a wonder he wasnt paralyzed. "And I played with that for two years," Austin said. Able to work out as feverishly as he once did, he attacked his latest comeback dripping with gusto. "Now, to be out here playing and feel good, this is easy," he said as sweat drenched him after Tuesday mornings practice. "I was out there playing with a bum back, a bad leg. Im a grinder. At the end of the day, they aint going to say I didnt work. Regardless of whatever happens, if Im here or if Im not, if Im playing football or if Im not, youre not going to be able to say that Marvin Austin is lazy." He said he looked out at the crowd during the Broncos stadium scrimmage last weekend "and I was like, I love football again. I had lost the love for it, man, because I was dealing with so many injuries and they were so frustrating." Notes: The Broncos signed DL Brian Sanford, a 6-2, 280-pound fifth-year pro who appeared in a dozen games with Cleveland (2011-12) and Oakland (2013). 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