pointer that gave the Blazers a 96-92 lead with 1:58 left.

TORONTO -- Jonas Valanciunas cherished the chance to think about nothing but basketball Wednesday night. The Raptors sophomore centre cast aside his off-court troubles to score a career-high 26 points and grab 12 rebounds in Torontos 125-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers -- less than three days after he was charged with drunk driving. "It has been a rough couple of days, but I had to find energy to come out and fight. I felt really good fan support -- thank you to them. I felt great, because everybody supported me," said Valanciunas, addressing the media for the first time since his arrest early Monday morning. "I say sorry, and (am) learning to be better. "Its been a really good two-and-a half hours (playing)," he added. Kyle Lowry topped Toronto (46-32) with 29 points in his first game back after missing three with a bruised kneecap. Patrick Patterson finished with 17 in the Raptors fourth straight victory and seventh in eight outings. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points before leaving the game with a minute to play with a nasty gash over his left eye that required three stitches. The swirling trouble surrounding Valanciunas didnt show in his game. He scored the Raptors first points of the night, then grabbed a rebound on the Sixers first shot, and scored on a thunderous dunk on a pass from DeRozan on Torontos next trip down the floor. "I expected it," Lowry said. "He was going to play like trash or he was going to play amazing. And he played amazing like we expected. "Its a tough situation for him to handle, but this is our sanctuary, basketball. We get a chance to be away from everything and basketball is our space, our secret spot. Thats where guys can release a lot of energy and intensity." Henry Sims scored 22 points, Michael Carter-Williams added 19, and Thaddeus Young finished with 16 for the Sixers (17-61). The Raptors are headed for the post-season for the first time in six years, and a victory on Friday versus the visiting New York Knicks will clinch the Atlantic Division. It will also tie their franchise record for wins of 47 -- set in 2000-01 and 2006-07. But the Raptors were coming off a tougher-than-expected 102-98 win over the last-place Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, and the lowly Sixers -- who recently tied the league record for most consecutive defeats with 26 -- gave Toronto a decent game for much of the night. "These are the dog days, teams that dont have anything to play for, our guys see the computer, they see the standings and all the records. But we cant play that way," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I told them weve got to pick our defence up and not have the mental letdown." The Raptors led by only a point midway through the third quarter before taking a 98-89 advantage into the fourth in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,789. "I think for the most part we went out there and played a solid game, (the Raptors) are a good team," Young said. "They are a playoff contending team, third in the East, they have proven it day in and day out. They have a lot of key guys that can make shots and score the basketball." The Sixers trailed by just six points with 2:44 to play after Young drained a 17-foot fadeaway jumper. But Lowry proved once again how valuable he is down the stretch, sinking consecutive baskets to give the Raptors a 10-point lead with 1:52 to play, and the Sixers never threatened again. "Im just happy to be back out there with my teammates, honestly," Lowry said. "When you miss games you feel that you are letting the team down and its great to be back out there with the fellas." There were questions about Valanciunas playing Wednesday in the wake of his arrest, and Casey was asked pre-game about what message that sends. "We sent a message," Casey replied. "We sent a message that we dont condone it, were disappointed in him. By playing him, were not saying were condoning it." Valanciunas was arrested early Monday morning in Wasaga Beach, Ont., and charged with having more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Police say they began investigating after a report that a vehicle went through a drive-thru with open beer bottles visible. DeRozan was pleased Valanciunas "came up big" against the Sixers. "I hope everybody leaves him alone," DeRozan said. "(His game) just shows you hes not letting everything else affect him, everything thats going on, or the situation that happened. Hes just going out there playing, he did what he did, its over with, he apologized to us, and understands whats at stake." Valanciunass first court appearance is scheduled for Collingwood on April 22. The 21-year-old is not required to attend so a lawyer will stand in for him. He could receive a suspension from the NBA, but that would be pending the results of a trial which would likely be during the off-season. Raptors starting forward Amir Johnson missed his fourth game with an ankle injury. Casey said the hardworking forward, who has long battled bad ankles, isnt 100 per cent, but "hes pretty close." "Probably if he had to go tonight he probably could go, but again, were trying to make sure, trying to get him ready for the next couple of weeks," Casey added. The Raptors led for all but a few seconds of the first quarter, and went up by nine points when Lowry converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left. A three-pointer by Elliot Williams cut Torontos advantage to 34-28 heading into the second. The Raptors continued to build on their lead, and Pattersons three-pointer with just under three minutes to go in the second put Toronto up 62-49. The Raptors went into the dressing room at halftime up 68-60. The Sixers opened the third with a 17-10 run, capped by Andersons three-pointer with 6:23 to go that cut the Raptors lead to just a point. The Raptors finished the quarter with a run of their own to give themselves a nine-point lead with a quarter to go. NOTES: The Raptors host the New York Knicks on Friday, then play the Pistons in Detroit on Sunday. They host Milwaukee on Monday then play their regular-season finale next Wednesday at Detroit. 23:08ET 09-04-14 Cheap Nike Air Max Clearance . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . 22 because of a bruised foot and have added forward Sean Collins to the roster on emergency recall from Springfield of the AHL. http://www.airmaxcheapwholesale.com/ . - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. Air Max Wholesale Free Shipping . Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone dismissed Tuesdays massive anti-government protest in Manama as "a lot of kids having a go at the police." "I dont think its anything serious at all," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday. Cheap Air Max Clearance . Berdych and Stepanek played all five matches when the Czechs beat Spain 3-2 in the final last November in Prague to win the countrys first title as an independent nation.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Wesley Matthews didnt know whether to be frustrated or relieved over the Trail Blazers overtime victory over Milwaukee. Matthews had 26 points, including a key 3-pointer in overtime, and Portland withstood the tenacious Bucks 120-115 on Tuesday night. "We put ourselves there," Matthews said about the threat from Milwaukee. "But we got ourselves out." Robin Lopez added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, who had been in a funk with losses in five of their last six games. Portland (44-24) has also struggled with the absence of injured forward LaMarcus Aldridge. The Blazers pulled it out with a surge in overtime. The teams 22 points in the extra period was a franchise record. Brandon Knight had 24 points and Ramon Sessions added a season-high 23 for Milwaukee, which lost its fifth straight. The Bucks (13-55) are just 2-24 against the Western Conference. Despite the worst record in the NBA, the Bucks gave the Blazers trouble for most of the game. There were 23 lead changes in regulation, and neither team was able to pull ahead by double digits. "We could have come and laid down -- our record is our record -- but we kept fighting and well continue to fight and try to grow as a team," Sessions said. Sessions, acquired by the Bucks at the trade deadline, had a chance to win it with a jumper at the buzzer, but he was off and the game went to overtime tied at 98. Portland scored the first two baskets in the extra period, but Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer and ZaZa Pachulia made a layup to give the Bucks a 103-102 lead. Matthews basket and layup put Portland back in front before Lillard dunked and hit a long jumper to make it 109-103. Middletons pull-up jumper closed the gap for the Bucks, until Mathews 3 made it 112-105. Middleton added another jumper with just over a minute to go but Milwaukee couldnt catch up. "Since the trade deadline theyve been a pretty good offensive team," Matthews said, "but that doesnt excuse us. Weve got to come out with more urgency." Mo Williams had a season-high 23 points off the bench for Portland and Lillard, who got off to a slow start, had 20 points -- 15 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime.dddddddddddd Lillard said that perhaps the Blazers were overconfident going into the game because of Milwaukees rough season. "Theres nothing wrong with going into the game thinking youre going to win," Lillard said. "But thats an NBA team over there." The Blazers, who sit in fifth in the Western Conference, were without Aldridge for the third straight game because of a lower back contusion. He is also likely to miss Thursdays game at home against Washington. Portland led 52-47 at the half but Milwaukee kept up and narrowed it to 67-66 on Knights short jumper before going ahead on Giannis Antetokounmps basket. Sessions short jumper extended the lead. The Blazers led 75-72 going into the final quarter but Sessions made back-to-back jumpers to give the Bucks an 84-81 lead with 8:11 left. Matthews answered with a 3-pointer for the Blazers, before Lopez scored on a layup and a free throw to give Portland an 87-84 advantage. Lillard hit a 3-pointer that gave the Blazers a 96-92 lead with 1:58 left. After free throws from Knight, Ersan Ilyasove made a layup to even the score at 96 with 48 seconds to go. Lopez appeared to tip in a shot, but the basket was waived off as boos filled the Moda Center. Sessions missed two of four free throws before Lillards layup tied it again at 98 with 4.9 seconds on the clock. "The guys played really hard for four quarters, even in overtime," Bucks coach Larry Drew said. "I thought we did some really good things. I told them after the game I was really proud of their effort." Notes: The Blazers downed the Bucks 91-82 in Milwaukee on Nov. 20. That snapped a four-game Milwaukee winning streak in the series. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts was head coach of the Bucks from 2005-07. ... O.J. Mayo did not play for the fifth straight game for the Bucks. ... The 22 points in overtime surpassed Portlands franchise record of 19 reached twice. ... Lillards 18th point in the game was his 3,000 in 150 career games as a Blazer. ... Nicolas Batum finished with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists for the Blazers. ' ' '