TORONTO - With just over seven seconds left on the clock and Fridays game hanging in the balance, a sellout Air Canada Centre crowd rose to their feet, holding their breath in anticipation. Theyve been holding their breath for six years now, but finally they can exhale. As Celtics forward Jared Sullinger forced up a wild, off-balance runner, the building erupted. It was official. The Raptors are heading back to the post-season. "We made it," shouted Amir Johnson repeatedly as the media filtered into Torontos locker room. "Its a satisfying, kind of overwhelming feeling," he described, following his teams 105-103 victory over Boston, officially snapping the Raptor five-year playoff drought. "Its been six years since this team, this organization made it to the playoffs. This team has worked so hard. We deserved it. Weve been playing our butts off, playing through injuries. Weve had our ups and downs." "Weve made it." Not lost on the team was the fact that they stole a game, their 41st victory of the season, that probably shouldnt have come down to the final possession. Down by four with under three minutes to play, it looked like the Raptors would have to hope for a New York Knicks loss later in the evening or wait until Sunday to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Theyve been resilient all year, so why wouldnt they be now? First DeMar DeRozan drained a fadeaway jumper, then Johnson hit the game-winning put-back layup. "It was fitting," Dwane Casey said. DeRozan and Johnson, the teams longest tenured players, were responsible for Torontos final four points. For them, this moment was a little sweeter. "It means a lot, honestly, man," said DeRozan, the Raptors fifth-year guard, who will make his post-season debut next month. "Especially for me and Amir and what weve been through here with the tough seasons, through the ups and downs and the struggles. We stuck with it." The only player in the building that could give a firsthand account of the Raptors last playoff experience - a five-game, first round defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic in 2007-08 - was Celtics forward Kris Humphries. Only four other players from that team are currently on an NBA roster, but DeRozan and Johnson – who arrived the year after – have both been in Toronto long enough to appreciate what a night like this means to the franchise, the city and the Raptors long-suffering fan base. "It was all worth it," said DeRozan. "These fans stuck behind us every single day and theyre going to continue to do so. Thats the reason why we work extremely hard. Our fans definitely push us." Of course, it was just a formality. It was inevitable, only a matter of time. Toronto wasnt going to go winless in its remaining games, just like the Knicks were not going to run the table the rest of the way. Still, they have refused to count their chickens before they hatched and for that you can credit the humility and focus of their head coach. Moments after the win, a loud chorus of applause could be heard from outside the teams locker room. Finally, they could celebrate, albeit behind closed doors. Even Casey, who wouldnt pat himself on the back and likely never will, found a way to indulge in what the evening represented. "Were excited about it," he admitted. "My hat is off to all the guys whove come through here," said Casey, crediting MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum as well as former general manager Bryan Colangelo for their contributions to the process. "To DeMar DeRozan [and] Amir Johnson, who have been through it all and for the fans, the fans for understanding and being patient. I know they didnt see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but its a process. You dont build Rome overnight in this league. Is very difficult to do. You talk about rebuilding, its a hard gig." The Raptors have surpassed every rational expectation, going 35-19 since the trade of Rudy Gay in early December. Its been a season of firsts for a franchise on the cusp of its 20th birthday, a franchise many pundits wrote off for dead after selling off its highest-paid player. "Everybody who writes something on a piece of paper isnt always right, thats how I look at it," said DeRozan, the first-time All-Star. Hes right. He and his team have proven a lot of people wrong. As the Celtics made their run, cutting their deficit - once 14 - down and ultimately taking the lead, DeRozan came through yet again. With Kyle Lowry slowed by an ankle injury he sustained in the first half, DeRozan picked him up and scored 24 of his game-high 30 points in the final 24 minutes. 16 of his 27 career 30-point games have come this season. With 10 games remaining and their spot in the pos-tseason locked up, the team can shift its attention to seeding but most importantly, going into the playoffs healthy and with momentum. "We cant be satisfied," Casey repeated, with his team moving into soul possession of the third seed following the Chicago Bulls loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. "We still want to continue on and weve still got to get better." Lowrys injury scare With three minutes to go in the second quarter, Lowry limped to the locker room after turning his right ankle while back-pedaling to get back on defence. After being examined by the medical staff, the Raptor point guard and most important player was able to return, starting the second half with his ankle taped up. As per usual, Lowry shrugged off whatever pain he was in after the win. "Im a little sore, but Im fine," he said after scoring nine points in 33 minutes. "Im okay. Good to go." Revenge of the second unit Naturally, Casey was frustrated with his under-performing bench after they were outscored 51-7 in Boston on Wednesday. "I challenged them before the game," said the Raptors coach. "I got on them about their productivity or lack thereof in the Boston game. I challenged them. I said, Look, guys want playing time, when the opportunity comes, youve got to do something, whether its defence, knocking somebody down, taking a charge, whatever. And they came through." Greivis Vasquez, who scored all seven of the benchs points on Wednesday, led the teams reserves with 15, but Chuck Hayes and John Salmons were also productive on both ends of the floor. Combined, the three former Kings - along with Tyler Hansbrough, who logged five minutes - totalled 28 points on the night. Patterson nearing a return Although he missed his 12th straight game, Patrick Patterson has been making progress and appears to be on the verge of returning from his right elbow injury. Although the Raptors havent had much practice time to get Patterson back up to speed - a concern Casey expressed before Fridays game - the Raptors forward has been able to participate in smaller, three-on-three scrimmages since being cleared for contact earlier this week. "[His] conditioning is probably going to be step behind a little bit," Casey acknowledged. "Its not going to be where he was before stepping away, so thats going to be expected. Thats why now we need to kind of get him back in rhythm and with the lack of practice time its going to have to be in a game situation." Patterson could be back in uniform this weekend in Florida, as the Raptors begin a back-to-back set with the Magic on Sunday before visiting the Heat Monday evening. The stat With their 41st win of the season, the Raptors secured a .500 record for the sixth time in franchise history and first since 2007-08, the last year they qualified for the playoffs. The quote "My grandmother called," Johnson told the media after his team clinched a spot in the playoffs. "She said that she was proud." Air Max 90 Pas Cher Chine . Scotlands Greg Laidlaw made one of two penalty kicks and all three conversions, and Stuart Hogg added a try in the second half. "The most important thing to come out of the game is that we did not get scored against," Laidlaw said. Nike Tn Requin Pas Cher . The third-ranked Lewis, a three-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour, had a 9-under 135 total at Emirates Golf Course in the Ladies European Tours season-ending tournament. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/basket-a...720-outlet.html. Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, TSN Radio 690 in Montreal, TSN Radio 1260 in Edmonton and TEAM 1410 on Friday at 3pm et/Noon pt. Air Max 200 Promo Homme . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Air Max Plus Noir Pas Cher .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters.PITTSBURGH -- The New York Islanders up-and-down, fast-paced tempo always seem to bring out the worst defensively in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fortunately, for the Penguins, captain Sidney Crosby was there, helping his team prevent a second home collapse in four weeks against the upstart Islanders. Crosby scored with 1:16 remaining on Friday to give the Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Islanders during a game that saw New York rally from a pair of two two-goal deficits for the second time in two games against Pittsburgh. "We had the lead, so they started taking chances, and we kind of got sucked into playing that style of game," Crosby said. "Instead of managing the puck, we were taking chances and throwing the puck everywhere, and when you play that game, whoever scores the last goal is going to win." Thats exactly what happened and Crosby provided the late game-winner. Crosbys 12th goal of the season was also the 250th of his career, and the Penguins captain also had an assist. Chris Kunitz had two goals and an assist, Evgeni Malkin added a goal and two assists, and James Neal had two assists. Malkins goal ended his career-high 15-game scoring drought. Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff, playing for the first time since Nov. 2, stopped 32 shots in his fourth NHL start. "We had a lot of chances, but that wasnt our best game," Crosby said. "We probably couldve put it away early, but they hung around." Thomas Vanek scored twice for the Islanders in his first game after missing five with an upper-body injury. Vanek has three goals and two assists with New York since being acquired from Buffalo last month. Colin McDonald also got his second of the season for New York. Kevin Poulin made 30 saves for the Islanders. He started his sixth straight game in place of injured starter Evgeni Nabokov, who is out with a groin injury. The two teams combined for six goals through two periods, but things settled down in the third. With less than 90 seconds left, Kunitz got the puck to Pascal Dupuis behind the net, and he centred it to Crosby, who got the tiebreaker for the Penguins. "It was kind of a patient third period from both teams, and there wasnt much going on," Crosby said. "A lot different from the first two periods." The Penguins won their third straight and fourth win in five games to rebound from a three-game skid. Pittsburgh also won its third straight at home -- and fifth time in six games at Consol Energy Center, where the Penguins are 10-3 while having allowed just 24 goals. Pittsburgh, tops in the Metropolitan Division, thumped rival Washington 4-0 on Wednesday night and gained a measure of revenge from a heartbreaking loss to the Islanders four weeks earlier. However, it wasnt easy for the Penguins, who werent nearly as disciplined defensively on Friday. The Islanders, tied for last in the Metropolitan Division entering Friday, lost for the seventh time in nine games, but the matchup with the division-leading Penguins brought out thhe best in New York, as it has done recently.dddddddddddd Pittsburgh, which survived a six-game playoff series against the underdog Islanders last season, held third-period leads of 2-1 and 3-2 four weeks ago before New York rallied, scoring three times in the final 7:14 for a 4-3 victory. The Islanders nearly did it again, coming back from early deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 before Crosbys heroics. "We were flirting with danger and we realized that in the third," Crosby said. Malkin has been productive with 14 assists in 15 games -- 12 coming in nine November games -- but had no goals to show for it. He previously scored Oct. 17 during a 4-1 win at Philadelphia and it showed as emotion poured from Malkin, who aggressively pumped his fist and slammed his stick against the end boards after beating Poulin midway through the second period. "Its a good moment for him to get the goal," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "Hes played some really good hockey and has done some really good things. To see the puck dribble over the line was a great moment for him." New York committed three penalties in the first 7:42 of the game, and Kunitz made the Islanders pay, staking the Penguins to a 2-0 lead with two power-play goals in 7:55. Crosby and Malkins slick tic-tac-toe passing sequence set up Kunitzs first goal 4:04 into the game. Kunitz scored his second less than four minutes later, blowing a slap shot past Poulin after taking a pass off the rush from Neal. Kunitz thought he had the natural hat trick with 1:10 left in the first period, but a high-sticking call on Malkin before the puck went in negated the goal. That allowed Vanek to trim the Penguins lead to a goal 1:46 into the second period. Malkin helped the Penguins regain the two-goal advantage less than 5 minutes later. Malkin initially passed to an open Neal on the left wing but he dished it back to the Penguins superstar, who slid a shot underneath Poulin with a defender draped on his back. Malkins goal gave the Penguins life as Pittsburgh buzzed the Islanders zone looking for more. The Islanders weathered the storm, tying the game a little more than 5 minutes later with two goals in less than 2 minutes. McDonald started the comeback, beating Zatkoff with a wrist shot to the blocker side off the rush. Vanek scored his second of the game soon after, finding a loose puck during a scrum in front after the Islanders capitalized on a Penguins turnover. "I think in the second period we had opportunities, but it was up-and-down opportunities," Bylsma said. "At that point, we were not in a game we wanted to play regardless of the score." NOTES: Penguins F Beau Bennett left the game with an injury and will be re-evaluated. ... Islanders D Andrew MacDonald and C Frans Nielsen will also be re-evaluated Saturday. ... The Penguins and Islanders meet in two weeks at the Nassau Coliseum. ... Both teams are in action Saturday, Pittsburgh visiting Montreal, while the Islanders continue a three-game road swing at Philadelphia. ' ' '