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With the likes of Weems, DeRozan and Amir Johnson, though, Toronto has the ability to make stops and sprint, with the added bonus of having guys who can finish at the rim. Jarrett Jack, who had a solid 15-point, seven-assist game, is more adept at running the break than Jose Calderon, who is currently out with a hip injury.

"I get happy," said Weems, whose seven points belied his impact. "I get happy because you know, Jack, he's going to get it to one of us.

"It's an up-tempo game with me, [DeRozan] and Jack running down the court."

It was a Chris Bosh offensive board and reverse lay-up off an Andrea Bargnani miss that sealed it, but on an afternoon when it wasn't clear if either team wanted this game, it was the high-flying duo of Sonny Weems and DeMar DeRozan that was most responsible for turning the tide in the Raptors' favour.

Weems and DeRozan (three years younger) were naturally drawn to each other because of their ages, the fact that both were new to the Raptors and the fact that they both play a similar style.

"Him and Jarrett Jack are probably my two closest friends on the team," DeRozan said.

It's been painful to watch Toronto's hoopsters absorb the blunt-force trauma of brutal beatings at the hands of superior teams – painful, that is, unless you were a former coach named Sam Mitchell, who looked not a bit upset to see his Raptors get throttled by 31 in Atlanta a few weeks back.

..But Toronto has been competent enough when matched with fellow strugglers. After Sunday's 98-92 win over the New Orleans Hornets, they of the 2-11 road record, the Raptors are 9-6 against teams with .500 or worse records.

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Chris Bosh led all scorers with 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as the Toronto Raptors held on for a 98-92 win over the New Orleans Hornets at Air Canada Centre.

"We had shots right there at point blank range that we needed to fall and they didn't," West said about the Hornets missed chances late in the game. "Turkoglu off the screen-and-role on the last couple of possessions burned us."