TORONTO - On the eve of the All-Star starters announcement, just before the leagues coaches begin to fill out their ballots for the reserves, DeMar DeRozan made his case a little bit more compelling. Justin Reid Texans Jersey . A career performance, just when his team needed it most, may be enough to sway a vote or two and send the Raptors fifth-year guard to New Orleans. "Oh man, hes definitely been playing well, All-Star level," said Amir Johnson, shortly after watching his teammate go off for a career-high 40 points in the Raptors come-from-behind win, 93-85 over the Mavericks on Wednesday. "Hes a big reason why weve been so successful." Coming into the game, the Raptors had dropped three of four, all to losing teams missing their best player. The 25-win Mavericks were a different animal, though they too were without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki, and after 12 minutes this had disaster written all over it. "I thought it was going to be a blow out," Dwane Casey admitted, his team down by 19 going into the second quarter, trailing by as many as 21 in the first. DeRozan kept his team afloat in the first half. He scored 12 of their 15 first-quarter points, accounting for four of their five field goals. He was playing well, having the sort of outing that winds up forcing its way into the bottom of a somber game story, a footnote at the end of another horrific defeat. Then he took his game, and most importantly his team, to another level, a ridiculous level. "He got in the flow of the game," Casey said of DeRozan, who scored 15 points in the third quarter, then another nine in the fourth, missing just two shots in the second half. "He was running the pick-and-roll, they started blitzing him, he did a good job of finding [his teammates] and then the ball found him back and that was good. It was a growth on his part from being double teamed but being patient enough to get the ball back and be able to score." The Raptors guard was remarkable coming out of the break, knocking down off balance jumpers, getting to the rim at will but most importantly, he was efficient and he got to the free throw line. DeRozan needed just 22 shots to become the seventh player in franchise history to record 40 points, connecting on nine of 14 attempts from the stripe and knocking down his only three-pointer. He matched his previous career-high - 37, set three times - with a nifty spin and reverse layup, solidifying a new personal best on the subsequent free throw with 3:38 remaining. For him, the accomplishment was gravy. Despite his recent fourth-quarter struggles, DeRozan came through for his team in the clutch. That three-point play broke the tie and gave the Raptors a lead they would go on to hold for the duration of the night. "This loss would have hurt," DeRozan said. "We didnt want to lose three in a row. I just told myself, just try to do as much as I can to win, try to pull this one off and keep my team in it." DeRozan was saddled with more of the offensive burden on Wednesday, as fellow All-Star candidate Kyle Lowry battled a stomach flu that had the Raptors point guard running to the locker room, back and forth throughout the evening. Lowry scored just three points, misfiring on all 10 of his field goal attempts in 35 hard-fought minutes. "Once I [saw] Kyle go back [to the locker room] and he came back, he had his head down and holding his stomach, I could tell he wasnt feeling too well," DeRozan said. "He didnt stop playing," Casey said, crediting Lowry. "He dove on the floor, got his hands on loose balls, he affected the game without scoring." Casey continues to contact his fellow coaches, campaigning for both guards to get the nod and represent the Raptors as reserves in next months All-Star game, set to take place in New Orleans on Feb. 16. The starters for both East and West teams will be announced live on TNT on Thursday and the reserves, to be voted in by the coaches, will be revealed a week later, also on TNT. With representatives from Miami and Indiana expected to monopolize the Eastern Conference roster, its unlikely Toronto will have more than one All-Star. Of the two, DeRozans bid has been gaining some traction, according to league sources. Entering Wednesdays games, DeRozan ranked 12th in the NBA in scoring, fifth in the East and has tallied 20 or more points in nine of 12 contests during the month of January. Returning to Toronto for the second time since last seasons trade, Jose Calderon - beloved Raptors alum - was genuinely proud of Lowry and long-time teammate DeRozan. "Theyre just playing better, they just have that confidence and theyre playing at a very high level every game," Calderon said of the Raptors backcourt duo prior to Wednesdays game. "I really enjoy watching them and its great. Hopefully they get that call and they can be in New Orleans. Its always great to see your [former] teammates being successful and Im really happy for them." Like his first return, as a member of the Pistons last year, Calderon was greeted by a standing ovation during pre-game introductions at the Air Canada Centre. Another former Raptor, Vince Carter, received a mixed reception, which was verging on positive for the first time since his messy divorce with the franchise nearly nine years ago. Thanks to another admirable performance from the Raptors bench, who helped turn things around in the second quarter, and some late-game heroics from the slumping Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, DeRozans career night was not wasted. Greivis Vasquez scored a season-high 17 to go along with seven assists, also picking up the slack for the flu-ridden Lowry. Meanwhile, Casey entrusted both Johnson and Valanciunas with crucial fourth-quarter playing time despite subpar starts, the frontcourt duo combining for 10 points in that final period. The Raptors 21-point comeback victory was their largest of the year, besting last months win in Dallas, where they overcame a 19-point deficit. Toronto sweeps the season series with the Mavs for the second time in franchise history and first since 1996-97, wrapping up the first half of the campaign with a winning record. "Were ahead of schedule," Casey said, assessing his teams progress 41 games in. "Were winning some games in our building and were happy with that." "But were still not a finished product. [We] have a lot of work to do." Tyrann Mathieu Texans Jersey . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec. Houston Texans Jerseys . Observant Muslims avoid food and liquids from dawn to dusk during Ramadan but can, and often do, skip it if travelling or doing hard physical labour. Some devout Muslim athletes choose to fast during training or competition, but it can create selection difficulties for the coaches in team sports. http://www.texansrookiesproshop.com/customized/ . -- The Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten with a scoreless draw at the New England Revolution on Saturday.BARRIE, Ont. -- Nikita Zadorov scored twice and Max Domi had a goal and two assists as the London Knights held on to defeat the host Barrie Colts 5-4 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Michael McCarron and Brett Welychka also scored for the Knights (34-11-5), who extended their win streak to five games. Aaron Ekblad, Andreas Athanasiou, Garrett Hooey and Zach Hall supplied the offence for the Colts (25-20-3), who trailed 5-1 early in the third period. Londons Jake Patterson made 23 saves for the win. Mackenzie Blackwood started in net for Barrie, but was pulled after giving up two goals on the games first three shots. Daniel Gibl stopped 32-of-35 shots in 54 minutes of relief. The Knights went 2 for 7 with the power play while the Colts scored three times on nine chances with the man advantage. --- 67s 4 GENERALS 1 OTTAWA -- Ryan Van Stralen scored three times as the 67s handed Oshawa its third loss in a row. Erik Bradford had a goal and an assist for Ottawa (17-28-4) while Travis Konecny chipped in with two assists. Stephen Desrocher scored the lone goal for the Generals (31-15-4). Philippe Trudeau made 33 saves and earned first star of the game for the 67s. Oshawas Ken Appleby allowed three goals on 14 shots and was replaced by Daniel Altshuller to start the third period. Altshuller stopped all eight shots he faced in relief. --- RANGERS 5 ICEDOGS 4 (SO) ST. CATHARINES, Ont. -- Curtis Meighan scored the winner in the seventh round of the shootout as Kitchener slipped past Niagara. Max Iafrate and Ryan MacInnis each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers (17-30-2) while Justin Bailey and Darby Llewellyn scored the others. Carter Verhaeghe recorded his second-career hat trick for the IceDogs (17-27-7), who dropped their fourth straight game, and Ben Hughes scored once. Matthew Greenfield made 25 saves for Kitchener as Niagaras Blake Richard stopped 31-of-35 shots in defeat. --- GREYHOUNDS 3 WOLVES 0 SUDBURY, Ont. -- Matt Murray made 38 saves and Sergey Tolchinksys goal at 9:28 of the second period stood as the winner as Sault Ste. Marie shutout the Wolves. Darnell Nurse and Tyler Gaudet also scored for the Greyhounds (35-11-5), who won their third straight contest. Sudburys (27-15-8) Franky Palazzese stopped 32-of-34 shots in a losing cause. Both clubs went 0 for 4 on the power play. --- WHALERS 4 BULLS 3 PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Ryan Hartman and Matt Mistele scored power-play goals less than two minuttes apart late in the third period as the Whalers came back to down Belleville. Keke Coutee Texans Jersey. Hartman also scored in the second period for Plymouth (18-27-5), which trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes of play, while Carter Sandlak had a goal and an assist. Alex Nedeljkovic made 42 saves and Zach Lorentz chipped in with three assists for the Whalers, who halted a four-game slide. Jake Marchment, Remi Elie and Jake Bricknell scored for the Bulls (14-32-4) and Charlie Graham stopped 34 shots in defeat. --- STEELHEADS 7 STING 3 SARNIA, Ont. -- Bryson Cianfrone had two goals and two assists as Mississauga toppled the Sting. Artem Rasulov, Stefan LeBlanc and Brett Foy each had a goal and an assist for the Steelheads (20-27-4) while Nick Zottl and Nathan Bastian added single goals. Nickolas Latta, Daniel Nikandrov and Nikolay Goldobin supplied the offence for Sarnia (15-30-6), which dropped its third game in a row. Mississaugas Spencer Martin made 21 saves for the win as Taylor Dupuis gave up seven goals on 36 shots. --- SPITFIRES 3 STORM 1 WINDSOR, Ont. -- Ben Johnson scored the winner at 16:32 of the third period as the Spitfires halted Guelphs nine-game win streak. Sam Povorozniouk and Trevor Murphy also scored for Windsor (31-17-2), which won its sixth straight contest. Steven Trojanovic scored the lone goal for the Storm (38-9-3). Dalen Kuchmey made 26 saves for the Spitfires as Justin Nichols stopped 32-of-34 shots in defeat. --- SPIRIT 4 FRONTENACS 2 SAGINAW, Mich. -- Jake Paterson made 29 saves as the Spirit overcame a two-goal deficit to double up Kingston. Justin Sefton and Kristoff Kontos each had a goal and an assist for Saginaw (25-21-5), which trailed 2-1 heading into the third period, while Dylan Sadowy and Cody Payne added single goals. Spencer Watson registered both goals for the Frontenacs (27-19-4), including his first at 19:59 of the first period to open the scoring. Kingstons Matt Mahalak kicked out 27-of-30 shots in a losing cause. --- ATTACK 2 OTTERS 1 OWEN SOUND, Ont. -- Brandon Hope stopped 50 shots, including all 21 his way in the first period, as the Attack edged Erie. Thomas Schemitsch opened the scoring for Owen Sound (22-21-6) at 19:37 of the opening period and Holden Cook broke a 1-1 tie at 12:26 of the second. Dane Fox scored his league-leading 53rd goal of the Season for the Otters (39-10-2) at 11:03 of the second. Eries Oscar Dansk stopped 23-of-25 shots in a losing cause. 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