TORONTO -- If the league-leading Indiana Pacers provided the perfect gauge for just how much the Toronto Raptors have improved, the answer was: plenty. DeMar DeRozan poured in 26 points to lead the red-hot Raptors to a resounding 95-82 win over Indiana on Wednesday, handing the Pacers just their sixth loss of the season. "We work extremely hard every day so that we understand that if we go out there and play with the same intensity that we do in practice, when were going at each other, we can beat anybody," DeRozan said. "Thats the mindset that we go in with when we play these opponents." The Raptors victory was their fourth in a row, eighth in their last 10 outings, and ninth in 12 games since the trade that sent Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings. Toronto also snapped Indianas five-game winning streak. Terrence Ross added 18 points for Toronto (15-15), while Kyle Lowry had a season-high 14 assists to go with 13 points, and Jonas Valanciunas scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. "Everybody is playing for each other, nobody has any secret agendas, everybody wants the same goal," Ross said. "Were all on the same page, and thats something were getting better at." Raptors coach Dwane Casey had talked before the game about the chance for his players to test themselves against the best in the league, to see how much theyd improved and how far they still had to go. "We did a good job, the guys battled," Casey said afterward. "We came in hungry and fought for 48 minutes, stayed with the game plan and executed." Roy Hibbert scored 16 for the Pacers (25-6) before fouling out with 3:25 to go, while Paul George added 12 and Danny Granger finished with 11. The Raptors confidence was soaring going into Wednesdays game, and just a night earlier they were down by five heading into the fourth quarter at Chicago before rallying for an 85-79 victory over the Bulls. Theyd shown more fight in the past couple of weeks than in recent memory, and were making a habit of fourth-quarter comebacks. But they didnt need one Wednesday. The Raptors led by as much as nine points against a Pacers team that came into the game with a 9-0 record against Atlantic Division opponents, and fought back from a Pacers rally to lead 66-63 going into the fourth quarter. They found another gear down the stretch. Back-to-back buckets by DeRozan then a steal by Ross that turned into a Lowry basket with 2:54 to play had the crowd on its feet screaming and put Toronto up by 11. Afterward, Pacers guard George Hill said the Raptors "beat us at our own game." "They played better than us tonight," Hill said. "Normally we come out and have a tremendous third and fourth quarter but tonight they hit first." The thrilled Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,271 stood and cheered the Raptors off the floor after the final buzzer. The Raptors won with crisp ball movement, doling out 27 assists on 34 made field goals, against one of the best defensive teams in the league. They were also solid on defence. "It says a lot," DeRozan said on his teams defensive effort. "Were going to go out there and battle with the best of them night in and night out. We dont care who you throw out there in front of us, were understand theyre going to throw a punch, and were going to throw punches back." Lowry led the way in defensive play -- the point guard who tops the team in taking charges took one on Hibberts sixth foul. "You just sacrifice yourself for the benefit of the team. Thats what were all doing out here, sacrificing themselves and their game to be a better team," Lowry said. The players praised the noisy crowd that was on its feet for the final few minutes. "Honestly, it was probably the best crowd Ive seen since opening night of last year," Lowry said. "Thats what we need in this building. We want our fans to have a reason to cheer, and I think were giving them a reason to cheer." The Raptors opened with one of the best all-around quarters of the season, with 10 assists on 11 made field goals. They fell behind by six early but outscored the Pacers 24-8 to the end of the quarter to lead 26-18 heading into the second. A three-pointer by Raptors newcomer Greivis Vasquez gave Toronto a nine-point lead early in the second, but the Pacers parlayed 10 Raptors turnovers into nine points, and Indiana took a 44-40 lead into the dressing room at the break. The Pacers were the ones turning the ball over in the third, with the Raptors scoring 14 points on seven Indiana giveaways. Tyler Hansbrough tied the game with a dunk with 1:08 left in the quarter, then John Salmons drained a three to send the Raptors into the fourth up by three points. NOTES: The Raptors are in Washington on Friday to open a three-game road trip against three tough Eastern Conference teams. Theyll play at Miami on Sunday, then Indiana on Tuesday before returning home to host Detroit on Jan. 8. . . The Pacers beat Toronto 91-84 in Indiana on Nov. 8. Custom Orlando Magic Jerseys . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Evan Fournier Jersey . The Leafs were back on the ice Wednesday following an 10-day break. It apparently wasnt long enough, as Team Canadas 2-1 win over Latvia didnt conclude before the Leafs began practice. "I was thinking we might get a little delay, but it was nice to get out there," said Tyler Bozak of watching Wednesdays game. http://www.magicauthentic.com/ .com) - Charlie Davies netted a pair of goals, including the series-winner on Saturday, as the New England Revolution battled the New York Red Bulls to a 2-2 draw in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Championship at Gillette Stadium and advanced to MLS Cup final via a thrilling 4-3 aggregate victory. Terrence Ross Magic Jersey . Bayern led second-place Leverkusen by 10 points with a game in hand, while Dortmund was another four points off the pace. Freiburg midfielder Felix Klaus scored in the last minute as his side twice came from behind to climb provisionally out of the relegation zone. Nikola Vucevic Magic Jersey . - John Elways philosophy is to address immediate needs in free agency, even though some of his own veterans may prove too pricey to keep around.DALLAS - When Winnipegs Adam Lowry skated in on Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen in the second period, both players were thinking the same thing: The Jets rookie was going to pass the puck.Instead, he whiffed at it.I had my blade open, Lowry said. I was going to try and sauce it to (Mathieu) Perreault back door. But I figured to get the puck on net. Id be lying if I was saying I was trying to shoot five-hole.But thats what happened. The puck eluded defenceman Trevor Daleys block attempt, and went between Lehtonens legs to break a 2-2 tie and the Jets went on to beat the Stars 5-2 Tuesday night.I was cheating on thinking that he was going to pass, Lehtonen said.He had plenty of time to think after the goal at 7:22 of the second period as Dallas coach Lindy Ruff pulled Lehtonen from the game.Lowry came right back at 9:41 of the second to score again, putting a rebound past backup goalie Jussi Rynnas. The two goals doubled Lowrys season total to four.Ruff said, I was hoping Jussi could maybe spark us a little bit.Mathieu Perreault, Blake Wheeler and Michael Frolik also scored for Winnipeg, and Michael Hutchinson stopped 26 shots.Hutchinson improved to 6-1-2 this season, and 8-2-2 in 13 career NHL games.Wheeler and Frolik each had an assist as well, and Dustin Byfuglien assisted on the Jets two first-period goals.Tyler Seguin had his NHL-leading 22nd goal and Antoine Roussel also scored for Dallas.Froliks short-handed goal with 40 seconds remaining in the second period capped the scoring.Lehtonen stopped 14 of the 17 shots he faced, and Rynnas finished with 13 saves on 15 shots as the Stars dropped to 0-7-3 against Central Division opponents.All these games in our division, they will be importaant throughout the year, Jets coach Paul Maurice said.dddddddddddd Theres a lot of points on the line and these are critical games.The Jets are 5-3-1 in division games.The teams exchanged power-play goals in the first period. Perreault scored at 5:23 after Dallas blocked a shot in front of the goal, and the Jets Bryan Little passed across to Perreault in the right faceoff circle with the right side of the net open.The Stars tied it at 9:09 as Seguin took a pass from Jason Spezza sent a shot into the net before Hutchinson could get over in time.Wheeler made it 2-1 with an even-strength goal as he fired a shot from the top of the right circle over Lehtonens right arm and inside the left post.Dallas tied it at 3:29 of the second. From a scramble in front, Roussel hit the puck as he was sprawled on the ice and it popped over other players into the net.NOTES: Lowry had his first multiple-point game. ... Jets LW Evander Kane sat out the first of a two-game suspension for checking-from-behind major and game-misconduct penalties against Anaheims Clayton Stoner. ... It was Winnipegs first of two games on the road, where the Jets are 9-4-3. The Jets play at Colorado Thursday. ... Colton Sceviour, in his first full NHL season, skated for the second straight game on Dallas top line with Seguin and Jamie Benn. ... RW Ales Hemsky was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row. ... The Stars heard boos from the home crowd as they left the ice for the second intermission down 5-2. Dallas had been 4-0-1 in the previous five home games.___(A previous version of this story incorrectly identified one of the teams in the extended headline. The winning team was the Jets, not the Flames.) ' ' '