PHILADELPHIA - For the first time since April of 2007 - the year they won the division - the Raptors sit atop the Atlantic. [ur

PHILADELPHIA - For the first time since April of 2007 - the year they won the division - the Raptors sit atop the Atlantic. Dallas Stars Pro Shop . Of course, this speaks more to the current state of the division - not unlike the only year they won it - than it does to the 5-7 Raptors. Tim Leiweke doesnt need to map out his parade route just yet and Drake, his global ambassador, can hold off on designing the banner. "Its a great position to be in right now, its a feel-good position but at the end of the day it doesnt really matter until its the end of the season," said Kyle Lowry, putting things into perspective after an uplifting 108-98 road victory over Philadelphia. "Its a great position to build off of [but] we still have 70-something games to go and we have to take it day-by-day, game-by-game." Despite a mediocre start to the season and the inconsistencies that have plagued them on both ends, the Raptors find themselves in unfamiliar territory, at the top of the mountain looking down. What they can see from there isnt pretty. For at least three games - their undefeated start to their campaign, including wins over Miami and Chicago - the 76ers were the darlings of the division. Since then they have come back down to earth and are starting to resemble the team many believed would be the worst in the association. They have now dropped four of their last five, showing their age as the youngest team in the NBA in Wednesdays loss to Toronto. Sitting at the bottom of the division are two 3-8 teams from New York expected to reign supreme in the Atlantic this season while a rebuilding Celtics club is sandwiched in the middle. For now, the title means very little but being a division leader at this juncture in the season serves as a reminder; there are other teams, several of them, that are as lost, if not more lost than the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan used the word "opportunity" a couple of times after the game. Thats exactly what this represents. There is an opportunity in the Atlantic, in the East for them assuming theyre interested in it. Assuming they continue to play like they did in Philadelphia on Wednesday, instead of reverting back to the team that dropped consecutive games to Chicago and Portland. "It means a lot," exclaimed Rudy Gay. "Its a step for us. Its an early step but its a step. We have to take these baby steps to get to where we want to get and thats ultimately the playoffs. So weve got to take everything we can get right now." "Its 12 games into the season," cautioned a less enthusiastic Dwane Casey. "Theres a lot of work to do. Its a long season, its going to be a marathon. Were nowhere near where we need to be." For at least one night they looked a lot closer to that team they need to be. For only the third time all season the ball moved consistently for 48 minutes - or something close to it - and the results, like in the blowout wins over Utah and Memphis, were as you would expect. With a renewed commitment to moving the ball, emphasized all week by Casey, the Raptors benefited from a more balanced scoring attack and easier looks at the rim. "We need to make sure we put that in a bottle and bring it back every night," Casey said of the teams ball movement. For the Raptors, 24 assists was a season-best and Gay, three nights after being held without a helper in the loss to Portland, recorded a career-high of eight dimes. "Weve got to do it on a consistent basis and not let the ball stick," said DeRozan, who led all scorers with 33 points on an efficient 10-of-19 shooting. "Weve got a lot of talented players on this team that can do various things. Rudy showed it tonight that he can do it with his passing ability." "Were putting each other in a position to be successful and its working for us," added Lowry, who pitched in with 10 assists of his own. Burned by three-point shooting on Sunday, Toronto was able to get more efficient looks from long distance as a result of improved movement. The Raptors connected on a season-high 14 three-pointers (on 29 attempts) with three players - DeRozan, Lowry and Terrence Ross - knocking down three triples apiece and a couple - Gay and Steve Novak - chipping in with two. For at least 48 hours the Raptors can enjoy the division lead, after all theyve waited seven seasons to reclaim it, but after that its back to business. "Well take it but its early," Casey said. "Weve got to continue to work." DeRozan excels from the corners Coming into camp, DeRozan raved about the work he had put in on his three-point shot during the offseason. 12 games into the season, the fruit of his labour is starting to show. After hitting three of four attempts from beyond the arch Wednesday, DeRozan is now shooting a more than respectable 38 per cent from long distance, which would be a career-high, besting his 28 percent clip from last year. Most impressive is his production from the corners; the most efficient three-point shot available. DeRozan was three of four from the corners against Philadelphia and is now shooting 10-of-16 from that region on the season. "Like they say, its the easiest shot from the three point line," DeRozan said of the corner three. "Analytical, you know, whatever. Its the easiest shot and I just try to get there and knock it down every time I catch it." Overall, the Raptors guard is averaging 29.3 points, shooting 51 per cent from the floor over his last four games. Gays all-around game After hoisting 27 shots and being held without an assist in Sundays loss, Gay made a concerted effort to get his teammates involved early against the 76ers. Gay struggled with his shot - and missed several easy looks around the basket - in the first half, hitting just one of seven field goal attempts but had six rebounds and six assists. In the third quarter Gay awoke from his offensive slumber, scoring 15 of his 18 points and shooting 5-of-7. He finished with eight rebounds and eight assists. Breakout from Ross Ross had one of his better games as a pro on Wednesday, utilizing both his athleticism and outside jumper, even registering a pair of assists. The sophomore was consistently engaged on both ends of the floor in a season-high 17-point, seven-rebound performance off the bench. "I thought he struggled a little bit in the last game and [I] got his attention a little bit when he didnt play in the second half against Portland," Casey said. "He did his job tonight, came out and played, stayed focused on both ends of the floor." Up next The Raptors return to Toronto, where theyll play their next four games, and host the Washington Wizards at the Air Canada Centre Friday. Catch it on TSN2 and listen live on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 7:00pm et. Stitched Stars Jerseys . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard. Stars Jerseys 2020 . LOUIS -- The Tampa Bay Rays have placed right-handed pitcher Joel Peralta on the 15-day disabled list with an undisclosed illness. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ . Klose has a bruised pelvic bone and abdominal muscle problems but team doctors are trying to get him fit in time for the match. Bender has a hamstring injury. Germany is already without half-dozen players, due to injury or bad form.ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Fernando Torres scored a valuable away goal for Chelsea in a 1-1 draw at Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the Premier League side left Istanbul frustrated at its failure to build on its superior start. Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Aurelien Chedjou put the ball past goalkeeper Petr Cech in the 64th after connecting with Wesley Sneijders corner. "I wouldnt want to say thats a great result, we all now know what a strong team they are," Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard told British broadcaster Sky Sports. "So (Im a) little bit disappointed today really at halftime it wasnt more than one nil up. I think we played very well first half, we controlled it. "They didnt have any chances and we have about four or five very good counterattacks, and we didnt make more of them." Unlike Chelsea, Real Madrid is virtually certain of a place in the quarterfinals after Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo each scored a brace in a spectacular 6-1 victory at Schalke in the nights other game. By contrast, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was already bracing for his sides second leg match in west London on March 18. "They have very powerful strikers and we are going to have a difficult time at Stamford Bridge -- thats for sure," Mourinho said. The pre-match build-up centred on the Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba facing the team he won the Champions League with in 2012. But it was another former Premier League regular who played a key role as Chelsea took an early lead -- for the wrong reasons. Former Arsenal defender Emmanuel Eboue was dispossessed too easily inside the Chelsea half, allowing Mourinhos side to launch a counterattack down the left flank. Andre Schurrle fed the advancing defender Azpilicueta, who cut the ball back for the unmarked Torres to side-foot into an openn net. Stars Jerseys China. The hosts were leaving themselves too exposed, and unable to cause Chelsea many problems. The closest they came to levelling before the break was Izet Hajrovic sending a shot over the top. The winger, though, was substituted in the 31st, with Yekta Kurtulus coming on as coach Roberto Mancini responded to the poor start. "The game started and we did three of four mistakes," Mancini said. "Maybe in the first half we played too deep, with fear." But Chelsea would pay for not making the most of its confident start, with Ramires volleying over. Galatasarays defence looked as fragile at the start of the second half. Felipe Melos clearance went straight to Eden Hazard, who ran through the centre and released Torres. Although the striker broke through the defence, his shot was saved by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. "We had too much respect for Chelsea ... we should have played more offensively without problems like in the second," Mancini said. Galatasaray recovered from its shaky start and proved a much tougher opponent after the break. "We had chances to kill the game," Mourinho said. "Im not critical of my strikers because my strikers did a very good game, but overall when we go to counterattack situations we are missing the last pass, the last control, the last choice ... the second goal would have changed the story of the game." It never came. The woodwork did deny Galatasaray. Drogba headed down from Sneijders delivery to Selcuk Inan, who hit the post. But Mancinis side found the target barely a minute later. Sneijder swung in a corner from the left, Chedjou turned the ball in from close range after getting in front of Chelsea captain John Terry. "We probably deserved to score another goal," Mancini said. Indeed, Cech only spared Chelsea from travelling back to London needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit, by tipping over Alex Telles swerving shot after William gave the ball away. "We werent passing it like we was in the first half," Lampard said. "A few things were disappointing. Its one of those results -- you are kind of happy with it, but we have still got a lot of work to do." ' ' '