TORONTO - Sitting atop the Atlantic for the first time since 2007, the Raptors (5-7) hope to build on their lead in the division when they host the Washington Wizards (4-7) at the Air Canada Centre on Friday. Catch the game on TSN2 and listen live on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 7pm et. The Raptors dethroned Philadelphia in the weak Atlantic Division with their most recent victory, a 108-98 road win Wednesday. After emphasizing ball movement in practice this week, Dwane Caseys team responded with a season-high 24 assists, leading to 14-for-29 shooting from three-point range. Still, Casey believes the offence has a ways to go. "We have been [where we need to be] in one game but we have to get that consistently," Casey said of his teams offence. "Im watching the NBA and a lot of teams are in the same boat, trying to find that identity offensively and were doing the same thing." "I like where we started against Philadelphia, we got to continue that especially against an athletic and defensive-minded team like Washington." After losing four straight, the Wizards have won two in a row but are tied for last place in the loaded Southeast Division with a similar record to Toronto. Washington got off to a quick start against the Cavaliers on Wednesday - a 98-91 win in Cleveland - leading by 18 at halftime and by as many as 27 in the game. Sophomore Bradley Beal paced the Wizards in scoring with 26 points, knocking down six three-pointers. "Theyre a very lethal team with great athletes, a team that can defend and cover a lot of ground," Casey said Friday morning after shootaround. "They can make mistakes and get back in the play defensively." Beal is averaging 26.3 points, shooting 12-for-19 from long distance over Washingtons last three games. He is scoring a team-best 21.2 per game on the season. Trends and Tidbits Kyle Lowry ranks third in the NBA with a 3.95 assists-to-turnover ratio. The Raptors point guard has totalled 34 assists compared to just five turnovers over the last four games. The Raptors have scored 100 or more points in five of the last six games, averaging 103.3, after failing to reach the century mark in each of their first six contests, scoring just 92.3 per. Toronto is 3-2 when scoring over 100 and are 5-3 when holding their opponent below 100 points. Toronto begins a four-game homestand, its longest of the season. The Raptors are 2-3 at the ACC. The Wizards are last in the league in bench scoring, getting just 22.0 points per game from their reserves. The Raptors subs are averaging 24.2 points, the fourth-lowest mark in the NBA. Washington has lost six of the last seven games in Toronto. What to Watch For Slowing down the Wizards Led by the speedy John Wall, the Wizards are one of the quickest and most lethal teams in transition, averaging 19.3 fast-break points per game, good for second in the league. "Our focus has to be [to get] back," Casey said. "Not only the guy guarding [Wall], but we have to have four of his teammates back building a wall." Defending the three Winning the battle behind the arc is important for the Raptors after they were burned by the three-ball in Sundays loss to Portland. Toronto connected on a season-best 14 three-pointers in Philadelphia Wednesday after allowing the Trail Blazers to shoot 15-of-32 from deep three days prior. Beal is third in the NBA, having hit 33 treys to begin the season while the Wizards rank eighth in both three-point shots made and three-point percentage. "Offensively, theyre one of the best corner three-point shooting teams in the league," Casey acknowledged. "So thats something we have to have a focus on going into the game." Washington has shot more corner threes (97) than any team in the league, making the second most (43) from that territory. The Raptors rank 15th, shooting 41 per cent from the corners, where DeMar DeRozan has connected on 10 of his 16 attempts. Who to Watch For DeMar DeRozan DeRozan scored 33 points in Wednesdays win, his third game with 30 or more points this season. The Raptors guard is one of 11 players in the NBA with three or more 30-point games to begin the campaign. The fifth-year guard led the Raptors averaging 22.3 points in four games against the Wizards last year. John Wall Although Wall is shooting just 36 per cent from the field this season, hes recoded 37 assists over the last three games and is averaging a career-best 9.7. "Its humanly impossible to stop Wall in a one-on-one situation coast-to-coast," Casey said, praising the Wizards point guard. "I timed it against Cleveland the other night, against Kyrie Irving, he went from one end to the other in three seconds or a little bit less. Its unbelievable how fast he can go with the ball from coast-to-coast." Injury Report Raptors forward Quincy Acy participated in shootaround Friday morning after missing Wednesdays game with a sprained right ankle. Hell be a game-time decision. Back-up point guard Dwight Buycks has been excused from the team as he attends to a personal/family matter. Casey didnt indicate who, between D.J. Augustin and Julyan Stone, would back-up Lowry with Buycks unavailable Friday. Easton Stick Womens Jersey . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. Kellen Winslow Chargers Jersey . In his first game with Boston University, the 17-year-old Eichel picked up five assists as his Boston University Terriers thumped St. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-lance-alworth-jersey.html . It was the quickest three-goal sequence in Olympic history, with the latter two coming just eight seconds apart. Kessel, Lamoureux and Kendall Coyne all scored twice for the Americans, and Molly Schaus made 10 saves in her Sochi debut. Mike Williams Chargers Jersey . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Melvin Ingram Womens Jersey .com) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark. NEW YORK -- New Yorks once faint, nearly unrealistic playoff hopes have become a real possibility. The Knicks intend to seize the opportunity and run with it. "We know what we want," Carmelo Anthony said. J.R. Smith had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Anthony added 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Knicks beat the city rival Brooklyn Nets 110-81 Wednesday night to move percentage points ahead of Atlanta for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Knicks were 21-40 on March 3 after a seven-game skid and are still just 33-43. But they know that record gets wiped away if they can finish off this turnaround. "We want to get there. Thats the goal," Anthony said. "Despite this emotional season, this up-and-down season, I think it would be a big deal to get in that spot." Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points a game after spraining his right ankle to help the Knicks win for the 12th time in 15 games, dominating a team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference since the new year. New York won its third straight. The Knicks made 24 of 36 shots in taking a 63-38 halftime lead in front of new president Phil Jackson, who wouldnt have much to fix if they looked like this more often. They finished at a season-high 60 per cent and outrebounded Brooklyn 41-23. "Our guys are hungry," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "Normally anybody that comes off the West Coast, when youve been out there for a while, that game coming back is normally a tough game, but our guys came out with energy and came out ready to play." Joe Johnson scored 16 points for the Nets, who had won three straight. A night after clinching a playoff berth by beating Houston, they were out of the game by the opening minutes of the second quarter. "It was very frustrating the way we got blown out," Johnson said. "For whatever reason, we had a few guys fighting and a few guys who wasnt fighting. If were not all on the same page, you get a lopsided score like that." In a game that both clubs need for different reasons, the Knicks were the more desperate team, taking a 2-1 lead in the season series. None of the games has been close, but botth have bigger concerns than city bragging rights, anyway.dddddddddddd The Knicks have almost no margin for error in a final seven-game stretch against playoff-bound opponents. They had no problem with the first one and will face the Nets one more time on April 15 on the second-to-last night of the season. Brooklyn is hoping for home-court advantage in the first round, but fell 2 1/2 games behind Toronto and Chicago for a spot. The Nets led 20-19 late in the first quarter, but Anthony had two baskets, Smith made a 3-pointer and found Hardaway for another at the buzzer as the Knicks scored the final 10 points for a 29-20 lead. Hardaway made another 3 to open the second and Iman Shumpert scored to make it a 15-0 run and give the Knicks a 34-20 advantage. Anthony had the first six points of an 8-0 burst that pushed it to 58-34 with 1:36 remaining in the half, and it was 63-38 at the break. The Nets were angry with the officiating, with Johnson picking up a technical foul at halftime and coach Jason Kidds assistants stepped in front of him as he tried to yell toward the refs. Brooklyn got within 14 with 2 minutes left in the third, but the Knicks, unveiling a small lineup that had Anthony as its centre, stretched their lead to 82-61 heading to the fourth. "They were the better team tonight," Kidd said. "Lose by one, lose by 100, its just a loss. We move on." Knicks guard Raymond Felton went the locker room early in the third quarter with bruised ribs and back after a hard landing while trying to grab an offensive rebound, but was able to return early in the fourth. NOTES: The Nets had won two in a row at Madison Square Garden. ... On World Autism Awareness Day, the Knicks honoured Tarrytown, N.Y., educator Virginia Campbell with this months Sweetwater Clifton "City Spirit" Award for her more than 18 years teaching and helping more than 100 autistic children. The award is named for Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, the first African-American to play for the Knicks. ... Referee Dick Bavetta was honoured before working his 2,633rd consecutive game assignment, an ironman streak even longer than the one compiled by baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. ' ' '