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TORONTO -- Jonas Valanciunas cherished the chance to think about nothing but basketball Wednesday night. The Raptors sophomore centre cast aside his off-court troubles to score a career-high 26 points and grab 12 rebounds in Torontos 125-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers -- less than three days after he was charged with drunk driving. "It has been a rough couple of days, but I had to find energy to come out and fight. I felt really good fan support -- thank you to them. I felt great, because everybody supported me," said Valanciunas, addressing the media for the first time since his arrest early Monday morning. "I say sorry, and (am) learning to be better. "Its been a really good two-and-a half hours (playing)," he added. Kyle Lowry topped Toronto (46-32) with 29 points in his first game back after missing three with a bruised kneecap. Patrick Patterson finished with 17 in the Raptors fourth straight victory and seventh in eight outings. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points before leaving the game with a minute to play with a nasty gash over his left eye that required three stitches. The swirling trouble surrounding Valanciunas didnt show in his game. He scored the Raptors first points of the night, then grabbed a rebound on the Sixers first shot, and scored on a thunderous dunk on a pass from DeRozan on Torontos next trip down the floor. "I expected it," Lowry said. "He was going to play like trash or he was going to play amazing. And he played amazing like we expected. "Its a tough situation for him to handle, but this is our sanctuary, basketball. We get a chance to be away from everything and basketball is our space, our secret spot. Thats where guys can release a lot of energy and intensity." Henry Sims scored 22 points, Michael Carter-Williams added 19, and Thaddeus Young finished with 16 for the Sixers (17-61). The Raptors are headed for the post-season for the first time in six years, and a victory on Friday versus the visiting New York Knicks will clinch the Atlantic Division. It will also tie their franchise record for wins of 47 -- set in 2000-01 and 2006-07. But the Raptors were coming off a tougher-than-expected 102-98 win over the last-place Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, and the lowly Sixers -- who recently tied the league record for most consecutive defeats with 26 -- gave Toronto a decent game for much of the night. "These are the dog days, teams that dont have anything to play for, our guys see the computer, they see the standings and all the records. But we cant play that way," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I told them weve got to pick our defence up and not have the mental letdown." The Raptors led by only a point midway through the third quarter before taking a 98-89 advantage into the fourth in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,789. "I think for the most part we went out there and played a solid game, (the Raptors) are a good team," Young said. "They are a playoff contending team, third in the East, they have proven it day in and day out. They have a lot of key guys that can make shots and score the basketball." The Sixers trailed by just six points with 2:44 to play after Young drained a 17-foot fadeaway jumper. But Lowry proved once again how valuable he is down the stretch, sinking consecutive baskets to give the Raptors a 10-point lead with 1:52 to play, and the Sixers never threatened again. "Im just happy to be back out there with my teammates, honestly," Lowry said. "When you miss games you feel that you are letting the team down and its great to be back out there with the fellas." There were questions about Valanciunas playing Wednesday in the wake of his arrest, and Casey was asked pre-game about what message that sends. "We sent a message," Casey replied. "We sent a message that we dont condone it, were disappointed in him. By playing him, were not saying were condoning it." Valanciunas was arrested early Monday morning in Wasaga Beach, Ont., and charged with having more than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Police say they began investigating after a report that a vehicle went through a drive-thru with open beer bottles visible. DeRozan was pleased Valanciunas "came up big" against the Sixers. "I hope everybody leaves him alone," DeRozan said. "(His game) just shows you hes not letting everything else affect him, everything thats going on, or the situation that happened. Hes just going out there playing, he did what he did, its over with, he apologized to us, and understands whats at stake." Valanciunass first court appearance is scheduled for Collingwood on April 22. The 21-year-old is not required to attend so a lawyer will stand in for him. He could receive a suspension from the NBA, but that would be pending the results of a trial which would likely be during the off-season. Raptors starting forward Amir Johnson missed his fourth game with an ankle injury. Casey said the hardworking forward, who has long battled bad ankles, isnt 100 per cent, but "hes pretty close." "Probably if he had to go tonight he probably could go, but again, were trying to make sure, trying to get him ready for the next couple of weeks," Casey added. The Raptors led for all but a few seconds of the first quarter, and went up by nine points when Lowry converted a three-point play with 23 seconds left. A three-pointer by Elliot Williams cut Torontos advantage to 34-28 heading into the second. The Raptors continued to build on their lead, and Pattersons three-pointer with just under three minutes to go in the second put Toronto up 62-49. The Raptors went into the dressing room at halftime up 68-60. The Sixers opened the third with a 17-10 run, capped by Andersons three-pointer with 6:23 to go that cut the Raptors lead to just a point. The Raptors finished the quarter with a run of their own to give themselves a nine-point lead with a quarter to go. NOTES: The Raptors host the New York Knicks on Friday, then play the Pistons in Detroit on Sunday. They host Milwaukee on Monday then play their regular-season finale next Wednesday at Detroit. 23:08ET 09-04-14 Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Authentic . Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998. Cheap NCAA Jerseys Online . 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Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Now that Jaromir Jagr has 700 NHL goals in the bank, the future Hockey Hall of Famer is already setting his sights on his next big milestone. There are only six guys who have ever scored more. So yes, this is a significant marker to reach. "Maybe not for Wayne Gretzky, but for the rest of us its a very big number -- 800 is a little bit better than 700," he said. Jagr scored in the second period of the New Jersey Devils 6-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Through bits of laughter, Jagr suggested that 800 goals is attainable, as well as Gretzkys record 894. With tongue firmly in cheek, Jagr said he could get to the first number in two years and Gretzkys mark in four. So far, he has no plans for the special puck that got past goalie Evgeni Nabokov. "I might save the 800th one, but I dont know what I am going to do with the 700th," he said with a smile. Jagrs tally sparked New Jerseys four-goal second period, and Martin Brodeur earned the win in his first start in over a month. Jagr gave the Devils a 2-0 lead early in the second, and Ryane Clowe, Marek Zidlicky, and Mark Fayne followed in rapid succession. The four goals came in a span of 4:36 in the first 8:07 of the second. Adam Henrique opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 5:00 of the first. New Jersey needed only 12 shots to net its first four goals and 16 total to get to five against the beleaguered Nabokov. Clowe and Zidlicky, with a milestone assist from Jagr, also tallied during power plays. "The game went away from us pretty quickly. We deflated after they scored two power-play goals," Nabokov said. "This is part of the business. You got knocked down, but you have to get up again and you have to do the job. "When the penalty kill is good, the goalie makes the saves. Today that wasnt the case." Kyle Okposo cut New Yorks deficit to 3-1 at 6:14 of the second with his team-leading 25th goal, but the Devils quickly answered with two more goals. Anders Nilsson, recalled Saturday from Bridgeport (AHL), made 15 saves in the third period in place of Nabokov, who stopped only 14 shots. Eric Gelinas scored a power-play goal with 38.1 seconds left to make it 6-1. Brodeur, the subject of trade rumours less than a week before the NHL deadline, played for the first time since being pulled from a loss to the New York Rangers on Jan. 26 at Yankee Stadium when he allowed six goals on 21 shots in two periods. Cory Schneider started all seven games since. "I am happy Im back playing. Thats the bottom line," Brodeur said. "I play hockey to play hockey games. Its been a hard month. "I wish every game was like that. It would make it a lot easier on us. I did my job in the first with the chances they had after we scored our goal to keep the game under control. Thhe second and third we just took over.dddddddddddd" Brodeur, who said he did the rare move of tapping his stick to honour Jagrs milestone goal, stopped 10 shots in the first period and 18 overall in earning his 14th win this season and 683rd of his NHL career. "I didnt have a great warmup, so I was kind of really bearing down in the game," Brodeur said. "They got some great chances early on and I was able to make the saves. That makes you feel a little bit good about your game." Brodeur said he had thoughts that this could be his final game with the Devils, the only NHL team for which he has played. He holds the right to refuse any trade. "Its just a little different because my name has been swarming around a little bit," the soon-to-be 42-year-old Brodeur said of trade rumours. "We have a couple of more days to go and we will see what the future will bring for me." The 42-year-old Jagr moved into the elite goal group when he netted his 19th of the season. The Islanders have been Jagrs top target in his 20 NHL seasons. He has 61 goals and 88 assists in 101 career games. "Is it that many? I love this team," Jagr said. "Its my favourite team. Thats a lot of goals. Its almost 10 per cent." Jagr stickhandled from the right wing boards into the slot and then slid a shot along the ice that eluded Nabokov at 3:31 of the second. Jagr was surrounded by his teammates on the ice with him and then skated across the front of the bench, patting gloves along the way. He received a nice ovation from the crowd when his milestone was announced. "Well they knew I scored 61 goals against them," he said with yet another laugh. The Islanders are the only team from the old Patrick Division for which Jagr, a recent Czech Republic Olympian, has never played. This is his first season with New Jersey. Jagr is only eight goals behind Mike Gartner, sixth on the NHL career list. Jagr is seventh in career points with 1,740. Gretzky netted his 700th goal on Long Island on Jan. 3, 1991, while with Los Angeles. Marcel Dionne, then of the Rangers, also reached the mark against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Oct. 31, 1987. Dionne is fourth with 731 goals. Jagr later set up Zidlickys goal that pushed the Devils ahead 4-1. It was Jagrs 1,040th assist, tying him with Dionne for ninth in NHL history. NOTES: Devils captain Bryce Salvador missed the game because of a bruised collarbone. D Anton Volchenkov took his place in the lineup. RW Damien Brunner also sat out because of a charley horse in his left leg. C Jacob Josefson replaced him. ... The Islanders loaned G Kevin Poulin to Bridgeport (AHL). ... Clowe, Henrique and Zidlicky had two-point games. ... New York had killed 21 of 22 penalties over eight games before yielding four power-play goals. ' ' '