BROOKLYN - With just over four minutes to go in the third quarter, Amir Johnson sat on the bench, wincing in pain as he watched the game and, in effect, his teams season slip away. That seemed like an appropriate time to get a head start on the Raptors playoff obituary. Their first-half onslaught had evaporated, the 17-point lead was no more and Johnson, like Kyle Lowry, was battling foul trouble and a myriad of ailments. At that point the momentum, if you believe in such things, belonged to the hosting Brooklyn Nets. This upstart Raptors team had been in similar situations throughout the season - fighting for their lives, backs up against the wall - but, tied going into the fourth quarter of a critical Game 4, this would be their biggest and most revealing test yet. They had a new audience, a brighter spotlight, a bigger stage and 12 minutes to prove something that they themselves already knew. "Everybody has something on their body that definitely hurts," said Johnson, who injured his knee in a failed attempt to draw a charge on the Nets Paul Pierce, "but we keep playing, we keep fighting. Its not the time to hold back now. Weve got to keep going." The Raptors held Brooklyn without a field goal for the final six minutes, without a point for the last five and in doing so they showed more character than they had at any point in this series. "Thats just us, man," DeMar DeRozan said after scoring a team-high 24 points in the Raptors scrappy 87-79 win on Sunday, tying their best-of-seven opening round series up at 2-2. "Were definitely resilient, were not going to give up until the games over. Were going to fight through." Just as things were at their most bleak - Lowry had picked up his fifth foul and Johnson, still on the bench, was also saddled with five - the Raptors got serious. Slightly out of character, DeRozan drew a charge, then he took another. Was that a first? "Nah, I dont think so," the all-star guard said with a smirk on his face as Lowry, sitting next to him, chuckled. "I hope its not." Then Lowry, throwing caution to the wind, reached in and poked the ball away from Pierce. Johnson followed suit and in a familiar scene - one that earned him his fifth foul and a sore knee earlier - stepped in to take the charge. Both Lowry and Johnson were one foul away from spending the rest of the game watching from the sidelines, one hit to the knee away from spending the rest of the night on the trainers table. Neither player seemed willing to allow his team to lose. "Theyre fighters," said Jonas Valanciunas. "Theyre soldiers. They go on the court anyway. So its good when you have those types of guys on your team." Everyone is dealing with bumps and bruises to some degree at this point in the season. Who wasnt limping out there tonight, Valanciunas was asked. "Julyan Stone," the young centre said with a smile. But there was Lowry, limping up and down the court between possessions, lying next to the bench to stay loose when he wasnt in the game. He had tweaked his reoccurring right knee injury early in Game 3, on top of all the nicks hes accumulated over a long season, but he gutted it out again. Where would his team be without him? "We would have probably got in a fight if I tried to take him out of the game," coach Dwane Casey joked. "Hes dealing with a lot right now and he came through with flying colours. He fought through foul trouble, a little bit of adversity throughout the game and still came through.” Lowry scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half and once again, with the game on the line, his team resembled their point guard, their leader, their best player. "I am not surprised at all that Kyle was limping around, hes a warrior, hes everything to this team," said Chuck Hayes. "The guy gives it his all, we just feed off of him. Then we tease him about it after, hes going to have probably every ice bag in here on his body." "We dont give up man, were some fighters," Hayes continued. "We play like the underdog, we were the underdog probably all year, including this series. I dont know, we just go out there and play for each other." Go ahead, underestimate them, disrespect them and count them out. They feed off it. If respect is earned in the postseason, perhaps the Raptors are starting to turn heads. "We understand that this is a group thats not going to back down, thats not going to give up," Pierce said after the game. "Theyve earned a lot of peoples respect around the league. Just because you dont have a lot of playoff experience doesnt mean youre not a good team. You can learn on the fly." Theyve done just that, now its a whole new ball game. The Raptors will return to Toronto and their raucous crowd at the Air Canada Centre after reclaiming home-court advantage for what has become a best-of-three set, beginning with Wednesdays Game 5. Have they played their best basketball? "No," Lowry and DeRozan answered in unison, but there is a growing sense of belief in the room coinciding with an ambiance of nervousness that spread throughout Barclays Center as Toronto hit back on Sunday. The Raptors may not be in over their heads after all. "Were on a mission," Casey said. "Were not just here trying to win a game. We want to make sure we stay poised, stay focused on our business. Thats what weve been about all year." Nike Air Max 270 React Triple Black . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday. Nike Air Max 270 React Cheap . He did one better Sunday by holing out a pitching wedge from 142 yards for eagle, capping a remarkable 28 on the back nine to win The Championship at Laguna National. http://www.max270cheap.com/air-max-270-white-sale.html.com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have finalized their agreed-upon trade that sends former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins to the West Coast for a pair of minor league pitching prospects. Nike Air Max 270 Sale Outlet . - Skiing far more aggressively than in her season debut a day earlier, Lindsey Vonn was in provisional 10th place after the first 45 skiers in a World Cup downhill on Saturday. Air Max 270 React Bauhaus AT6174-002 . Louis Blues brought in the premier unrestricted free agent centre, and did it without breaking the bank.With emotions over Saturdays tentative five-year collective bargaining agreement between the CFL and the Players Association running high, the union has decided to act in an attempt to cool any tension. Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. One source emphasized the purpose of the executives trips wasnt to convince players to vote for the tentative CBA, but for executives to "show face" with players in the hopes of, "bridging a gap in communication." On Saturday, the Players Associations team representatives held a conference call to measure the emotions of players across the league. "Personally, I think the right move is to ratify [the tentative deal]," Hamilton Tiger-Cats representative Peter Dyakowski said Monday when asked how anxious he was for a ratification vote. "However, Ive seen a lot of people disagree with that." The ultimate goal of the executives outreach, whether explicitly stated or not, is to secure a majority "Yes" vote in ratification, which is set to take place in the coming days. TSN has learned that the Players Association is trying to expedite the process of obtaining a physical copy of the tentative deal in the next couple of days to pass it along to its members, who can then read it over and ask any questions to clarify concerns. Right now, legal counsel for both the league and the players are reviewing and solidifying language in the potential agreement. The earliest the players hope to hold a ratification vote is Wednesday, and the union would require six of the leagues nine teams voting in favour - with players on each team voting 50 per cent-plus-one to ratify the agreement - for the tentative CBA to pass. All players, rookies included, will be allowed to cast a ballot. TSN has also learned that prominent CFL agents are encouraging their clients to accept the tentative CBA. "But a vote to reject the tentative CBA is not a vote to strike," a player with knowledge of the ratification process told TSN. Strike ballots from all nine CFL teams have been counted already, with a majority of players across the CFL voting in favour of a strike. If the tentative CBA is rejected, the union wwill notify the CFL and attempt to reopen negotiations with the league.dddddddddddd "I think if we look at this deal through the lens of what some teams are making, and what our new TV deal is bringing in, and what we see the future holding for us, it doesnt seem like a fair deal, or a just deal," Dyakowski said. "But if you look at it compared to our last two CBAs, in a vacuum, and look at the numbers we have made huge strides." In the last year of the CFLs previous CBA, the salary cap was set at $4.4 million and the minimum salary was set at $45,000. In the first year of the tentative CBA, the salary cap would be set at $5 million and increase annually by $50,000, with minimum salaries rising to $50,000. Also included are the elimination of the team option year in non-rookie contracts, and a ratification bonus of $7,500 for veterans and $1,500 for rookies. The CFLPA will reportedly control the disbursement of the bonus, and set a veteran scale that could potentially award players whove played six-plus years in the league $12,000. "We have made huge improvements; we have won on a lot of football-related issues, a lot of player safety issues," added Dyakowski. "There are a lot of good things in this deal being realistic, being pragmatic. I believe this is a good deal, without any bloodshed." According to reports, Roughriders union representative Brendon LaBatte feels Saskatchewans locker room will vote to ratify the tentative agreement. But LaBatte knows of vets in the room willing to sit out the season and miss pay checks because they feel the possible deal isnt good enough. And again, there was vexation over social media, as one player in particular took to Twitter to voice his disapproval of the union executives team visits. "Just wasting more of our Union Dues...Aint nobody in Saskatchewan wanna see them, hope they bring their own security," tweeted Ricky Foley of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The defensive lineman tweeted later, "I am voting YES to accept the deal & NOT strike...cause weve been backed in2 a corner & I have no confidence in our execs or legal counsel." Although he knows how his locker room feels, Dyakowski isnt sure how players across the league will vote when its time for them to cast their ballots. "I feel in my gut that [the tentative CBA] will be ratified in Hamilton," the offensive lineman said. "Thats all I can say." ' ' '