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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - Like most teams, the Raptors huddle up in the tunnel before taking the court ahead of each game, home or away.

Just as their players-only scrum breaks up, they'll always shout one word in unison. It's usually something like "defence", "team" or "together".

On Friday they all yelled "desperation".

But, as we've come to understand over these past few weeks - a stretch that saw them drop nine of 10 games - it's one thing to say it or chant it, it's another thing altogether to go out and play with it.

For the first time since a decisive win in Atlanta exactly three weeks prior, their first game out of the All-Star break, they played with a sense of urgency. Not just for one quarter or two, but for all four.

"I thought we played as a team," Dwane Casey said following a sorely needed 102-92 victory over the Miami Heat. "Guys worked together. Shots went in, we made shots. That was one good thing, but most importantly, we played as a team on both ends of the floor."

As a team, Toronto recorded 26 assists on 34 field goals, a notable improvement over their recent outings. They weren't perfect, but you can get away with 17 turnovers and 43 per-cent shooting when you move the ball and defend at the level they did on Friday.

"I think we played with a good sense of urgency tonight," said Kyle Lowry, who stuffed the stat sheet, recording 19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and a career-high seven steals in the win. "I think we played off each other very well. I think the ball moved extremely well. I think we did a good job of playing defence and we were able to get out in transition."

The last we saw of Lowry, he was coming off his most visibly frustrating night of the season. He had laced into his teammates during a second-quarter timeout as they trailed San Antonio by 20. The consensus from players and coaches since, is that it was a necessary, albeit rare, public display of emotion. Not just from Lowry, but for a young team with quiet leaders.

Part of being a leader, perhaps the biggest part, is accountability and being able to look inward and correct your own behaviour or performance. On Tuesday, Lowry said he had to be better and on Friday he was.

The point guard's game management was a bit more subtle this time around, but no less important. Since returning from a three-game absence, he had been putting up empty numbers, scoring late in lost contests. On this night, he was nothing short of brilliant - his best game since December.

Lowry was the quintessential floor general - communicating, directing traffic, making the extra pass, which for most of the evening seemed contagious. At one point, during a timeout in the second quarter, Lowry walked over to the coaching staff - huddling on their own before addressing the players - to offer his input.

As DeMar DeRozan put it a day earlier, "different situations call for different approaches," and that was exactly the type of leadership they needed on this night.

Fittingly, it came on an evening the Raptors honoured Charles Oakley, the franchise's most notorious leader. Oak's brand of take-no-prisoners leadership and veteran toughness doesn't exist in today's NBA. At best, it's a dying breed.

"At that point in time, it was needed," DeRozan had said of Lowry's tough love from the San Antonio game. "We never know what will be [needed] next. We might need a hug next and that may help. Whatever it may be."

Can't imagine Oak was handing out hugs back in his day.

"My thing was, I had attitude every night," said the 51-year-old and retired 19-year NBA vet. "No matter who I played, who I went against, what team, you’ve got to have an attitude. You keep an attitude the whole year from day one, people see you on the court, people will take you serious. I don't know what is with the new age of basketball, it’s different than when I played.”

"You don’t have to be strong to play this game no more," he continued. "They just roll you out there like a basketball... The guys don’t love the game. They play the game, but they don’t play with their heart."

Whether you buy Oakley's take on the new NBA, there's no question the league, and its players, have changed. 

As the Raptors embark on the toughest part of the season - both physically and mentally - leading them into the playoffs, they'll need Lowry, their best player, to lead them. Regardless of how simple Oak makes it seem, it's easier said than done, especially at Lowry's position. Knocking when to score and when to facilitate, when to push his teammates and when to back off.

If he and his team can build off Friday's encouraging performance, they could be in fine shape after all.