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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - Aiming to shake-up his team's game day routine following a pair of tough losses, Dwane Casey brought back an old custom they had ditched a couple months ago.

The Raptors had not held a morning shoot around at home since Nov. 11, when they were off to a 7-1 start early in the campaign, opting for pre-game walk-throughs instead.

"Let's change the mojo, change the energy," Casey said, explaining the early workout as they prepared for a nationally televised date with the Clippers. "We did more on the court today than we did yesterday, trying to save some energy, use some energy, try to be efficient with our time. We got some good work in this morning."

Even an early start to the day couldn't spark the lifeless Raptors out of the gate; neither could the bright lights of ESPN. Toronto trailed by 20 before the late-arriving fans could get comfortable in their seats. People were booing, players were pouting, the ship was sinking.

Then, almost as quickly as the game became un-winnable, the alarm went off. The Raptors were back, and with a vengeance.

"I loved the way we bounced back," Casey said after Toronto's 123-107 comeback win over the Clippers. "[I] loved the fight, the tenacity we had defensively against one of the top scoring teams in the league. I liked the way the guys responded."

The same team that shot just 35 per cent in the opening frame, incapable of executing a single cohesive play on offence, went 13-for-20 in the second. By the time the third quarter began, they were in complete control, never looking back. Jonas Valanciunas hit a hook shot to tie the game for the first time since both teams were scoreless. DeMar DeRozan's fadeaway gave them their first lead on the next possession.

When the quarter came to an end, Toronto's advantage had ballooned to 16, its largest to that point - they would lead by as many as 24 in the fourth. Somehow, someway they had discovered that lost mojo and now, everyone was feeling it. Kyle Lowry poured in 13 of his 21 points in the third, DeRozan 11 of his 24, but the turning point on this night - the type of game you have to see to believe - came in that second quarter. The catalysts: a trio of reserves.

Lou Williams, coming off his two worst outings as a Raptors (2-for-23 shooting), gave them life offensively, scoring eight quick points, 12 in the first half. Patrick Patterson sparked them defensively with his energy and toughness, culminating in a strong contest of Blake Griffin at the rim. According to Patterson himself, the play was incorrectly called a foul, but it had a profound impact on a crucial part of the Raptors' comeback.

"That was huge," Casey said of the play. "I just made a point to the team about that because we're teaching that all the time and I've got to look at the tape to see what the call was but that was huge. That's a very legal move. That takes a lot of... cajones to go up and do that and that's what we teach, that's a way we protect the rim."

Then, last but not least, there's James Johnson, who returned from a four-game absence with a hamstring injury after spending most of the last month at the back end of Casey's rotation. The versatile forward made an immediate impact, mostly playing out of position (if you can call it that, given his size) at the four and guarding Griffin.

"He showed it," DeRozan said of Johnson, who scored 16 points in 19 minutes, hitting all seven of his attempts, all from inside two-feet. "He came out and he played amazing. Guarding Blake, being real efficiency, cutting, being in the right places at the right time on the court."

Meanwhile, DeRozan added nine rebounds, eight assists to his 24-point effort - leading the Raptors in all three categories on the same night for the first time in his career.

IN HOT WATER

A lot has been made of Chris Paul's controversial criticism of Lauren Holtkamp, the female official that whistled him for a technical foul in the Clippers' loss to Cleveland Thursday night.

While Paul's comments appeared to be made out of frustration following a tough defeat - they trailed by as many as 32 - and directed specifically at the call itself, eyebrows were raised as a result of who he was criticizing and the nature in which he went about it. Holtkamp, in her first season, is the third woman to referee NBA games full time.

"The tech that I get right there was ridiculous," the all-star point guard had said after the game. "I don't care what nobody says, I don't care what she says; that's terrible. There's no way that can be a tech."

"That's ridiculous. If that's the case, this might not be for her."

As his Clippers prepared to face the Raptors in Toronto less than 24 hours later, Paul addressed a swarm of media in front of his locker, keeping the conversation to a minimum.

"Last night was about a bad call," the 29-year-old repeated in response to all three questions he faces regarding the matter. "That's all."

"Well I didn't like it," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who did not approve of Paul's criticism of the league's officials but came to his defence in terms of how his comments have been interpreted. "I didn't like that part of it but I don't think he meant it in the way I think it's being said, I think he was just upset at the technical. I don't think the technical was warranted either, to be honest, but that's not a gender issue. That's just an issue that you disagree with the tech. It probably should have been left that way. But knowing Chris I think that's what he meant more. I don't think he meant that it was a gender issue at all."

Paul is the head of the National Basketball Players Association, who elected Michele Roberts, a female, as their executive director this summer.

Holtkamp is one of two current female referees in the league, along with Violet Palmer, who has been officiating in the NBA for over 18 years. In that time, Rivers has never witnessed any sexist behaviour directed at the veteran official.

"I don't think it's an issue," he said. "We can all ref, if doesn't matter what sex you are. I think that's how it's been viewed. If you can ref, you can ref. I think you ref with your eyes a lot, I think I hope so. I think the people that do that can be pretty good."

The Clippers were whistled for five techs on Thursday and lead the league in that category.

"Our game's impossible to ref correctly all the time, I believe that 100 per cent," Rivers acknowledged. "It's the toughest game in sports to officiate. The officials have an impossible job. You can call a charge, a block, a foul, so it's just hard. So to me it's got to be more communication, all around. I think the players, the coaches, we all can do better but so can they. I think that's really important. The veteran officials are pretty good at, the younger guys are not. And they need to be, because that defuses the situation more."

"The officials have the most difficult job in the world and we have some of the best officials in the world," added Casey, who was assigned a rare tech after criticizing a call in the Raptors loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday. "Believe me, I've coached overseas and internationally, I know good officials. So we have 'em. It's an emotional game, it's a very physical game, very difficult to officiate no matter what team you are."