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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - Last time the Raptors were in their own building, they were physically outmatched in an embarrassing defeat to the league-best Golden State Warriors.

Since then, they had dropped a meeting with the NBA-worst Knicks and allowed the offensively-challenged 76ers to shoot 53 per cent in what many have called a hollow victory. If you questioned their toughness at any point during that stretch, you would not have been alone.

"We were kind of soft, too soft," Jonas Valanciunas had said following that 24-point home loss to Golden State on Friday. "We've got to man up and show that we can [hit first]."

With seconds remaining in the third quarter of Wednesday's game against Cleveland - Toronto down eight and LeBron James barreling into the lane, the Raptors' centre sent a message, whether he meant to or not.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him," Valanciunas said of his hard foul on James after his team's 120-112 loss at the Air Canada Centre. "I was just trying to stop him from dunking the ball, protecting the rim. Nothing personal."

"There's two ways that could go. The other puts me on ESPN. Not in a good way."

The Raptors would go on to lose the game, as most expected they would. They were without Kyle Lowry once again, resting an accumulation of bumps and bruises for the third straight contest. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are the Eastern Conference's hottest team, having won 20 of their last 24 games to move into a virtual tie with Toronto and Chicago for second place. They were outplayed by a better team, playing better basketball with the best player in the game, but they were not outclassed. If there's a positive to be taken out of their sixth loss in seven games, it's that.

"I was disappointed we got down 19," Dwane Casey said. "But I was proud of the way our team fought and scrapped. Like I told them, the more we can build on that and the more minutes we can play the way we played, in the desperation mode in the second half [the better]."

Valanciunas' hard foul was not a dirty one. As Tristan Thompson set a screen on DeMar DeRozan, James dribbled into the lane at top speed. Coming over to help, the Raptors' seven-footer wrapped him up and sent him to the floor. While the officials reviewed the play - it would be ruled a flagrant-1 - the sellout crowd, asleep for most of the evening, came to life and stood in support of this display of toughness.

"I definitely don't want him to hurt anybody, I'm not advocating that," Casey clarified post-game. "But you've got to foul guys hard, especially James going to the rim. As strong as he is, if you pitty-pat him, he's going to dunk and get an and-one. It was a hard foul. It was a good foul, a smart foul. Probably should have fouled a few more times when he drove in there."

"I thought it got the building hot," he continued. "We put them on the line. They shot 34 free throws. We shot 17. We might as well get our money's worth if they're going to shoot that many free throws. We've got to play that way. We've got to play physical. We've got to play aggressive."

Valanciunas was a bright spot on the evening, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds on 12-of-17 shooting, even playing rare crucial minutes in the fourth quarter. Lou Williams set a team record for most points in a quarter, scoring 21 of his 26 in the final 12 minutes, while DeRozan strung together a second straight quality outing, chipping in with 25 points.

Rallying around the Valanciunas foul, Toronto opened the final frame on a 19-7 run to take a two-point lead before James did what he does. A facilitator for most of the night - he finished with 14 assists - the four-time MVP scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth.

The game was an important one. With the victory, the Cavs won the season series against Toronto - taking three of four meetings - which will give them the tiebreaker for playoff seeding should it come down to that. For the Raptors, it was just another game, or at least that was the adage that they were peddling ahead of tip-off. Continuing to rest Lowry and ensure his good health for the stretch run and the postseason is, rightly, more important.

As usual, there were no excuses made after the loss. Lowry's absence was not mentioned and neither were the words 'moral victory', or anything resembling it. But the Raptors can build off the fight they showed against one of the league's top clubs. It's something they'll need a lot more of in the coming weeks.