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The Toronto Raptors are closing in on a third straight Atlantic Division title, but Kyle Lowry doesn't want to take anything for granted. The Raptors look to show a sense of urgency Tuesday night when they try to sweep the season series from the Milwaukee Bucks. Toronto (44-21) is atop the division by 5 1/2 games over Boston with 17 games left in the regular season. Continue to Article

March 15, 2016 1:30:am EST

(The Sports Xchange) - If Doug McDermott could play the Toronto Raptors every night, he would be an all-star. Chicago's reserve forward torched the Raptors for a second straight game, pouring in a team-high 29 points as the Bulls held on for a 109-107 victory on Monday night at Air Canada Center. "It's something about playing one of the top teams in the East gets you motivated," said McDermott, who had a career-high 30 points when the teams last met in February in Chicago. Continue to Article

March 15, 2016 12:26:am EST

If Doug McDermott could play the Toronto Raptors every night, he would be an all-star. Chicago's reserve forward torched the Raptors for a second straight game, pouring in a team-high 29 points as the Bulls held on for a 109-107 victory on Monday night at Air Canada Centre. "It's something about playing one of the top teams in the East gets you motivated," said McDermott, who had a career-high 30 points when the teams last met in February in Chicago. Continue to Article

March 15, 2016 12:22:am EST

Few NBA fans are as committed to their teams as Drake, the Toronto Raptors' global ambassador and unofficial secondary mascot. The multi-talented musical artist and performer does not only rep the Raps on stage or at major NBA events , but also as a courtside fan doing his part to cheer on the squad. It's pretty cool to see. Play Tourney Pick'em  |  Fill out your bracket   |  Print it   |  Celebrity Challenge A key play late in Monday's home game indicates that Drake is no longer content merely to support the team — he now wants to make a direct impact on the court. With 25 seconds on the clock and the Raptors down 106-103 following split free throws from Kyle Lowry, Bulls wing Justin Holiday attempted to inbound the ball following a 20-second timeout. The stoppage put him right in front of Drake near the Raptors' bench, and he responded by joining Patrick Patterson for a stifling double-team: OK, fine, maybe Drake wasn't directly responsible for a somewhat inexperienced player failing to get the ball in against a motivated defense. But it's easy to imagine why someone would be distracted by a musical superstar muttering in his ear. [ Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr:  The best slams from all of basketball] Maybe Drake even has a future on the bench: One of the better coaching jobs I've seen from the Raps staff. pic.twitter.com/4kqfjBuZmk — Haralabos Voulgaris (@haralabob) March 15, 2016 Unfortunately for Drake, the Raptors did not ride his defensive assist to a victory. DeMar DeRozan scored on the next possession to cut the margin to one point, but the Bulls hit enough free throws to force the hosts into a difficult spot. Toronto got a chance to tie or win late when Jimmy Butler missed the first of two with five seconds on the clock, but he made up for it with an excellent defensive play on DeRozan on the game's last possession: That strip cinched an impressive 109-107 road victory for Chicago, now in a virtual tie with the Detroit Pistons for the last playoff spot in the East. (The Bulls are technically in eighth by percentage points.) Doug McDermott starred off the bench with 29 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field, presumably because his body has sensed the beginning of March Madness. Lowry and DeRozan combined for 60 points in the loss. Drake finished with no points in zero minutes. - - - - - - - Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @FreemanEric Continue to Article

March 14, 2016 11:04:pm EST

Drake takes his job as the Toronto Raptors' global ambassador seriously, and his performance Monday may just have been his biggest contribution to his hometown team yet. The Bulls were up 106-103 with 25.8 seconds to go in the fourth quarter and guard Justin Holiday was all set to inbound the ball in front of Toronto's bench, which is where Drake's courtside seats also happen to be located. In most cases, inbounding the ball is as straightforward as it gets in basketball. Not on Drake's watch, though. The hip-hop star stepped up his trash-talk game, apparently distracting Holiday and forcing the Bulls guard into a five-second violation, returning possession to the Raptors. However, Drake's stellar defence wasn't enough to push the Raptors to victory as Chicago was able to recover from Holiday's mistake hold on for a 109-107 win. At least Dwane Casey and Toronto's coaching staff know they can lean on Drake to come up big if a similar situation arises again. More NBA coverage from Yahoo Canada Sports: - - - - - - - Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports . Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr Continue to Article

March 14, 2016 10:25:pm EST