Raptors leave the comforts of home on a high note with sixth straight win

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The Raptors left the comforts of home on Sunday with a sixth straight victory – a pedestrian 118-108 win over the New York Knicks – and set out on a long and intriguing road trip.

The Eastern Conference leaders are now 22-6 and have gone 15-1 in games against opponents with records below .500. They've played 17 games in the cozy confines of home – more than any other team in the NBA – and have enjoyed a 14-3 record in those contests. Now comes a demanding six-game road swing over the next two weeks that will test the team's mettle, including meetings with the Bulls, Clippers, Nuggets, Trailblazers, Suns and the NBA-leading Warriors.

"We should be ready for it, because we've been preaching it," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "When adversity hits, you have to go into it with positive vibes, ready to go kick some behind. We'll find out how close we are and how we can stick together. We're going in with winning on our minds."

Unlike the shaky victory the Raptors had earned over the Knicks a week earlier, Toronto this time held a convincing lead all afternoon. James Johnson started in place of Landry Fields, who failed a secondary concussion test over the weekend, following an awkward fall on his head Friday night in Detroit. Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams led the way for Toronto with 22 points each, Lowry also adding nine assists. Greivis Vasquez added 21 and five helpers, while Terrence Ross had 18, including four three-pointers and a couple of monster dunks.

Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony, who had averaged 32.2 points a game in his past five meetings with the Raptors, scored 28 this time, playing despite suggesting earlier he should sit out for a while to recuperate an injured knee. New York's Samuel Dalembert, a Canadian, was ejected from the game for a flagrant foul on Jonas Valanciunas. Dropping their fifth straight game, the troubled Knicks sank to a dismal 5-25 (.167 win percentage), better than only the Philadelphia 76ers (3-23, .115) in the East. The Raptors were sloppy with rebounding and on defence at times, but their grind-it-out intensity took over.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, as the team held a solid lead, the crowd began their now-customary bellowing chant for rookie Bruno Caboclo. The Raptor faithful not only got one Brazilian youngster, but both, when Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira each came in for the final 1:47.

Challenges will now come fast and furious for the Raptors during the heart of the festive season. On Monday night, they get their second crack at the Chicago Bulls, one of just five teams to beat Toronto this year. Back on Nov. 13, Chicago big man Pau Gasol dominated with his post-ups and dumped in 27 points as the Bulls toppled the Raps 100-93 at the Air Canada Centre.

"This is going to be another test and we need to approach this game a little pissed off because last time they just played better than we did," Vasquez said on Sunday. "Everything right now is great, and we're ready for a good test. I have all the confidence in the world that can still do better, you can't be satisfied with a 22-6 record; we want more. It's always about ourselves. We don't want to prove anything to nobody; this is our family here in this locker room."

The Raptors know they must play better defensively in order to tally wins during this stretch, which won't see them at home again until Jan. 8. The 17-6 Bulls have won their past two and seven of their past ten, residing in fourth place in the East behind the Wizards and Hawks.

"[Chicago] will be a game that lets us know where we are in the league," Casey said. "We're one of the top teams in the league; we're in that group, but [Monday night], we have to show where we fit in that sphere."