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TORONTO -- An injury to Spencer Abbott in the second period forced Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott to move Brandon Kozun to the top line. The promotion paid off as Kozun picked up the insurance maker and the Marlies defeated the reigning Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins 4-1 on Friday, "It was nice that we could slot him right up there and that was a huge goal because Grand Rapids was coming late," said Spott. "That seemed to quiet them a little bit because the fire power, the ability to turn over pucks in transition, theyre going to come at you hard and that was a big goal by Brandon. "I know he needed it personally, its good for his confidence and it was a timely goal for our team." Kozun restored Torontos two-goal lead at 12:05 of the third period, beating Mrazek stick-side for his 13th of the season. The goal was Kozuns third and seventh point in eight games since he was acquired from the Manchester Monarchs. "Well when (injuries) happen, everyones got to step up their game, play together as a team, I think this team has been doing it all year and youve got to play as a team to beat a team like that," said Kozun. "Theyre obviously the reigning champions and everyone came to play tonight and it was a good one. T.J. Brennan, Josh Leivo and Jerry DAmigo had the other goals for the Marlies, who won for the third time in four games. The win moves Toronto (28-15-4) two points back of the second-place Griffins (29-15-4) in the AHLs Western Conference. Landon Ferraro replied for Grand Rapids, which has just one win in the last five games. Grand Rapids out-shot Toronto 34-12 in the final 40 minutes, but could not get another one past Drew MacIntyre, who made 41 saves for his league-leading 21st win of the season. Petr Mrazek made 23 saves for the Griffins. "Youre playing the reigning Calder Cup champions and you know theyre going to come, youre up two goals, you lose arguably your best forward in Spencer Abbott and a great shutdown player in Tyler Biggs so there is absolutely nothing left in the tank," said Spott. "We have to go easy (Saturday) and weve got to find a way to, with our tank almost on E, to get another 60 minutes out of these guys on Sunday. Theres not a lot left." Brennan opened the scoring with his 20th goal of the season on the power play at 1:17 of the second period, beating Mrazek with a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle. With the goal, Brennan became the first defenceman to score 20 goals in a single season since Johnny Boychuck did it with the Providence Bruins in the 2008-2009 season. The Marlies added to their lead at 4:01 of the period when Leivo stepped out of the corner and beat Mrazek from the slot for his 10th. Ferraro pulled the Griffins to within one as he one-timed a Jeff Hoggan pass past MacIntyre at 8:20 of the second period DAmigo added an empty netter for his 10th of the season with 1:09 remaining. In addition to Abbott, who left the game with a lower body injury, the Marlies also lost forward Biggs. Spott said he would have a better idea on the condition of both players Saturday. Toronto was already without forward Sam Carrick, who sustained an upper body injury in Wednesdays shootout win over the San Antonio Rampage. Cheap Air Max . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. Cheap Nike Shoes China .J. Fair didnt have many chances to be the main option for Syracuse last season. http://www.chinaairmaxcheap.com/ . The visitors missed a host of good chances to win the game, and were left to rue substitute Ivo Ilicevics strike against the crossbar in the 86th minute, when he only had the goalkeeper to beat. Wholesale Air Max .com) - Its fair to call Mike McCarthy one of the best coaches in the NFL but its also more than objective to point out that the veteran mentor bookended the Green Bay Packers season with two, truly awful game plans in Seattle. PHILADELPHIA -- The Toronto Raptors are under .500 and on top of the Atlantic Division. More games like this one and theyll get that winning record. DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and Rudy Gay had 18 to help Toronto beat the Philadelphia 76ers 108-98 on Wednesday night. In a down year so far in the Atlantic Division, the Raptors (5-7) wrested away first place from the Sixers (5-8). "Its a great accomplishment to be in that position," guard Kyle Lowry said. "But we still have to keep it up. We have to take all the good from it, learn from it and grow." DeRozan and Gay dominated the Sixers in the second half to turn this one into a rout. Gay hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the third quarter, and DeRozan scored 30 points through the first three quarters to build a 16-point lead. The Raptors may not have a winning record, but they have themselves in first place. "Were nowhere near where we need to be," coach Dwane Casey said. "Well take it, but its early. Weve got to continue to work and stay hungry." The Raptors can ask Philadelphia how easy it is to lose the top spot. The Sixers were the surprise first-place team in the division thanks to 3-0 start, featuring wins over Miami and Chicago. But reality has set in for a team that was expected to rank among the worst in the NBA. Spencer Hawes hit his first nine shots and finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers. Philadelphias fourth straight loss came on the heels of an 0-3 road trip. The Sixers started Daniel Orton and James Anderson, and a bench made up of Hollis Thompson, Brandon Davies and Lavoy Allen is one of the weakest in the league. "Teams go on losing streaks, it happens sometimes," Allen said. "Everyone needs to fill a role and get back to what we were doing earlier." Led by DeRozan, the Raptors pulled away to a 55-48 halftime lead. He hit three 3s in the half and scored 22 points, putting him on pace to top his career high of 37..dddddddddddd He didnt slow down in the second half as much as it was his teammates simply taking turns dominating the ball. "Thats how weve got to play, get everybody involved, everybody going," DeRozan said. Against a woeful defence, the Raptors shot 12 of 21 on 3-pointers through three. Terrence Ross, who had 17 points, and Steve Novak ended the quarter with consecutive 3s to close a 15-5 run. The Raptors finished with a season-high 14 -- already the eighth time the 76ers have allowed 13 or more. Hawes was the only Sixers player who at least was able to make this one a game. He hit his first five free throws and his first three 3-pointers to keep it close. Hawes finally missed a free throw in the third, only to have Allen put it back for a bucket that cut it to 76-70. The Raptors wouldnt let the lead dip below six points the rest of the way. DeRozan was fouled on a 3-point attempt late in the fourth and hit all three free throws to make it 107-92 in front of an almost empty arena. The Raptors were just the latest team to put up big points against the Sixers, who have allowed 100-plus points in 11 of 13 games this season. Michael Carter-Williams returned to Philadelphias starting lineup after missing the previous four games with a bruised left arch. He scored 10 points. Evan Turner had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Starting forward Thaddeus Young missed the game for personal reasons. "When you dont have Thaddeus, do you go big ball, do you go small ball?" coach Brett Brown said. "When you play that type of judgment game, it gets harder to manage those periods." NOTES: Lowry, a Philadelphia native who played at Villanova, had most of the team over for a family dinner Tuesday night. He had 13 points and 10 assists. ... The 76ers waived F Kwame Brown and G Darrius Morris. They signed free-agent guards Elliot Williams and Lorenzo Brown. ... Brett Brown was whistled for a technical. ... The Raptors had a season-high nine blocked shots. ' ' '