TORONTO - After taking full advantage of a friendly early-season schedule, the Raptors are set to embark on a daunting six-game road trip, their longest of the campaign and a stretch that should go a long way in determining what theyre really made of. Its been a historic start to the franchises 20th season. Sitting atop the Eastern Conference for a team-record 49 consecutive days, theyll enter the Christmas break with at least 22 wins for the first time in their existence. The caveat, if there is one, has been the degree of difficulty. Its important that we play good teams because its really going to test our character, said Greivis Vasquez following the Raptors 118-108 wire-to-wire win over the Knicks, their sixth straight victory. We havent really faced adversity and everything right now is great, but I think were ready for a couple of premium tests. A third of the way through the season, Toronto has played 17 home games - winning 14 of them - which tops any team in the NBA. Theyve seen the Western Conferences top seven teams just twice - defeating the undermanned Grizzlies and falling to Dallas. At times, the modest level of competition has allowed them to get away with some bad habits, primarily on defence, where their effort has been sporadic. Unexpectedly, Toronto features the leagues second-most efficient offensive attack but theyve fallen to 11th in that same category on the other end of the floor. While their defence tends to pick up in the second half, saving them from slow starts against inferior opponents, they know theyll need to put together more complete outings over the next couple weeks to come up victorious away from the comforts of the Air Canada Centre. Its going to be a challenge, Vasquez said. Were looking forward to this challenge. Anytime you go to the West, its not easy but I think were good enough to come out with a couple of wins and do our job. Weve got to remain humble and hungry and continue to work. Im ready for it, Dwane Casey insisted. We should be ready because weve been preaching it. Everyones all excited but reality is real and we have to be ready for adversity, whenever it hits. You go into it with positive vibes, ready to kick some behind but when adversity hits thats when you find out how close we are and how we have to stick together. The trip begins with a visit to Chicago - their only Eastern Conference stop - in the second game of a back-to-back Monday. Theyll have three days off for Christmas before heading out West, where theyll face the Clippers, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, Warriors and Suns as the ACC hosts the world junior hockey championship. Torontos opponents during their most recent six-game winning streak entered Sundays games with a combined record of 43-123 (.259). The six teams theyll face on this coming road trip are 106-55 (.658), while the Raptors have an all-time record of 42-80 (.344) in the buildings theyll be visiting. Tomorrow will be a game that lets us know where we are in the league, Casey said of Mondays match-up with the Bulls, a team that defeated Toronto 100-93 last month. Were one of the top teams, we are in that group but tomorrow night we have to show where we fit in that sphere. As a team, their first challenge came in the form of an injury to DeMar DeRozan. In 12 games without their leading point producer, the Raptors have held together, winning nine of those contests as their nightly scoring average - almost exactly the same as it was before the all-star guard sustained his injury - remains elite. Without a timetable for DeRozans return, the Raptors will hit the road and its unlikely theyll have him back in uniform before their return home in early January. This trip wont determine their fate. In the grand-scheme of things, the six-game stretch accounts for roughly seven per cent of their regular season schedule. Its not make or break, but it should be a healthy barometer for a team with high aspirations in the spring. Its always about ourselves, Vasquez said. We dont want to prove anything to anybody. This is a family right here in this locker room. Hopefully we do well. Ive got all the confidence in the world that we can do better and that were going to continue to get better. We cant be satisfied because weve got a 22-6 record. We want more. Good teams win the games they should - the Raptors are an impressive 15-2 against losing clubs this season. But great teams are the ones that can compete with the rest of the leagues elite. What are they made of? Well find out soon enough. FIELDS SITS OUT The Raptors were without newly-minted starter Landry Fields, who was sidelined as a precaution having sustaining a head injury in Fridays win over Detroit. Fields needed eight stitches to close up a gash on the back, right-side of his head after a scary fall knocked him out of the game. He remained sprawled out on the court, surrounded by his teammates, coaches and the medical staff for several minutes, as a pool of blood collected underneath his head, before being helped up and to the locker room. Although the forward passed initial concussion tests that night, he failed a secondary examination ahead of Sundays contest. Fields had said he blacked out for a moment after hitting his head on the court but seems to have dodged a bullet. He was lucid in the locker room post-game, walking around and conversing with teammates. Hes alert, looks good, looks as ugly as hes always looked, Casey joked. But those tests are intricate so its something that you have to go through, which is great. Its the right thing to do to make sure [hes okay]. The fifth-year vet had been a pleasant surprise, starting six straight games in the absence of DeRozan, logging over 20 minutes in each of the five before his injury - his longest streak as a Raptor. James Johnson replaced him in the starting lineup Sunday, matching up with Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. Although Johnson picked up two quick fouls, limiting him in the first quarter, he did an admirable job on Anthony in 24 minutes of action. The Raptors - primarily Johnson and Terrence Ross - held Anthony to 28 points on 26 shots. Cheap Air Max 200 Uk . According to the Red Wings Twitter feed, Zetterberg plans to practice with the team on Thursday and is aiming for a second round comeback. Air Max 90 Replica Uk .com) - Rajon Rondo turned in a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists as Dallas claimed a 102-98 win over the Lakers on Friday. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/best-max-270-trainers-cheap-uk.html . -- C.J. Wilson parked his car and laughed while signing autographs for faceless fans who handed bats, balls and cards to the pitcher from the other side of a brick wall. Fake Air Max 720 . Joakim Nordstrom and Garret Ross also scored for Chicago and Corey Crawford made 30 saves. Tomas Tatar scored twice for Red Wings (2-3-0), Jonathan Ericsson added a goal and Gustav Nyquist had three assists. Nike Air Max Tn Cheap Uk . Coetzees finish, with six birdies and no bogeys, took him to 19-under 268 overall and past South African compatriots Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters, the overnight co-leaders. Coetzee was flawless on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to clinch his maiden title after 24 top 10 finishes.Auburn Hills, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Greg Monroe racked up 23 points and 18 rebounds and the Detroit Pistons held off the New York Knicks down the stretch for a 98-95 victory, their first of the Stan Van Gundy era. Monroes monster performance and a 20-point effort out of Kentavious Caldwell- Pope got Detroit in the win column after opening Van Gundys first season as head coach with three straight losses. The Pistons dominated the glass, outrebounding the Knicks by a 55-43 margin and recording 19 second-chance points, and went 11-of-23 from 3-point range in addition to playing lockdown defense on Carmelo Anthony for much of the night. Andre Drummond added 13 rebounds and Josh Smith had 10. Smith finished a rough 2-of-17 from the field but shined on the other end, leading an effort that held Anthony without a basket in the first half and a 5-of-21 shooting performance for the game. Anthony got on track late to end with 13 points, and New York cut a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit down to two before ultimately being dealt a second loss in as many nights. Tim Hardaway Jr. paced the Knicks with 20 points while filling the sixth-man role of J.R. Smith, suspended for the game for striking Washingtons Glen Rice Jr. in the groin on Tuesday. Jason Smith contributed 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting for New York, which received 15 points each from Iman Shumpert and Amare Stoudemire. The Pistons built a 49-37 lead at halftime behind their prowess on the boards and Anthonys struggles, then extended the margin to as high as 18 points in the third quarter after Jonas Jerebko buried a triple following a Monroe tip- in to make the score 72-54 with under two minutes left in the period. Detroit remained on cruise control for much of the fourth quarter, owning an 89-74 advantage with less than five minutes left before the Knicks came storming back. Stoudemire scored the first seven points of a 12-2 run capped by Hardaways layup off a turnover that trimmed the lead to 91-86 with 2:08 to go.dddddddddddd. It was a 97-94 game when Hardaway drained a long three with 7.3 seconds to play, and Caldwell-Pope missed twice from the line on the ensuing possession to give New York a chance at a tie. Shumpert was fouled before getting off a shot, however, and made just 1-of-2 from the stripe to bring the Knicks within two. His desperation 3-point try from well beyond half-court was well off the mark at the buzzer, and came after Brandon Jennings hit 1-of-2 foul shots for the final score. An 8-0 run spurred by the bench enabled the Pistons to gain separation early in the second quarter. D.J. Augustin began the surge with five straight points and Jerebko capped it with a long-range triple to put Detroit up 35-24 four minutes into the period. The Pistons were up by as many as 15 in the first half and maintained a double-digit cushion for the majority of the second quarter. Anthonys first basket after nine straight misses, which came just over three minutes into the second half, brought the Knicks within 53-44. However, Detroit countered with a 9-2 flurry that featured one of Caldwell-Popes four makes from long distance and ended on Drummonds putback dunk, which gave the Pistons a commanding 62-46 lead nearing the midway mark of the third quarter. Game Notes Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds in his season debut Saturday against Brooklyn, having served a two-game suspension for a DUI arrest to begin the campaign ... Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni did not return after spraining his right ankle early in the second quarter ... The Pistons entered the game last in the NBA in 3-point percentage (21.9 percent) ... Hardaways father, Tim Sr., currently serves as a Pistons assistant under Van Gundy ... Anthony was coming off an 8-of-23 shooting effort in Tuesdays loss to Washington ... Augustin and Jennings each finished with 12 points. ' ' '