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TORONTO -- Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey knows his starters can not play the entire game. But after Sundays loss to the Denver Nuggets, he probably wishes they could. The Nuggets reserves came off the bench to outscore their Raptors counterparts 72-16 as Denver pulled away in the fourth quarter for a comfortable 112-98 win before 16,290 fans at Air Canada Centre. "Our bench has got to give us something," Casey told reporters after Toronto (6-10) lost its third straight. "Our guys (starters) cant play for 48 (minutes), so weve got to get production from our bench. "The guys coming in have got to develop a toughness, a resilience of getting stops. And, it starts on the defensive end. In the second half, they shot it well but we didnt make them feel us." The 72 bench points conceded is the worst in Raptors history, exceeding the 69 points surrendered to the Chicago Bulls in a loss on Jan. 25, 2006. Diminutive guard Nate Robinson led the way for Denver (10-6) with 23 points off the bench. The 5-foot-9 veteran hit five three-pointers on the afternoon, including back-to-back shots from beyond the arc with just over two minutes to go, as the Nuggets coasted to their sixth straight win. In addition to Robinsons team-high 23 points, three other Denver players had double-digit point totals off the bench, including Timofey Mozgov with 16, Darrell Arthur with 14 and Jordan Hamilton with 10. Rudy Gay led the way for the Raptors with 23 points. Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Finishing 1-3 on their longest home stand of the season, the Raptors now head out West for the next week, visiting the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. "Personally, Im frustrated. Period," said Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 17 points. "Weve just got to figure it out and turn it around on the road. "Its correctable but we shouldnt have to keep doing the same thing over and over before we realize that we are doing something wrong. We have to understand what were doing out the gate and correct it." Casey shuffled his line-up, inserting Tyler Hansbrough into the starting rotation in place of a struggling Amir Johnson. And, the initial results were positive, as the Raptors came out flying, opening up a 15-point lead eight minutes into the first quarter on the strength of a swarming defence and some deadly accurate field goal shooting. DeRozan hit his first four shots and Lowry sunk his initial two attempts from beyond the three-point arc. But the Nuggets went on a 13-4 run over the final 3:56 of the first quarter to cut the lead to 31-25. Denver led 47-45 at the half and had a 76-72 lead after a see-saw third quarter that featured four lead changes. In addition to lamenting his bench being outplayed, Casey also said the Raptors didnt pass the ball enough. "We had only 18 assists, they had 29," he said. "And, thats where it starts in the offensive end. "We talked about the defensive end but the offensive end, weve got to start trusting the pass." Gay said despite three straight losses, the Raptors are not getting down on themselves. "If we want to win, we have to make the right adjustments," he said. "Lets not get crazy," Gay said when asked if there might need to be some dramatic shake-up with the team. "They hit some tough shots and we made them hit some tough shots. We made them move the ball around, which is our defensive principle. We cant look at ourselves like we are just terrible. "We made some strides today but we can be better." Asics Shoes Australia Cheap .com) - Eric Fehr and Marcus Johansson each registered a pair of goals, as Washington spoiled the head coaching debut of Peter Horachek by picking up a 6-2 victory in Toronto on Wednesday. Asics Shoes Australia Sale .S. President Barack Obama saluted the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks at the White House on Monday -- a rare moment for a president hungry to see more victorious teams from his hometown. http://www.asicsaustraliawholesale.com/ . scored 18 of his career- high 28 points in the first half, as fifth-ranked Ohio State dominated No. Discount Asics Shoes Australia . "This doesnt end anything," he said. "Weve got 10-1 in our last 11 games, and were going home in first place. We just have to keep playing the way we are right now. Asics Wholesale Australia . Louis Blues just continue to roll -- especially against the Nashville Predators. MINNEAPOLIS -- Sometimes the game can shift with one swing. Carlos Beltran took a big cut, sent a fastball soaring into the seats in right field and snapped the foundering New York Yankees out of their funk. Beltrans three-run homer Thursday night lifted Masahiro Tanaka to his majors-leading 12th win and helped the Yankees stop a season-worst five-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. "We have to find a way to score more runs. Theres no doubt about that. We played very poor at home," Beltran said. Zelous Wheeler homered in his big-league debut after nearly eight years in the minors. David Robertson notched his 19th save by striking out the side in a hitless ninth inning, and the Yankees started an 11-game road trip with a sigh-of-relief performance that put their record back at the .500 mark. "It felt great. Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time, and hopefully I can take advantage of it," Wheeler said. Phil Hughes (8-5) was rolling along against his former team, leading 2-0 until Beltran cleared the tall wall in right following consecutive singles to start the fifth. Wheeler went deep two batters later. "Not knowing much about him, in a 3-1 count, Im going to challenge him," Hughes said. "He put a good swing on it." Wheeler had a big smile on his face afterward. "Every time you see a story like that, a guy thats spent a lot of time in the minor leagues and all of a sudden comes to the big leagues and being able to do what he did today, its just special," Beltran said. So was Beltrans big hit, considering the slump the Yankees brought with them on the road. "Those are the type of things we need to be successful in the American League," manager Joe Girardi said. Tanaka (12-3) allowed a season-high four runs. He finished seven innings with nine hits and no walks while striking out a season-low three. "Theyre not going to be perfect every time. Hes been about as consistent as you can be as a starting pitcher. He just wasnt quite as sharp," Girardi said. Through his interpreter, Tanaka said this was one of his worst starts of the season.ddddddddddddThrowing only 85 pitches, at least, allowed the star Japanese rookie to maintain some freshness for the next turn. "Not too much pressure, but I obviously understood where the team was," Tanaka said. With Eduardo Escobar on first after an RBI single in the seventh, Tanaka dodged serious trouble. Sam Fulds screaming line drive went straight to Mark Teixeira, who easily stepped on first base for the double play to preserve the three-run lead. Chris Parmelee drove in a run with a double in the first and Kurt Suzuki and Kendrys Morales had RBI groundouts, but the sputtering Twins missed their opportunities to put bigger numbers on the board like the Yankees did against Hughes. The Twins have lost eight of 10 and fell a season-worst eight games under .500. Wheeler had a single to help spark the three-run rally in the seventh, too, scoring on Brett Gardners single after a one-out RBI double by Brendan Ryan chased Hughes. Derek Jeter drove in a run with a groundout. The Yankees havent been nearly as potent at the plate as they are paid to be, ranking 12th in runs and 10th in homers in the American League. They totalled one run over Tanakas last two starts, both losses, but this was the breakout they needed. "Hes very competitive. Hes in control of the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. NOTES: Beltran passed Lance Berkman for fourth place on the career list for home runs by switch hitters. With 367, hes behind Mickey Mantle (536), Eddie Murray (504) and Chipper Jones (468). ... Parmelee stretched his hitting streak to 13 games. Hes hitting .440 (22 for 50) during the run. ... Yankees assistant GM for pro personnel Billy Eppler interviewed Thursday for San Diegos vacant GM spot. ... The Yankees will send Chase Whitley (3-2, 4.70 ERA) to the mound Friday afternoon for the 10th start of his rookie season, and Kyle Gibson (7-6, 3.77 ERA) will pitch for the Twins. The Yankees are 5-1 in Whitleys six turns on the road. Gibsons 1.54 ERA at home is the best among qualifying AL pitchers. ' ' '