The season may be over, but Amir Johnson remains one of Toronto’s great ambassadors. Check him out below at a recent Blue Jays game where he threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Be sure to follow Amir on his official Instagram account for more great photos.

TORONTO (CP) — The Toronto Raptors prefer to think of this as a beginning rather than an ending.

To be continued next season.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points as the Raptors beat the playoff-bound Boston Celtics 114-90 in their season finale Wednesday.

The victory capped a roller-coaster season that saw Toronto stagger out to a horrible 4-19 start but win the seventh of its last eight games to finish 34-48.

“(The strong finish) gives guys some momentum going in (to the off-season), feel good about themselves, understanding why we’re telling them to work on ...

The Raptors are anxious to see what they can achieve with Rudy Gay playing a full season.

Four and 19.

No matter how you look at, the Raptors disappointing 34-48 season turned on the club’s first 23 games and their inability to win more than four of them.

But there are other numbers as well.

Start with 18-17. That’s the club’s record since they acquired Rudy Gay on January 30.

How about 19.5 points and 6.4 rebounds a game. Those are Gay’s numbers as a Raptor.

There are more. Amir Johnson’s career best 10 points ...

Game Notes | NBA.com Preview | Last Game: Raptors 113 Hawks 96

NOTE: Tonight’s start time against the Celtics is at 8 PM ET (Sportsnet ONE, FAN590).

ATLANTA (CP) — The Atlanta Hawks want to be well-rested for the playoffs.

They certainly didn’t use up any energy Tuesday night.

DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Rudy Gay added 22 and the Toronto Raptors ran all over the playoff-bound Hawks, 113-96.

The Raptors made two-thirds of their shots in the first half, sprinting to a 68-51 lead as DeRozan scored 19 points and Gay chipped in with 17. Atlanta went mostly with backups, showing no sense of urgency to claim the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

“I’m going to err on ...

Game Notes | NBA.com Preview | Last Game: Nets 87 Raptors 93

NOTE: Tonight’s game against the Hawks has been changed to an 8 PM ET start and will air on TNT in addition to TSN2.

TORONTO (CP) — Two games from the end of their NBA season, the Toronto Raptors prefer to see themselves as a work in progress, with every game being a chance to improve for next season.

DeMar DeRozan poured in 36 points _ one point shy of his career high _ and Rudy Gay added 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Raptors beat Brooklyn 93-87 on Sunday, playing spoiler in the Nets’ fight for a favourable post-season position.

“Obviously it means nothing for the standings or our record next year. It’s just ...

I sat down with Dwane Casey to reflect on his second season as head coach of the Raptors before the Nets visit ACC (3:30 PM ET, TSN, AM 610 CKTB)

TORONTO (CP) — With little left on the line for the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors, coach Dwane Casey has been preaching to his players about being competitive.

He liked what he saw Friday.

With 5:33 left in the third quarter, a frustrated Chicago Bulls guard Richard Hamilton threw a hard forearm that caught DeMar DeRozan under the chin and promptly got Hamilton ejected from the game _ a 97-88 Raptors victory.

“I liked that, the officials made the call but I liked that of our guys. No back-down,” Casey said. “That’s what we’re trying ...

Amir Johnson sat down with me pre-game before the Raptors host the Bulls at ACC (7 PM, TSN2, AM 610 CKTB).