Dwane Casey has clinched head coaching duties for Team LeBron during the 2018 All-Star GAme.

Casey has never coached an All-Star squad before.

The Raptors and Casey earned the All-Star coaching nod with a 33-15 record, second best in the Eastern Conference.

Boston's Brad Stevens coached the team last season.

Dwane Casey wants the Toronto Raptors to make a push for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

“He wants us to embrace chasing after that top seed and that’s what we have to do,” said Kyle Lowry. “As a group, as a team we want to embrace it and go after it and we’re focused on being a better team. I think that’s one thing that coach really wants for us, is to be focused on that and to continue to reach for that goal.”

It is unusual for Casey to publicly state a team goal.

“It’s always a target to try and get to the top and beat who is in front of us,” said Casey. “That’s what we should be playing for and working every day to get better for and not be satisfied with anything, whether it’s pick-and-roll defence, offensive execution, points, numbers. Whatever it is, whatever the individual goals and accomplishments are, we can’t be satisfied because there are a lot of areas where we can get better.

“[But the No. 1 seed] is important. One is the pride goal, to be the conference champion is a goal you should always aspire for, to get to the top, to get home-court advantage, to be the No. 1 team in the conference. You still have to win no matter if you’re one, two or three [seed], but that’s our goal, we want to put the pressure on ourselves to try and get there and chase Boston, to catch Boston and if we get there to hold it.”

Serge Ibaka and James Johnson were ejected from Tuesday's game following a physical exchange in which they each threw a punch.

Johnson's appeared to throw a punch at Ibaka's jaw, while Ibaka's punch was at Johnson's chest.

“It was a physical moment. We were both trying to be physical. We overdid it,” Ibaka told The Athletic after the game. “In the moment, sometimes you cannot control (your emotions). But I did the best I could to not really punch him in the face, to not really throw a punch. Because the moment (we shoved each other) it was too late, I got ejected. I did my best to not to punch, to not throw a punch in the face. I tried the best I can. I’ve been there before. It can cost you two, three games suspension. I tried my best I could to avoid that.

“I hope the league can see I did that I didn’t punch him in the face and I didn’t deserve a suspension.”

James Johnson vs. Serge Ibaka, Winner: Draw! pic.twitter.com/YO7wLMXJ9E

— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) January 10, 2018

DeMar DeRozan and Stephen Curry have been named the NBA's Players of the Week.

DeRozan averaged an NBA-high 35.7 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds during three games last week. He shot .557 (34-for-61) from the field, .550 (11-for-20) from three-point range and .933 (28-for-30) at the free throw line.

During the week, Curry averaged 35.3 points (2nd in the NBA) on 53.3 percent shooting from the field (32-of-60) and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc (18-of-39), 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.66 steals in 33.7 minutes per contest.

The Raptors continue to be one of the NBA's best success stories this season. Dwane Casey was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December following an 11-3 record.

The Raptors have one of the deepest teams in the league.

“Guys understand their roles, they’re filling their roles,” Casey said before the game. “We've got a lot of guys who are similar talents but different skill sets. We can use them at different junctures of the game and that’s good to have. … A lot of (similarly talented) players, different skill sets.”

One element the Raptors use that is unique is effectively playing a pair of backup point guards on the floor together in Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet.

“You’ve got to give credit to the coaching staff to say it doesn’t have to be either/or,” VanVleet said.

“We’ve seen it since training camp, them two going out there playing together and the dynamic that they bring, the toughness that they bring,” added DeMar DeRozan. “It shows. We love it. We’ve got to come up with a nickname. I’m gonna come up with a nickname for Delon and Freddy, for sure.”

“It’s great. Fred brings you one element of toughness, physicality, I thought he was a good matchup the other night and then there’s nights when Delon comes in, his creativity with the basketball, his passing out of situations brings another,” Casey said. “At the end of the day, you still got to be a scorer. We’ve had some games where it’s been what, 14, 13, 16 (points) whatever in the fourth quarter. We still have to be able to score when the game is on the line.”

The Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey and the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Casey guided the Raptors to an Eastern Conference-best 11-3 record during December, including a 6-0 mark at Air Canada Centre where the Raptors have tied a franchise record with 12 straight victories. Toronto outscored opponents by 8.6 points per game during December, good for second in the NBA behind the Warriors (9.3 ppg). The Raptors logged five December wins in which they scored at least 100 points while holding their opponent under the century mark. Six of Toronto’s top 11 players in terms of minutes played per game have three or fewer years of NBA experience.

Kerr led the Warriors to an NBA-best 13-2 record in December, despite being without Stephen Curry for 11 games due to a sprained ankle. It was the highest winning percentage (.877) for December in franchise history. In addition to leading in point differential, Golden State paced the NBA in field goal percentage (50.9), assists (30.9 apg), blocks (8.3 bpg) and opponents field goal percentage (42.5). The Warriors’ current seven-game road winning streak is tied for the fourth longest in franchise history and their 14 road wins are tied with the Boston Celtics for most in the league.

Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month were Chicago’s Fred Hoiberg, Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue, Houston’s Mike D’Antoni, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Minnesota’s Tom Thibodeau, Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Washington’s Scott Brooks.