They've talked about the urgency of playing with greater defensive intensity.

Even on nights when their shots aren't falling, the Raptors still can defend and last night provided a glimpse of how good they can be when they decide to stop an opponent.

There were possessions where the Raptors left shooters open and didn't rotate quickly enough, but overall their effort was one of the best of the season as Toronto used its defence en route to a convincing 89-77 win over the New Jersey Nets.

Toronto held the Nets, the surprise team in the NBA's Eastern Conference, to 12 second-quarter points and held them virtually scoreless in the game's final five minutes.

Toronto's bench produced, its starters set the tone and coach Lenny Wilkens called some timely timeouts -- when the Nets threw a zone at the Raptors or when New Jersey made an unlikely run.

The Raptors, who ended the Nets' six-game winning streak, improved to 23-17 and are six games over .500 for the first time this season heading into tonight's game in Charlotte against the Hornets.