Lenny Wilkens had mentioned earlier this month that, if the Raptors were going to snap out of a see-saw funk that saw them lose to Memphis, get past Chicago with a late surge, need overtime to beat Atlanta, then score 72 points in a home-court loss to the Clippers, it would take a greater commitment to defence.

That message obviously did not fall on deaf ears.

Even though it's taken the better part of a month ? if not the entire season ? for the Raptors to show signs of latching on to their coach's defensive schemes and becoming comfortable with playing zone defence at times, it's clear they've finally turned a corner.

"It's hard to say for sure when five guys or even 10 guys are clicking at the same time but, as of late, we've played pretty well on defence," said Keon Clark, who'll start in place of the injured Hakeem Olajuwon at the ACC tonight, when the Raptors put their two-game win streak on the line against Boston (8 p.m., TSN).