"Asked about his recent skid after practice on Thursday, Amir Johnson looked and sounded almost apologetic.

"I have to do it for my teammates," he said.

The personal issues that were contributing to his struggles were in his own words not an excuse.

Whether it was admitting the off-court issues or the one-on-one talk he had with Dwane Casey on Thursday morning, Johnson put that whatever issues were behind him for the 21/2 hours it took to play Friday's game and looked exactly like the Amir Johnson that Raptors fans were starting to get concerned they would never see again.

On Friday night, Johnson was as active as ever at the rim and a big reason the Raps snapped a two-game skid with a 106-89 win over the Washington Wizards.

Well, that and Ed Davis guaranteeing a win at the morning shootaround.

Even without Andrea Bargnani in the lineup, another factor that contributed to Johnson's ineffectiveness over the last couple of weeks, Johnson made himself a factor at both ends of the court.

Offensively he was tipping in misses at the rim and finishing off lobs from Jose Calderon like the two had been doing it all season and not just for those first few weeks."