and four assists in a game since Larry Bird

BOSTON - Depending on whom you ask, it was only a matter of time before the suddenly scorching Toronto Raptors experienced a setback, even a negligible one. Conditioned to be skeptical following years of false hope, the teams loyal albeit exasperated fan base - or at least a segment of it - has been weary of the dreaded letdown game. "Its the first stinker weve had," coach Dwane Casey said after his much-improved team was stunned by the lowly Celtics, falling 88-83 in Boston, a city in which the Raptors have gone winless over the last six years. It was bound to happen eventually. The Raptors had been remarkably consistent in potential trap games, winning 10 of their last 11 contests against teams with losing records. Still, no one truly believed they would run the table with more than half the season left to be played, no one outside the locker room that is. "No," Kyle Lowry said straight-faced when asked if he saw it coming. "We dont expect to have any letdowns." Its just one game, one night, one of 82. In and of itself, the loss – however disappointing – shouldnt be a cause for concern. Even the best of the best get caught taking their foot off the gas but that doesnt provide solace to a team thats learning to demand more of themselves. "They out-worked us tonight, which is rare for us," Lowry said, his team giving up 19 offensive boards to the Celtics, who had lost nine straight coming into the contest. "It sucks but weve got to learn from this. Everyones pissed off right now, guys are mad and we should be." The Raptors came out flat and could never quite find the groove theyve been playing with for the better part of the last month. It was their most disheartening loss since a Dec. 18 overtime defeat at home to Charlotte and their worst effort since the Spurs ran them out of their own building eight days before that. Leading the division, Toronto owned the best record in the Eastern Conference since its early-December trade. On the other end of the spectrum, the Celtics were quickly sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic, jettisoning their assists-leader to the West Coast hours before hosting the red-hot Raptors on Wednesday. Missing Jordan Crawford, who was traded to Golden State earlier in the afternoon, and Rajon Rondo - expected to return from injury on Friday - the Celtics caught Toronto napping. The Raptors should, but probably wouldnt, appreciate the irony. Undermanned just hours after the Rudy Gay deal was consummated, the Raptors upset the heavily favoured Lakers in Los Angeles just over a month ago. Sometimes youre the windshield, on Wednesday they were the bug. "It started on the boards," Casey said, as the Raptors were out-rebounded 20-7 in the third quarter, when the game began to slip away. "I was disappointed in our rebounding, we just got whipped in every way in the paint." Forward Jared Sullinger grabbed eight of his 20 boards in the third, en route to a career performance. The Celtics sophomore became the first player in the franchises rich history to record at least 25 points, 20 rebounds and four assists in a game since Larry Bird accomplished that feat in 1987. Needless to say, Casey was not thrilled. "None of our bigs did a mans job on the boards tonight (and) thats the ball game," he said. "Anytime you give up that many (second-chance) points, you can point to any big." Jonas Valanciunas had a rough night on both ends of the floor, shooting just 1-of-7 in 23 minutes of action. Amir Johnson was held under 26 minutes, having to leave the game early in the third after tweaking his left ankle. "They played harder than us," Johnson admitted. "We definitely should have come out and won this game." Johnson said the injury did not occur on a specific play, instead it just started to feel sore, similar to what he felt before undergoing surgery on the same ankle in 2011. "It was weird," said Johnson, who was able to return to the game in the fourth quarter after getting treatment in the locker room. "Once I got the tape on it, it felt fine, but it was weird." Johnsons brief absence was costly, Patrick Patterson who had been playing at a high level was underwhelming and Tyler Hansbrough - sitting out his seventh straight, also with a sprained left ankle - was missed. For the first time in over a month Steve Novak was asked to log meaningful minutes as Toronto played catch-up in the fourth. Although the Raptors knocked down 11 threes on 24 attempts from beyond the arch - their fourth straight game with 11 or more treys - both teams shot under 40 per cent from the field. While Boston connected on 26 of their 36 attempts from the line, the Raptors missed a devastating 13 free throws (on 25 attempts), including several down the stretch. Down by as many as 18 in the second half, the Raptors managed to fight back and cut their deficit to three with under a minute remaining. Missed free throws and poor late-game execution was their undoing. "We have to use this as a reminder," said DeMar DeRozan, who led the Raptors with 23 points. "It doesnt matter who we are playing. If its a team we are better than, whatever, teams are still going to go out there and play hard. Boston didnt give up at all. They kept the pressure going on us. They played hard tonight." Custom Carolina Panthers Jerseys . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Sam Mills Jersey . Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball. http://www.officialcarolinapantherspro.com/Ryan-kalil-panthers-jersey/ . Stevenson scored the first three goals of the game in the first period for Regina (35-22-6), which has won eight of its last 10 games. Patrick DAmico added two for the Pats, Braden Christoffer had a single and Morgan Klimchuk chipped in a goal and four assists. DJ Moore Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. Christian McCaffrey Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. LOS ANGELES -- Don Mattingly will be back as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers next season with a new three-year contract that takes him through 2016, quieting speculation that his future with the club was somehow in doubt. A person familiar with the agreement, speaking on condition of anonymity because no statements were authorized, said Mattingly is getting a raise from the $1.4 million he made last year. By comparison, Yankees manager Joe Girardi, entering his seventh season in New York, is starting a $16 million, four-year agreement after completing a $9 million, three-year deal. Mattingly had sought the stability of a multiyear deal. "I just want guys to know the organization has confidence in you is important to me as a manager," he said by phone from his off-season home in Evansville, Ind. Mattingly has a 260-225 record in his first three seasons with the Dodgers, who reached the NL championship series this year, automatically triggering an extension of his contract that was set to expire at the end of last season. He was runner-up for NL Manager of the Year last season. Last winter, the Dodgers declined to exercise Mattinglys option for 2014, a move he believed portrayed him as a lame-duck in the clubhouse. In an awkward October news conference after the Dodgers were eliminated by St. Louis in the playoffs, Mattingly said the organization put him in a difficult position by not exercising the option. The front office didnt clarify his status for 2014 that day, which frustrated Mattingly. "I knew my contract had vested. I thought that at least that would have been said that day," he said. "It kind of got left open and thats what got me going a little bit. If I had to do all over again, I would have preferred it to be in-house. I wish I had kept it inside and dealt with it face-to-face with those guys." The next day, the team didnt pick up the contract option of coach Trey Hillman, who was Mattinglys right-hand man on the bench.dddddddddddd. Shortly thereafter, Mattingly spoke with majority owner Mark Walter and team president Stan Kasten, who let him know they wanted him back. "I was comfortable with where it was going to go," Mattingly said. "I knew at that point wed get something done." General manager Ned Colletti said the deal was mostly done three weeks ago, but the club waited until after a flurry of off-season signings and the holidays ended to announce it. "Its well-deserved," he said. "The traits of the man are really work ethic and making sure he can be as successful as he can be and not leaving anything per chance. Thats one of the main reasons I hired him three years ago." Mattingly began his career with the Dodgers in 2008 as a hitting coach under Joe Torre, who mentored Mattingly and endorsed him as a successor after Torre retired. NOTES: Colletti has talked to the representative of star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and he said his camp is in a feeling-out process with all 30 MLB teams. The 30-day window to sign the 25-year-old Japanese right-hander ends on Jan. 24. ... The team has talked to the agent of NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who is eligible for free agency after next season. "Its our desire to sign him here for a very long time," Colletti said. ... CF Matt Kemp is out of the walking boot that was on his sprained left ankle at the end of last season, and hes starting to hit. The Dodgers expect him to be ready by the middle of spring training. ... Colletti would like to sign another infielder to give the team more versatility. ... INF Dee Gordon is playing winter ball in Puerto Rico. ... Pitchers Chad Billingsley and Scott Elbert wont return until midseason after recovering from Tommy John surgery. Cheap Barcelona Jerseys Cheap Real Madrid Jerseys Authentic Cheap Bayern Munich Jerseys Cheap Dortmund Jerseys Cheap USA Jerseys Cheap USWNT Jerseys France Soccer Jerseys Soccer Mexico Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Cheap Belgium Soccer Jerseys Brazil Jerseys From China Germany Jerseys From China Authentic Soccer Mexico Jerseys Cheap Portugal Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Spain Jerseys Cheap France Football Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Authentic Cheap Mexico Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Colombia Jerseys Cheap Belgium Football Jerseys Wholesale Argentina Jerseys Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys China cheap uswnt jersey authentic Authentic AC Milan Jerseys Discount Arsenal Jerseys Wholesale A.S. Roma Jerseys Wholesale Atletico Madrid Jerseys Chelsea Jerseys From China Barcelona Jerseys From China Cheap Bayern Munich Jerseys Authentic Borussia Dortmund Jerseys Authentic Inter Milan Jerseys Authentic Juventus Jerseys Cheap Leicester City Jerseys Wholesale Liverpool Jerseys Authentic Manchester City Jerseys Authentic Manchester United Jerseys Cheap Paris Saint-Germain Jerseys Authentic Real Madrid Jerseys Sevilla Jerseys For Sale Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys Outlet ' ' '