Konsolen Treiber » out of the tunnel at first.

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." Air Jordan 3 Retro Outlet .com) - Jimmy Butler made four key free throws down the stretch to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Boston Celtics, 109-102, on Friday. Discount Air Jordan 3 Retro . The Toronto Blue Jays general manager made a series of bold moves that reshaped the club ahead of what would turn out to be a disastrous 2013 campaign. http://www.cheapairjordan3retro.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Air Jordan 3 Retro Sale .Y. -- When the New York Islanders lead was cut in half in the opening minute of the third period, the sense of impending doom began wafting through Nassau Coliseum. Blue Air Jordan 3 Retro . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- When Trey Burke took the floor shortly before tip-off, he was the only Utah player to come out of the tunnel at first. Burkes teammates stayed behind, playing a little joke on the rookie point guard by leaving him alone on the court for a few seconds before eventually joining him. "I was mad at the guys, because that was embarrassing, but they do little things like that to me once in a while," Burke said. Burke should have expected a prank like that, because this was his return to Michigan -- and for the most part, it was an enjoyable one. He had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists, leading the Jazz to a 110-89 rout of the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Burke, who was the national player of the year at Michigan last season and led the Wolverines to the Final Four, had plenty of supporters in the crowd at the Palace. He shook off a slow start and outplayed Detroit counterpart Brandon Jennings as the Jazz built a big lead. "That felt good. We had a lot of fun out there," Burke said. "Im not even going to lie. I was nervous at the start, and I had to get my nerves calmed down. My family was here, and all the people who have supported me in Michigan, and I knew this was my only chance to play in front of them this year." Enes Kanter added 18 points for Utah and Marvin Williams scored 17. Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 21, but Detroit looked flat for much of the game after a five-day layoff. "We worked real hard this week, and put a good effort in this week," Detroit centre Andre Drummond said. "To come out like we did tonight, we took a step back." The Pistons had a chance to draft Burke with the No. 8 pick last year, but took Kentavious Caldwell-Pope instead. Burke signed autographs before the game, and when his Utah teammates left him alone on the court, it gave the crowd a chance to give the young point guard a cheer. Burke got another ovation when he was announced with the Utah starters, and the Jazz opened the scoring when he made a clever passs to Derrick Favors for a dunk.dddddddddddd. The crowd at the Palace was announced at 18,528, and there was plenty of maize and blue around. Burke didnt score until the second quarter, when his 3-pointer put the Jazz up 44-37. A steal and a layup by Burke made it 50-42, and there were some boos for the home team when Utah took a 58-45 lead into halftime. The second half didnt start any better for Detroit. The Jazz scored the first eight points of the third quarter and led 66-45 after a dunk by Favours. "It was unexplainable to me," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Maybe the days off affected us in terms of getting up and down the floor." Burke had nine points and five assists in the third, capping the quarter with a driving floater off the glass in the final seconds for an 89-65 lead. "He looked tight early on, and I decided to play him a longer stretch than a shorter one to let him play himself into a rhythm. He was throwing great passes, and that got him into the offence," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "You always root for guys who are playing at home. He wanted to show the fans how much he has developed his game, and he did that." Utahs lead reached 29 in the fourth. Detroits vaunted front line of Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith combined for only 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting. Smith and Monroe made only one field goal each. Detroit passed up a chance to draft Burke, the local favourite, and instead the Pistons addressed the point-guard spot by trading for Jennings, who has impressed at times but been inconsistent. He scored 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting Friday. Burke turned the ball over seven times, but he surpassed his previous career high in assists with a pass to a cutting Jeremy Evans in the fourth quarter for a 98-72 lead. Burke had 11 assists against San Antonio on Wednesday. NOTES: Utah went 9 of 22 from 3-point range and played the Pistons to a 44-all tie in the paint. ... Kyle Singler scored 13 points for the Pistons. Drummond had 10 points and 13 rebounds. 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