-In a good test of "how far have we come," the Toronto Raptors dropped a 114 to 107 decision this afternoon to the Boston Celtics. Even without Kevin Garnett, the C's came out focussed and raced to a 10 point lead, and Toronto just couldn't get over the hump.
-The Raps managed to get within four with a couple minutes left, but were unable to convert on key offensive possessions, nor were they able to get the stops they needed, and in the end, the Raps winning streak was snapped.
-For Boston, the damage came mostly from two sources, Rajon Rondo and Rasheed Wallace. Rondo had his third triple-double of the season with 22 points, 13 assists and 10 boards, while Wallace gave the Raps fits from long-range hitting five of seven 3-pointers and dropping in 29 points and 8 boards.
-Toronto as usual was led by Chris Bosh with 31 points and 13 rebounds, and again he got some great help from Andrea Bargnani who had 23 and 5. Jarrett Jack came on late in the game and finished with 15 while Marco Belinelli also gave the team some nice minutes finishing with 14 points.
-While he had a team-high nine assists, Hedo Turkoglu was the goat again this afternoon though five points in 32 minutes of action. On an afternoon when the Celtics' wings, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, combined for 32 points, Hedo's five along with DeMar DeRozan's seven were simply inexcusable, and the key difference in a game that actually saw Toronto outscore Boston on the break and in the paint.
-Neither team was great defensively, and while Toronto managed to get Boston under more control late in the game, it was too little too late. The Dinos just didn't make Boston work hard enough for their shots through most of this one and it showed in the final score.
-The good news is, the Raps did show some fight and hopefully they can quickly put this one behind them to focus on the upcoming games against Indiana and New York. Toronto simply isn't on the Boston level right now but that doesn't mean that they can get back above .500 over the coming week to keep gelling as a group.