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 Max 90 Essential White . The Stampeders announced the move on Wednesday. Bell spent his first two CFL seasons with the B. Discount Air Max 90 . Called on from the college ranks to replace Andy Reid, Kelly implemented a whole new atmosphere in the City of Brotherly Love and now has the Eagles in the playoffs for the first time since 2010. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/outle...ltra-cheap.html. According to USA Today the Finns have tapped forwards Jarkko Immonen and Sakari Salminen to replace injured forwards Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula at the Sochi Games. Air Max 90 Womens Clearance . - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. Cheap Air Max 90 . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar.Naples, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Julieta Granada fired a first-round, 6-under 66 on Thursday and she holds a 2-shot lead at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Granada, who had a couple strong showings at major championships this season, has not won on the LPGA Tour since taking home the 2006 ADT Championship. It was a fun day today, Granada said. I hit a lot of greens and I had plenty of birdie chances. My stroke was on and I was making lots of putts, so thats fun. Sandra Gal opened up with a 4-under 68 and she is alone in second place at 4- under 68 at Tiburon Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. World No. 2 Stacy Lewis, who narrowly leads world No. 1 Inbee Park in both the season-long Race to the CME Globe and the Player of the Year standings, used a late eagle to jump up the leaderboard and she is tied for third at 3-under 69 with Belen Mozo and Caroline Hedwall. So Yeon Ryu, Marina Alex, Carlota Ciganda, Sarah Jane Smith, Angela Stanford, Haeji Kang and Hee Young Park are all tied for sixth at 2-under 70. Park and 17-year-old Lydia Ko, who is currently third in the Race to the CME Globe, shot 1-under 71s and they are tied for 13th with seven others. Lewis, Park and Ko can take home the CME Globe and $1 million prize with an outright win this week. Defending champion Shanshan Feng carded a 2-under 74 and she is tied for 36th through one round. On a windy day in Naples, Florida, Granada was rather routine coming out of the gate as she began her first round with six straight pars. Then the birdies started to fall and fall fast. A pair of birdies on seven and eight got Granada into red numbers and she finished off the front nine with a par to make the turn at minus-2. Another gain on the par-4 10th got Granada to 3-under and she followed that up with a pair of pars on 11 and 12. Granada drained back-to-back birdies yet again on the par-4 13th and the par-5 14th to jump up to minus-5. The 28-year-old finished strong with three bbirdies on 15, 16 and 18 to go along with a gain on the par-5 17th.dddddddddddd I actually love playing in the wind, said Granada. I do really well at the British Open so I love to control my ball flight in the wind. I take pride in that so every time its windy Im looking forward to it. Gal, beginning her round on the back nine, got off to a hot start with a birdie on No. 10. She slowed down a bit over the next six holes with six straight pars before rolling in an eagle on the par-5 17th. Gal closed out her opening nine with a par on 18, making the turn at minus-3. Gal gave one of those shots back with a bogey on No. 2, but she coasted to the finish. Four straight pars from three preceded two birdies in a three-hole stretch at seven and nine as Gal vaulted up the leaderboard and into sole possession of second place. Lewis was slow at the start, but a strong finish helped put her name near the top. Lewis wrapped eight pars on the front nine around a birdie on the par-5 sixth and she made the turn at 1-under. Lewis began the back nine like she did the front with, five straight pars before rolling in her second gain of the day on No. 15. She gave that shot right back with a bogey on 16, but Lewis found the green in two on the par-5 17th and she rolled in her eagle putt to put her at 3-under. Lewis closed with a par at the last to end there. Hedwall went bogey-free in her round with birdies on six, 11 and 17, while Mozo made birdies on three, six, eight and 10 to go along with a bogey on No. 17. NOTES: A 66 is Granadas lowest opening-round score of the year ... Granada finished tied for fifth at the Womens British Open and tied for sixth at the LPGA Championship ... While Lewis, Park and Ko can take home the CME Globe with a win, Michelle Wie, Ryu, Feng, Anna Nordqvist, Chella Choi and Karrie Webb can also win it with a victory and some help ... Lewis leads Park for Player of the Year honors by three points. ' ' '