TORONTO - Speaking at an event for season ticket holders before the season began, Masai Ujiri urged Raptors fans - and by extension the team itself - to help make the Air Canada Centre a daunting place for opponents to visit. [url=http://www.nhlpanthersauthority.com/authentic-connor-brickley-panth ers

TORONTO - Speaking at an event for season ticket holders before the season began, Masai Ujiri urged Raptors fans - and by extension the team itself - to help make the Air Canada Centre a daunting place for opponents to visit. Connor Brickley Jersey . "We have to make this place a living hell for [opponents] to come play here," the Raptors general manager pleaded. So far its been anything but. "We have far more focus on the road than we do at home and that is a concern," coach Dwane Casey said after his team dropped to 4-8 at the ACC, losing another heartbreaker, 104-102 to the Bobcats in overtime Wednesday. With a record of 5-6 outside of Toronto, the Raptors are one of three Eastern Conference teams with more wins on the road than at home. Wednesdays loss to the Bobcats, a team theyve had difficulty with in the past, was an especially bitter pill for them to swallow. After coughing up a 16-point lead in the third quarter, the Raptors were able to hold it together long enough to force overtime. In the extra frame, DeMar DeRozan - seemingly exhausted after playing over 40 minutes - split a pair of free throws to tie the game up with one second remaining. A second overtime period seemed imminent. As Josh McRoberts inbounded, Kemba Walker curled off a screen set by Al Jefferson. Freed up for just a moment before Jonas Valanciunas closed out hard on the Bobcats leading scorer, Walker drained the dagger that handed the Raptors yet another unsettling loss in their own building. "It hurts," admitted Kyle Lowry, whose three-pointer sent the game into overtime. "Everyone loses a game [to] a buzzer-beater but youd rather get blown out by 50 than lose on a buzzer-beater." The building went silent as the buzzer sounded, keeping in mind the noise level rarely exceeded a dull roar on the night. Attendance was listed at a generous 15,201 Wednesday evening, shy of the teams 17,774-season average, 12th best in the association according to ESPN.com. Many of those fans - the ones still rooting for this team to win - left shaking their heads, disappointed but not in the least bit surprised. It was awfully quiet for most of the game, but its hard to blame the fans in attendance. They havent been given much to cheer about. "Weve got great fans, great crowd, warm building, hot building so theres no reason why we cant come out with that type of fire and intensity [we have on the road]," Casey said. Offensively, the teams numbers are almost identical at home as they are on the road. The drop off, at least statistically, is on the defensive end where the Raptors are allowing 100.4 points per game, 4.1 more than they surrender away from the ACC. A home-court disadvantage is nothing new. Last season Toronto was one of four teams in the NBA to average more points and shoot a higher field goal percentage on the road than at home. Still, no one can seem to pinpoint whats causing it. "I have no idea, I really cant explain it," said Lowry, who had 17 points and six assists in the loss. "I think weve just got to figure out a way to turn it around." "Weve got to start to use our home court to our advantage and not feel too comfortable or think were going to be able to pull it out in late-game situations," added DeRozan after a 30-point performance. DeRozan, who is fourth in the league in minutes played per contest, appeared to be gassed by the end of the game, going 1-of-4 from the field in overtime and missing a crucial free throw down the stretch. He was quick to dismiss the suggestion of fatigue after the loss. "No I was good, I was good," he insisted. "I could have played four more overtimes if we had to." As a team, the Raptors shot just 3-of-11 in the extra period, missing their first six shots. Valanciunas, who had 10 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes, played most of overtime after sitting out the entire fourth quarter. For Casey, it was a decision made with the match-up in mind. "We were mixing it up, we had to mix it up," Casey said of the teams coverage on Jefferson, the Bobcats crafty and undersized centre. "Jonas did as much as he could with Jefferson. Jefferson is one of the most potent low-post scorers in the league but for [Valanciunas] to learn those are the guys hes going to have to guard." "I thought he fought and battled him and used his height as much as he could and I thought Jonas did a good job on the other end, taking it to him in the paint and scoring on him." Still, Casey maintains that its a give and take with Valanciunas on the floor in these scenarios. Although you have a theoretical advantage offensively with Valanciunas against the smaller Jefferson, its understood that you are giving something up on defence. Is one worth the other? Instead, Casey rotated the more experienced, more versatile trio of Amir Johnson, Tyler Hansbrough and Patrick Patterson in the fourth. For now, the Raptors will have to put their home-court conundrum on hold as they focus on what lies ahead. On Friday theyll begin a challenging four-game road trip in Dallas before visiting Oklahoma City, San Antonio and New York. Cheap NHL Jerseys . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Ian McCoshen Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson said he feels like hes playing the best basketball of his 10-year NBA career. http://www.nhlpanthersauthority.com/customized/ .Y. -- The New York Islanders were merely content with a lopsided victory.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Bass and Jared Sullinger combined for 55 points, Rajon Rondo had 13 assists and the Boston Celtics pulled away for a 101-90 win Wednesday night that kept the Philadelphia 76ers winless. Bass scored 23 off the bench, Sullinger added 22 with nine rebounds and Marcus Thornton had 13 points for the Celtics, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Tony Wroten scored 21 points off the bench to lead the Sixers, who returned home from an 0-4 road trip and fell to 0-11 on the season. Henry Sims added 14 points in the loss, Luc Mbah a Moute and Michael Carter- Williams scored 11 apiece and Nerlens Noel had 10. The Sixers won three of the four meetings between the Atlantic Division rivals last season and were in line to make a run at their first win before Boston pulled away in the second half. The Celtics outshot the Sixers 52.5 percent to 37.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters after the score was tied 46-46 at halftime. The Sixers, who entered play losing by an average of 16.9 points per game, are four losses from matching the 1972-73 team for the worst start in franchise history. Noel said they lost energy in the second half. We didnt communicate as much on defense and they got some open shots, he said. Rondo does a great job running that team. Rondo had six assists in the third quarter, including an alley-oop to Jeff Green for a duunk during a 9-0 Celtics run that turned a two-point deficit into a seven-point lead. Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey. Avery Bradley capped the spurt with a 3-pointer and Boston led by as many as eight before Wrotens 3 pulled the Sixers within 73-68 going into the fourth. Carter-Williams, making his first start of the season, scored seven straight Philadelphia points after Boston built an 11-point lead early in the fourth, but the Sixers never got closer than five in the last 12 minutes. Sullingers 3 and another alley-oop dunk by Green extended Bostons lead to 15 with 1:33 left. We just played faster (in the second half), said Sullinger. Coach challenged us at halftime to play harder, faster, smarter and thats what we did. Mbah a Moutes 3 sparked a 9-0 run in the first quarter that gave the Sixers an eight-point lead. They went up by nine in the second, but Thornton scored five points during a 15-4 Celtics flurry that gave the visitors the lead. Game Notes The Celtics will go from playing the worst team in the NBA to the best when they face the league-leading Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday ... 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