A Win from the other side

[RAMANI_R@bentley.edu]

COMING HOME WITH A SICK
FEELING

TURNOVERS TURN STOMACHS AS RAPTORS' EARLY SEASON
AILMENTS CONTINUE

                        By BILL HARRIS -- Toronto Sun
BOSTON -- Dr. Darrell Walker made his diagnosis on Thursday. 
 Asked about his team's mental health, the Raptors' head coach paused, then
said, "A win would
cure a lot." 
 Considering last night's 103-99 loss to the lowly Boston Celtics at the
FleetCenter, the 1-7 Raptors
would have been better off boarding an air ambulance back to Toronto rather
than a plane. 
 The Raptors don't see themselves as one of the worst teams in the NBA, but
right now they're
playing that way. Captain Damon Stoudamire, who got cut above his right eye
last night when he
collided with teammate Shawn Respert, was asked how it's going to feel when the
club finally stops
this five-game losing skid. 
 "It's going to be like finding gold," Stoudamire said. 
 The Raptors will pan the river again tonight against the Indiana Pacers
(SkyDome, 6 p.m.). 
 In some ways, coach Rick Pitino's raw, energetic Celtics -- who last night
improved their record to
3-5 -- provided the Raptors with a mirror image. Too bad it was one of those
goofy carnival
mirrors. 
 "When Walt Williams, Doug Christie and John Wallace combine for 14 turnovers,
we're not going
to win," Raptors head coach Darrell Walker said. "Whenever we took our time and
didn't get
excited, we got a layup." 
 Despite the greasy fingers, Williams led the Raptors in both points (25) and
rebounds (12). Reggie
Slater provided a spark off the bench, scoring 17 points to match Stoudamire. 
 "When we finally win a game, it's going to feel like a load off ... and I
can't say what kind of load,"
Slater said. 
 Top snipers for Boston were Antoine Walker and Chauncey Billups, each with 22.
Both teams
shot 46.8% from the field, with Boston winning the turnover battle 20-19. 
 The FleetCenter crowd of 17,224 became emotionally involved midway through the
third quarter,
when Raptors forward Popeye Jones was called for a flagrant foul on Ron Mercer.
The Celtics
rookie landed face first on the court and lay there for several minutes, dazed
and bleeding from a
laceration above his left eye. 
 "I don't think (Jones) was trying to do it intentionally," Antoine Walker
said. "Ron was going to
dunk the ball and (Jones) just challenged him." 
 As is their right, the Raptors got to choose who they wanted to take the foul
shots. They chose
wisely, too, as Andrew DeClercq missed both. 
 That caused Pitino to almost have a baby. "That's the worst rule in the NBA,"
he screamed to
anyone who would listen. 
 Celts forward Bruce Bowen was rolling on the court just a couple of minutes
later, again with Jones
in the middle of it. The two got tangled and Jones landed on the sprawling
Bowen, who suffered a
nasal fracture. 
 Despite suddenly being short-handed, the revived Celtics had forged ahead by
five points with a
quarter to play. By no means did they close it out with grace and poise,
although they never trailed
in the fourth. 
 "Aw man, I'm frustrated," Stoudamire said. "Yes, this was a game we expected
to win." 
 Raptors rookie Tracy McGrady saw his first court time since spraining an ankle
on Nov. 4. He
played seven minutes and didn't score.