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TORONTO - The once-red hot Toronto Raptors have suddenly gone cold.And while Kyle Lowry said a four-game losing streak is nothing to fret over, his chilly demeanour in the post-game dressing room Thursday night said otherwise.The Raptors dropped a 103-95 decision to the Charlotte Hornets, spoiling the teams homecoming after a disappointing road trip. And Lowry, who led the way with 24 points, was positively terse with reporters after the lacklustre loss.Tonight we sucked as a team, and weve got to figure it out soon, Lowry said. Weve got a game on Saturday, and tonight we sucked as a team, but we had a bad game, and Im sure well be fine.Lou Williams finished with 15 points on just 4-for-15 shooting for Toronto (24-11), while Greivis Vasquez had 11 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10. Charlottes starters also outscored Torontos by a whopping 89-46 margin.Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who was longer than normal in the post-game dressing room, was angry at the teams lack of intensity, especially in the first and third quarters — in each of which the Raptors were badly outhustled and outscored.I dont know what it is. But weve got to find seven or eight guys that are interested in competing at a high level, Casey said. I thought the second unit came in and competed.For whatever reason, were not getting that energy at the start of the game, the start of the third quarter. Those were backbreakers. Whether its a lineup change or whatever it is, weve got to find an answer for it.Asked if he could expand on Caseys comments, Lowry replied: No, I cannot.When asked why Casey would say that, Lowry said I dont know.The game was the Raptors first back at the Air Canada Centre after a disappointing road trip that saw them win just two of six, and fall out of the Eastern Conference lead. It was also the first of a welcome six straight games at home, where the Raptors had been riding a five-game winning streak — until Thursday.But as Casey said prior to tipoff, Home wont take care of you, youve got to take care of home, and it was the Hornets that led for most of the night in front of another ACC sellout crowd of 19,800.Just frustration, disappointment, anger, said Patrick Patterson. Everyones just frustrated with the way were playing right now. Its not like were not trying. Its not like were giving up. As you see, no matter what the score is were going to continue to battle and play hard but it just seems like things just arent working for us.It seems like were in a hole and were trying to climb out right now. Hopefully we climb out sooner rather than later.Gerald Henderson scored 31 points to top the Hornets (14-24) in their fourth straight victory. Kemba Walker added 29 for Charlotte, which led by as much as 15 points before taking a 75-66 advantage into the fourth quarter.The Raptors, whove now lost five in a row to the Hornets, opened the fourth with a 7-0 run to pull within two points. But that was as close as they would come, as Charlotte answered virtually every Toronto basket the rest of the way.A three-pointer by Walker 1:55 left to play put the Hornets up by 10 and sent many fans for the exits.The Raptors fought back one last time, and a Patterson basket with 42 seconds to play pulled the Raptors to within four points, breathing some life into Torontos hopes for a victory.But Walker snuffed that out with a long jumper that put Charlotte back up by six with 19 seconds to play, and sealed Torontos fate.We knew this team was going to come in hungry, Casey said, Theyre athletic and aggressive. We had to meet that. Youre going to have nights when the shots arent going to fall. But the focus and the defensive energy need to be there. It wasnt there.This is the first real slump for the Raptors since the Rudy Gay trade just over a year ago that turned their fortunes around.It happens, its a long season. I dont know how many games weve played, Lowry said. Its a long season, so we can possibly run out 10 in a row, and this four-game losing streak will be forgotten about.The Hornets shot 48 per cent on the night to Torontos 40 per cent, and outrebounded the Raptors 46-42.Henderson was asked why the Hornets have had so much success against the Raptors.I dont know, I think we get up to play them, he said. They are a really good team, second in the East. They have been playing great this year, so we just know that we have to bring our best game to compete against them.Toronto played its 19th game without DeMar DeRozan, who had hoped to play Thursday, but instead is now targeting next week for his return. They could sorely use their leading scorer back in the lineup — theyve also dropped from ninth in the NBA defensively, to 28th since DeRozans injury — but they are playing it safe with their all-star, who is out with a torn groin tendon.When the medical people say he can come back, hell come back, Casey said prior to tipoff. His career is more important. . . Ive seen two or three players in my time in the NBA lose their careers on a similar injury, by rushing back too quick. Its going to be up to the medical people and up to DeMar when he does come back.Despite a warning by Casey to come out with a sense of urgency, the Raptors got off to an abysmal first quarter that saw the Hornets go up by 10 points. The Hornets doubled Toronto on the boards 16-8 and beat them 7-0 on second-chance points. Charlotte took a 31-23 lead into the second.Tyler Hansbrough drained the first three-pointer of his NBA career to pull the Raptors to within a point early in the second. They finally took the lead on a driving layup by Lowry with just under a minute left in the quarter, and went into the dressing room leading 52-50 at halftime.Toronto didnt get its first field goal of the third until five-and-a-half minutes in, while the Hornets went on a 21-3 run to take a 71-56 lead. Charlotte outscored the Raptors 25-14 in the third and took a nine-point lead into the fourth.Toronto is home to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, then hosts Detroit, Philadelphia, and Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta, before capping its homestand Jan. 18 versus New Orleans. Wholesale Air Max 270 Black .C. -- The RBC Cups semifinal participants were decided by a pair of overtime games. Cheap Nike Vapormax China . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.c...x-97-shoes.html. So much so that even a simple foul pop up to the first baseman turned into a run. Houstons four-run rally in the ninth inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Monday night was capped by a bizarre play that started as Crowe fouled out to first baseman Justin Smoak with runners on second and third. Air Max 270 Black Wholesale . "After consultation with the Team USA medical staff and officials, it was determined that he should return to Winnipeg as a precaution due to his previous injury history," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Wednesday in a statement. Air Max 97 Plus Wholesale China .I get texts: Do you know Drake? Have you met Drake? He sits there every night, he hears me cuss out the referees every night, Casey said, laughing.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will aim to eliminate the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, as the clubs battle in Mondays Game 6 at Nationwide Arena. The Penguins, who are seeded second in the East, were tied at 2-2 with Columbus before gaining an edge in the best-of-seven series with Saturdays 3-1 victory in Pittsburgh. If Pittsburgh fails to wrap up the series tonight in Columbus, the clubs will play a decisive Game 7 in the Steel City on Wednesday. Columbus, which had never won a playoff contest before this series, has little margin for error in Game 6. Blue Jackets center Mark Letestu hopes facing elimination can bring the best out of his club. "I mean, if theyre going to push, what are we going to do?," Letestu said. "Its back in our building and our backs are against the wall. When there is adversity, this is the best that this team has played all year. I expect this first elimination game for everybody to play with their hair on fire." Columbus is 1-1 on home ice in this series, losing Game 3 to the Pens before rebounding with an overtime victory in the next encounter. The Blue Jackets are 1-3 all-time at Nationwide Arena in the postseason. The Blue Jackets had lost six straight home games against the Penguins before notching a victory in Game 4. Columbus and Pittsburgh were tied at 1-1 after 40 minutes on Saturday, but Jussi Jokinen scored the eventual game-winner at 6:16 of the third period. Kris Letang added an empty-netter with 1:01 left in regulation to seal the win for the Penguins and put them one victory away from advancing to the second round.dddddddddddd After a rough outing in Game 4, Pens goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury bounced back by making 23 saves for the win. Chris Kunitz had a goal and an assist in the victory. Sidney Crosby added an assist to give him five helpers in the series, but he has yet to score a goal. After his club grabbed a 3-2 lead on Saturday, the Pens captain talked about the difficulty of closing out a series. "We have to realize theyre going to be as desperate as theyve been," Crosby said of tonights Game 6 battle. "It doesnt get any easier. We know the fourth one is the toughest." Crosbys teammate Evgeni Malkin also has yet to score over the first five games, but he has four assists. Boone Jenner scored the one goal for Columbus on Saturday, while Sergei Bobrovsky single-handedly kept his team in the game with a 48-save loss. "It was one of those performances where you come into an opposing rink, thats a game that your goaltender can steal for you," Columbus head coach Todd Richards said. "We just werent able to do enough in the offensive zone." Columbus defensemen Fedor Tyutin and Ryan Murray each returned to the lineup after missing time with lower-body injuries. Tyutin missed the previous two games, while Murray was held out of Game 4. Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo made his NHL playoff debut in Game 5, replacing injured blueliner Brooks Orpik. Pittsburgh hasnt disclosed the specifics of Orpiks injury and he is questionable for tonight. ' ' '