Raptors continue to slide, lose to Pelicans

Toronto Raptors lost to New Orleans Pelicans 95-93 on Sunday afternoon in NBA action.

The loss was Toronto's seventh in their last nine games, dropping their record to 26-14 on the season.

"We're playing in mud right now," said Raptors head coach Dwayne Casey following the loss in Toronto. "Confidence wise, we have to come out believing that you're going to make a play offensively or defensively."

Toronto struggled in the first half, scoring a season-low 36 points against New Orleans after two quarters.

Down 50-36, Casey replaced third-year player Terrence Ross at the half and started the third quarter with guard Greivis Vasquez.

Vasquez energized Raptors and helped erase the deficit by outscoring New Orleans 35-12 in the quarter and entered the fourth with a 71-64 lead.

Raptors were unable to sustain their third quarter dominance in the final frame, allowing Pelicans to outscore them 31-22 to ultimately win the game.

When asked about the substitution at half time, Casey explained to media that he still has faith in Ross.

"It wasn't all (Terrence) Ross' fault. I think Greivis did a good job in his position and gave us a spark," said Casey. "We are not giving up on him. He's a young man, all young players are always going to be up and down, we just have to help him anyway we can."

In Toronto's first 31 games, Ross averaged 12.1 points on 43% shooting in 28.4 minutes. In the last nine games, Ross' production has dipped to 7.6 points on 33% shooting in 23.9 minutes.

"Whatever it is, we got to get his mojo going because we are playing for something and it's an important time for us to come out of it," said Casey. "We got to fight through it. It's a grind, it's a long season."

Despite the slump, Casey's squad remains in third place in the Eastern Conference and are well-positioned to finish the season with a top-four seed. Endi