LOS ANGELES - For the Raptors, Saturday mornings flight back to Toronto couldnt come soon enough. Seattle Mariners Jerseys . Its that time of the year. Players are tired, or hurting, or both. Some are looking ahead to the events theyll be participating in during All-Star Weekend, others are looking forward to their midseason vacation time. Its been nine days since the Raptors set out on a five-game West Coast trip and the fatigue was evident as they backed into a 2-3 record on the excursion. "We cant use that as an excuse," Dwane Casey said after his team suffered their third loss in the last four games, falling 118-105 to the Clippers in LA Friday. "We knew that coming in, that were getting ready for the all-star break, mental fatigue is setting in, everybody is preparing for the break but its not here yet, we have games to go and business to take care of." After taking care of business in two of their first three games on the trip, Caseys team lost themselves in a pair of losses to the Kings - a bottom dweller in the West - and the Clippers, one of the conferences elite. The Raptors fell behind early, giving up 67 points in the first half of each game, committing a total of 70 fouls and putting their opponent on the line 105 times over the course of three days. The commonality, according to Casey, was a lack of mental and physical toughness against the likes of DeMarcus Cousins Wednesday and the duo of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan two days later. "The guys are down because they know that we physically didnt take care of business," he said. "The physicality of the game is something we have to get ready for, especially if were thinking about the playoffs because its a physical game in the paint, setting screens, rebounding, going to the basket. All those things are there if youre serious about making the playoffs." Overall, a 2-3 record on the trip is hardly disappointing, its probably on par with what was expected of them going in, realistically. However, they should lose some sleep over the way they ended the road swing. No one expected them to win on Wednesday, not against a scorned Clipper team coming off a tough loss at home to the defending champion Heat. After coming out flat again, Casey was forced to get creative midway through the third quarter, opting to deploy the hack-a-Jordan strategy, a maneuver designed to extend the game by putting a poor free throw shooter - this case, DeAndre Jordan - on the line. Jordan, a 44 per cent free throw shooter, made just 10 of his 22 tries from the line, 14 of those attempts were gift wrapped and delivered to him from Casey. The move was not popular amongst the hometown crowd but for a coach on the verge of defeat, why not take a shot? Although it shaved just two points off the Clippers 20-point lead, directly, it slowed the game down and took the home team out of their rhythm. "We had to do something," Casey said. "Physically they were just manhandling us in the paint. I thought that changed the game a little bit." Toronto would cut its deficit to nine going into the fourth quarter. By that point the Raptors had run out of gas, understandably so. Less than a week before All-Star Weekend, the Raptors are a beat up team. Kyle Lowry is battling a knee injury while both DeMar DeRozan and the slumping Amir Johnson are playing on sprained ankles. DeRozan was the one Raptor who looked at home in LA, in actuality he was. The Compton-born guard scored 36 points, the most hes ever had in nine career games at Staples Center, knocking down a career-high 17 free throws. After averaging 10.0 points on 31 per cent shooting in his first five career games back home, DeRozan has scored 28.5 on 52 per cent over his last four contests in LA. Its yet another sign of DeRozans growth on and off the floor in his fifth season. "Its always good to come home and see the family, or whatever, but I dont put as much pressure on myself as I did my first year or even my second year," said the first-time all-star. "I dont try to come out here and prove a point that Im from here or whatever, I just come here and play." Johnson spent most of Friday night chasing down Blake Griffin, who scored 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting in 28 minutes. It was an impossible task for a player that has been slowed by the injury for a week and a half. The nine-year vet is used to playing through pain and plans to continue doing so but he couldnt hide his frustration after the loss. "That nagging pain is just bothering me," said Johnson, who had eight points in 24 minutes against the Clippers. "I want to but there are just some plays I really cant get to the ball or make a play because my ankle just holds me back." "I feel like I can do a lot better. Im trying to baby it but at the same time Im trying to go hard out there. Once the schedule turns and I can rest it a little bit, Ill definitely come through. Lucky for Johnson and the rest of the ailing Raptors, theyll be en route back to Toronto Saturday after spending one more night on the road. There, theyll host the Pelicans and the Hawks before going their separate ways for the weekend, NBA all-star festivities. The schedule eases up the rest of the way. The Raptors - who have played 28 games on the road, most in the East - only have 13 more to go away from the Air Canada Centre. Fridays contest against the Clippers marked their last road game against a winning Western Conference team. "We want to compete every time we walk out but the main thing is were building and were getting better in some areas and some areas were not," said Casey. "The physicality department, thats going to take some more time for guys to figure that out. My thing is competing, you go out and compete and fight physically and then you let the chips fall where they may and there were some situations where I didnt think we competed physically." Felix Hernandez Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Randy Johnson Jersey . - The Clippers have signed guard Dahntay Jones to a second 10-day contract. http://www.marinersrookiestore.com/Mariners-Edgar-Martinez-Kids-Jersey/ . Rosbergs time of 1 minute, 33.185 seconds at the Bahrain International Circuit was a quarter of a second faster than Hamilton, who had to abandon his final flying lap after running wide at the first corner.LOS ANGELES -- Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier both deeply regret their brawl at a publicity stop in Las Vegas earlier this week. The light heavyweights also say they would probably do it again in a similar situation. Jones and Cormier kept their rivalry civil Tuesday during another publicity appearance for their title fight next month. They sat on opposite sides of a stage at a club in downtown Los Angeles, with police officers watching them warily. "The whole situation was silly, and I think I reacted inappropriately," said Jones, the UFCs 205-pound champion. "I think I turned a lot of fans off. I think I turned a ton of fans on." Indeed, the fighters will likely face disciplinary action from the UFC and the Nevada Athletic Commission for a scuffle that started during a photo faceoff in the lobby of the MGM Grand casino. They also created a viral phenomenon that sold untold thousands of pay-per-view buys and garnered international interest in their title showdown at UFC 178 on Sept. 27. "I do believe we have to carry ourselves more respectfully," Cormier said. "MMA is a very new sport, and when we behave the way we did, its easy to say its just a sport filled with thugs." It all started when Jones and Cormier walked straight into each other during the traditional photo faceoff at the MGM Grand casino on Monday, with the taller Jones putting his forehead on Cormiers head. Cormier then shoved Jones with his hand at the champions neck, and Jones threw a looping punch. The fighters fell off a makeshift stage into a crowd of fans and UFC employees while trading more punnches and kicks, sending one public relations man who tried to get between them tumbling into a makeshift backdrop. Ryon Healy Jersey. Jones said the brawl was part of the "mental warfare" before any fight. "If Daniel could touch me like that and me not do anything, I think it would have given him a false sense of confidence," Jones said. "I needed to let him know that I am not on the defence. I am the lion. I am the aggressor. I am the one thats on the attack. Youre just not going to do that to me." Cormier said the confrontation brought back childhood memories of bullies in Lafayette, Louisiana. "I can defend myself now," Cormier said. "Im never allowing anyone to dominate me again." Jones and Cormier didnt get near each other in Los Angeles, but they flung insults and jokes across the stage in front of several hundred excited fans. At one point, Jones stood and picked up his stool, taking three menacing steps toward Cormier on the far end of the stage before breaking into a laugh and a grin. Even without an eye-catching brawl, this title fight already was the UFCs most compelling matchup of the fall. Jones (20-1) is widely considered the pound-for-pound champion of MMA, while Cormier (15-0) is an undefeated former heavyweight who has loomed for years as Jones biggest challenge. Although Jones is apologetic about his latest instance of questionable behaviour, he also thinks he learned something useful for their fight next month from that early preview. "I felt his strength there," Jones said. "He really isnt that strong." 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