TORONTO -- Playing the second half of back-to-back games, the Toronto Maple Leafs refused to use fatigue as an excuse. Coach Randy Carlyle noticed his players were tired and how much that played a role in a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at Air Canada Centre. But inside the locker room the talk was much more about a lack of execution. "Theres never an excuse: Injuries, tired, its all B.S.," goaltender James Reimer said. "Those are all excuses. Theyre useless." Winger Mason Raymond, who scored Torontos only goal, scoffed that he and his teammates "simply got embarrassed." They committed turnovers that led to all three Panthers goals and were never really able to keep up. "I echo those remarks as something that we cannot be proud of our performance tonight," Carlyle said after the Leafs (17-16-3) lost for the fifth time in their past six games. Tomas Fleischmann, Sean Bergenheim and Brad Boyes scored for the Panthers (13-17-5), who won their fourth straight and sixth in their past seven games. With the victory, Florida crept to within six points of Toronto for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. "Were looking for progress," coach Peter Horacek said. "Were looking for consistency in our play." The Panthers certainly showed more consistency Tuesday than the Leafs, who couldnt get much of an attack going until the third period when Raymonds goal broke up Scott Clemmensens shutout and cut the deficit to two goals. Before that, Carlyle bemoaned his team being on the wrong end of far too many 50/50 puck battles. It didnt matter that the Panthers have the lowest payroll in the NHL because they didnt look like it. Torontos lacklustre play helped. "We just didnt play well enough. Thats the bottom line," Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf said. "We take pride in being a team that doesnt get outworked. Tonight we were outworked." Couple that with mistakes at inopportune times and the result was the Leafs 12th loss in 18 games at Air Canada Centre this season. Each of Floridas goals came as a result of a noticeable turnover. Centre Nazem Kadri was the first Leafs player to make a costly error, before some of the 19,076 fans even settled into their seats. Kadri lost the puck at the Panthers blue-line, and seconds later Fleischmann had a jump on Carl Gunnarsson and beat Reimer to make it 1-0 just 3:29 in. Sloppy play continued, but it didnt hurt the Leafs again until a disastrous defensive-zone shift in the second. Defenceman Jake Gardiner put the puck right on Bergenheims stick, but Reimer made a stop to keep the threat at bay. When the Leafs couldnt clear it, Bergenheim got it back in front and scored 5:54 into the second. "We had clear-cut possession of the puck, won a faceoff, it goes back to (Gardiner), they end up with a breakaway out of it," Carlyle said. "Its pretty hard to defend a player in that position, and I told him so. Youve got to expect to have a higher level of execution than that in that situation." Boos predictably followed, and then continued when Phaneufs turnover directly contributed to the Panthers third goal of the game. Boyes poked the puck away from Phaneuf and scored seconds later on his own rebound thanks to some help from Bergenheim in front. "I made some mistakes tonight that are unacceptable," Phaneuf said. "Take responsibility for it." It couldve been even uglier had the Panthers converted on a short-handed odd-man rush in the third period. Shawn Matthias missed a wide-open net, and Toronto didnt have to stare down a four-goal deficit. The Leafs cut it to 3-1 not long after on their most opportunistic play of the night. Centre Peter Holland, filling in amid injuries to Dave Bolland and Tyler Bozak, held onto the puck long enough to get some traffic in front, and Raymond tipped the puck past Clemmensen 3:43 into the third. "I thought we got a little life after that," Raymond said. "We played some better hockey then." Aided by that third-period onslaught, Toronto outshot Florida 29-23, but Carlyle didnt like the lack of second opportunities. "I classified our game as we tried to plan shinny against an NHL hockey club tonight," he said. Clemmensen, who made 28 saves for the victory, was hardly stressed for most of the game. The veteran netminder acknowledged, as did Horachek and other Panthers players, that the Leafs were tired. But it was incumbent on the visitors to take advantage of that. "We were hoping to have a little bit more energy than they had," Clemmensen said. "Fortunately for us, we kept them off the board until the third period. That, in turn, kept the crowd out of it. That was big." This was their third victory in the past two weeks against a team being featured on HBOs "24/7" program. Florida beat the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10. As for the Leafs, the frustrating is growing bigger amid losses. And with the excuses thrown out, answers are also lacking. "Everyone is trying to turn it around," centre Jay McClement said. "It seems like we need all of us to step up and take the reins and change things. But it seems like were waiting too long to do that." NOTES -- Centre Trevor Smith broke a bone in his right hand when blocking a shot from the Panthers Shawn Matthias in the third period, Carlyle said. Smith has four goals and five assists in 24 games this season. ... Last years Calder Trophy winner, Jonathan Huberdeau, missed his second straight game with a foot injury. Horachek said the Saint-Jerome, Que., native could have played and is hopefully on target to be in the lineup Thursday when Florida visits the Ottawa Senators. Clearance Nike Air Max 90 . Lynchs attorney, Ivan Golde, told The Associated Press on Thursday of the plea deal that was reached with the Alameda County District Attorney Office. The plea will be formally entered in court in Oakland, Calif. Nike Air Max 90 From China . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener. https://www.cheapnikeairmax90china.us/. -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Nike Air Max 90 Sale . -- Navy football player Will McKamey, who has been hospitalized since collapsing at practice three days ago, has died while in a coma. Fake Nike Air Max 90 . Brassard and Coyotes defenceman Derek Morris were battling for position in the crease when a nudge from Morris sent Brassard on top of Smith late in the third period.With one emotional hurdle cleared, Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers have to get back to business tonight when they visit the Brooklyn Nets. You can watch the game as part of an NBA doubleheader on TSN2, starting at 8pm et/5pm pt. Later, the Portland Trail Blazers host the Houston Rockets. Rivers returned to Boston as the Clippers coach on Wednesday, and although he guided his Los Angeles squad to a 96-88 victory at TD Garden, it was an emotional evening. Rivers spent nine seasons at the helm of the Boston Celtics, leading them to an NBA title in 2008. While his split this offseason wasnt without some acrimony, the Boston faithful gave Rivers a standing ovation before the game and once again during a video tribute between the first and second quarters. "It was just a really nice day," said a highly emotional Rivers. "This is, its just such a classy place here. So it was really nice when I walked out and, you know Im not used to walking out on that side, and all those guys, the people, they lined up and I was basically useless for the first 18 minutes of the game. "I thought, it was just nice." The Clippers overcame a six-point halftime deficit with a 27-19 third quarter. They held on with a 30-24 fourth to earn their second consecutive win and push their mark to 3-2 on this seven-game road trip. Jamal Crawford came up huge down the stretch, netting 11 of his 21 points in the fourth. Chris Paul tallied 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the triumph while Blake Griffin scored 18 points. Antawn Jamison hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter to go over 20,000 points in his career and the newest Clipper, Stephen Jackson, went scoreless in 12:18 of action. The Clippers finish this road trip Saturday night in Washington. Brooklyn also features some nostalgia for Rivers in former Celtics stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Those two, along with Ray Allen, were the centerpieces of the Boston title team, but the Nets already visited the Clippers this season, so Rivers has seen both. The Nets have won two in a row, including a home victory over the Celtics on Tuesday. Deron Williams returned from a nine-game absence and scored a season-high 25 points to go with seven assists. "Hes a guy who can put pressure with a single fast break," Nets head coach Jason Kidd said of Williams. "Just his presence gave everybody a lift." Brook Lopez scored 24 points and Alan Anderson added 15. Garnett and Andray Blatche finished with 11 apiece. Pierce returned earlier than expected from a hand injury. He played 22:14 off the bench Tuesday and had four points, all from the foul line. It was the first time Pierce and Garnett played their old team. "Its different," Garnett said of facing the Celtics. "But no matter whos playing on that team, Ill always have an affiliation with that." The Clippers downed the Nets, 110-103 in L.A. on Nov. 16 and have won three of the last five meetings. The Clippers have dropped five sstraight as the visitors in this series.dddddddddddd Rockets at Trail Blazers (TSN2, 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt) The Portland Trail Blazers will try to avenge one of their two home losses this season when they welcome the Houston Rockets to the Moda Center. The Rockets knocked off the Blazers, 116-101, in Portland on Nov. 5. Of course, the Blazers were an ordinary 2-2 after that setback. No one in the NBA expected whats happened since, which is a 16-2 record, including wins in five of their last six. Portland earned a tough victory in Salt Lake City Monday night, defeating the Utah Jazz, 105-94. It was an off night shooting the 3-pointer for the Blazers, but Portland scored 44 points in the paint. "With our offense, I want us to be opportunistic with whatever the game gives us," head coach Terry Stotts said. "If it gives us 3s, we knock them down. If it gives us the paint, thats good too with LaMarcus on the block. One thing weve done well with offensively is we take what the game gives us." Aldridge, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, was the game- high scorer with 24 points. Damian Lillard finished with 18 points, followed by 16 from Wesley Matthews. Robin Lopez registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Nicolas Batum only managed seven points, but handed out 11 assists. Portland will embark on a four-game eastern trip following Thursdays game. The Blazers visit Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland and Minnesota on the sojourn. The Rockets have won two straight since losing two in a row. They begin a three-game trek west and will also head to Golden State and Sacramento. Houston received some great news at practice on Tuesday as Jeremy Lin was a full participant. He hasnt played in almost two weeks with a right knee sprain, but declared himself ready to go for Thursday night. "I feel good, no limitations," Lin told the teams website. "Ill be back (for Thursdays game). Im full go. (I might need) a little conditioning, or maybe Im not jumping as high off of that right foot, but I never really jumped that high off the right foot, anyway." Lin averaged 15.3 ppg before the injury. Omer Asik and Greg Smith both missed practice and are expected to miss the Portland game. Chandler Parsons was a limited participant because of back spasms, but hes going to play Thursday. Houston won two in a row at home, highlighted by a 98-88 victory on Sunday over the Orlando Magic. James Harden dumped in 27 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds, while Dwight Howard scored 20 points and grabbed 22 rebounds against his former team. "I just wanted to get the win tonight," Howard said. "Im just happy our team came out tonight, settled down and played basketball." Parsons had 18 points and Terrence Jones had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Rockets have won three straight over the Blazers and seven of the last nine meetings. Houston has won two in a row and five of six in Portland. ' ' '