The Celtics’ recent crisis continued as they suffered a disappointing, listless loss to the Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday. The C’s found themselves trailing by double digits early in the game, although they climbed out of that initial gap in the first quarter.

But the C’s never found a consistent rhythm for most of the game. By the time the fourth quarter was over, the Raptors had more life and energy as they shut down the Celtics. Boston never made a true comeback down the stretch, as shots and stops let them down on Wednesday. CS coach Joe Mazzulla explained his message for the team after the game.

“Just stick together,” Mazzulla told reporters in Toronto. “We’re not playing our best basketball. You can’t always expect things to be easy. You can’t expect things to always work out the way you want them to, because that’s not the case. We just have to find a way to enjoy the challenge. We just have to do it together.”

The Celtics are still 28-12 this season, the second-best record in the East. But they also have a record of 7-7 in their last 14 games as they fail to live up to their demands as reigning champions. There are several reasons for this, be it the difficult defensive night against Toronto or the fact that the 3-point range has let them down in several recent losses. Regardless, the product wasn’t good enough.

It’s still January, so there’s no reason to hit the panic button at this point. But it’s also obvious that the Celtics aren’t playing quality basketball. The month won’t get any easier as they face a tough stretch of play and little rest, which includes a four-game road trip on the West Coast.

So the Celtics will try to regroup going forward. The starters struggled against the Raptors as their offense failed to get going most of the evening. The defense also allowed the Raptors to come out and run, which has been a strength for them this season. As they have discussed many times during this difficult period, they will simply look to their next game.

“We just have to play better, with more intensity, a little more life,” Jayson Tatum said. “It’s not just one thing. We didn’t shoot the ball well. This can be frustrating because everyone puts a lot of work into their craft. When things don’t necessarily go the way you expect, it can be frustrating.”

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