CHARLOTTE - Jonas Valanciunas took a quick glance at the stat sheet, no longer banned post-game, crumpled it up into a ball and hurled it across the locker room. At the bottom of the page the final score read "100-95" - Torontos third loss in four games - but it was how they got there that had the Raptors young centre shaking his head as he destroyed the evidence. In the less literal sense he wasnt alone. The Raptors locker room was filled with distraught players drowning their sorrows in a sea of chicken fingers and mac and cheese at the post-game buffet, eager to forget about their most recent setback. "We cant really panic, but weve got to hold each other accountable," said Greivis Vasquez, moments after his team failed to close out what would have been a historic comeback in eventual defeat to a familiar, albeit perplexing foe, the Charlotte Bobcats. "Its easy when we win and you smile and youre cool, youre hanging around, but when you face adversity or obstacles, thats when you really show your character, so now weve really got to show what [were] made of." For Vasquez - who helped engineer Torontos late-game run - his teammates and his coach, there were no moral victories to be celebrated after cutting a 30-point third quarter deficit to one with 26 seconds remaining. No moral victories, not anymore, not if they fancy themselves a playoff contender. Instead the question was, how could they fall behind by 30 to the Bobcats - who had lost 10 of 13 and were playing without Kemba Walker - in the first place? "Effort," Kyle Lowry said, and repeated six times in a three-minute scrum. For the final 16 minutes they played with plenty of it, outscoring the nemesis Bobcats 54-29 to close out the game. For the first 32 it was nowhere to be found. "Thats it, effort," the Raptors point guard continued. "That simple. Effort." Its not that simple, not for the teams fans or coaching staff that were left to wonder where that effort went for two and a half quarters in a game the Raptors sorely needed. "Its a long season but you tell a lot about who you are in these situations," Dwane Casey said. "Today was a gut-check game and the fourth quarter we turned it around but its about what we did in the first three quarters thats disappointing." Coming off a loss to the corpse of the Los Angeles Lakers 24 hours earlier, and an equally disheartening defeat in Boston last week, the Raptors scored a season-low 11 points in the first quarter. For the second straight day they attempted nearly three times as many three-pointers as free throws and allowed the leagues 28th ranked offensive team to score 100 points on 49 per cent shooting. The loss was their seventh straight in Charlotte to a Bobcats team that has been varying degrees of terrible throughout that span of Raptors futility. "Weve got to take these two losses to heart," said Vasquez who had 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, his best line as Raptor. "Were professionals, we know what were playing for, so, [theres] no excuses on this team. Some guys just got to step up and understand what were playing for." "I think were fine," he continued. "Weve just got to wake up and understand that one loss cant really take us down, but one win can really build some good momentum." Veteran bruiser Chuck Hayes put it best. "Its an emotional roller coaster in this league." A week ago they were riding high, winners of three straight and eight of 10, since then theyve crashed back down to earth. Where do they truly stand in the grand scheme of things? Likely somewhere in the middle. Success in the league is fickle, as Casey knows and Hayes has learned in his years of service. "After the momentum we had in December you would kind of hope it would shift over into the New Year but the New Year aint been so good to us so far," said Hayes, who recorded his first double-double - 12 points and 13 rebounds - since Apr. 11, 2011. "But theres a lot of basketball left." Hayes, along with fellow reserves Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, played the bulk of the fourth quarter in place of frontcourt tandem Valanciunas and Amir Johnson, who each played less than 19 minutes, and Terrence Ross, who logged 21. For the fourth straight game Valanciunas failed to eclipse 23 minutes or score in double figures, shooting 6-for-21 over that stretch. On Monday he was overwhelmed in a daunting matchup with crafty, low-post shaman Al Jefferson. The Raptors sophomore bit on Jeffersons pump fakes, got beat on the boards and most alarmingly let his frustration get the better of him. Jefferson, who had a double-double after the first quarter, finished with 22 points and 19 boards. Fellow sophomore Ross has also seen his performance slip over the teams recent slide, recording just one point on Monday, shooting 0-for-6. Meanwhile, Johnson connected on just one of his four attempts and has exceeded 10 rebounds in one of his last 15 contests. "Weve got to find a start that fits us," said Casey, who wouldnt rule out an eventual lineup change but insisted its too early to make that call. "You cant spot any team in this league 25-30 points and expect to be successful." The Raptors will be given a much-needed day of reflection before hosting the Mavericks on Wednesday. It will be the first time theyve faced a winning team in seven games. After squandering three golden opportunities in six days, it could be the wakeup call they need. "Weve got another game," said Hayes. "This is not it, [its] just a little adversity and weve got to find a way to respond." Paul George Shoes Free Shipping . 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The Colorado Rockies intentionally walked Yadier Molina with one out and runners on first and third to load the bases for Kozma.SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Aldon Smith wore a big grin beneath his facemask, even when linebackers coach Jim Leavitt good-naturedly let him have it after the ball didnt wind up in his hands during one drill.Aldon! You wont be able to sleep tonight! Leavitt hollered as Aaron Lynch patted his teammate on the helmet.At his best, Smith is one of the NFLs most menacing sack masters who instil fear into opposing quarterbacks.After nine games on the sideline and 14 missed the past two seasons, its unclear how long it might take for the San Francisco star to regain his fearsome top form on one of the leagues stingiest defences.Smith believes he will be back doing his thing in a hurry following a nine-game suspension by the league for violations of the NFLs substance-abuse and personal-conduct policies.You keep hearing your name, youre like Oh, man, obviously Im missed out there, Smith said. It just put that much more in my drive when I was preparing, whether if it was with my working out or whatever I was doing to mentally be prepared to come back. Its just something I put in the back of my head.Smith is set to make his 2014 debut Sunday at the New York Giants in some capacity, though even coach Jim Harbaugh is unsure exactly what the linebacker will bring.Thats a good question. He did participate in training camp 11 weeks ago, Harbaugh said Wednesday. I would refer back to last year, he missed five weeks and was able to come back and play snaps his first week back. So, good question. Well see, take it day by day.The addition of Smith means a lot during a tough week when linebacker Patrick Willis was lost for the season to an injured left toe that will require surgery.Smith has been attending meetings and working out at team headquarters, but wasnt allowed to practice during his suspension.The Giants are preparing for Smith to make plays.We know that he has been in the building and worked in the conditioning area. I would expect hes a player who has been in on all the meetings and conditioned himself very, very well, Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.Im sure that theyre just not going to throw him out there in his first game back, but I would imagine that he would have a fixed amount of playys and he may very well be in there as part of the third-down package.ddddddddddddSmith is enjoying all of the little things about being part of a team again — including his high-energy position coach, Leavitt.Geez, you guys look good! Our numbers are growing, Leavitt cheered. Quick feet, Aldon!Quarterback Colin Kaepernick looked forward to seeing No. 99 across the way on the practice field, and in uniform come Sunday.A big lift. Hes a freak of nature on the field, Kaepernick said. Hes a huge component to our defence, so very happy to have him back.The 25-year-old Smith, one of the NFLs top pass rushers, last fall underwent treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest on Sept. 20, 2013. Last November, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home.In the spring, the 49ers picked up his 2015 contract option despite his legal troubles. Smith was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport. Police said Smith was randomly selected for a secondary screening and became unco-operative with the process, telling a TSA agent that he had a bomb. No charges were filed.Theres the joy of being around the team and training and meeting and you miss the joy of practice, Harbaugh said.Linebacker Michael Wilhoite figures Smith is ready to wreak havoc.Hes been here but hes been quiet. Hes done what he needs to do and goes home, Wilhoite said. When you take nine games away from a guy, thats like taking away your job for nine of the 12 months.Smith has enjoyed doing community service and spending time with family and his young son.For those wondering whether he can stay on the right path now, Smith plans to do his part to earn back the trust of his teammates, coaches and fans.Im not going to sit here and give you some crazy answer, Smith said. Time will show.Notes: LB NaVorro Bowman was scheduled for an MRI on his surgically repaired left knee to better determine whether he will soon return to practice and perhaps play down the stretch this season.___AP freelance writer Rick Eymer contributed to this report.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '