A lot of bubbles were burst at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston on Wednesday night.

Boston's NBA-leading defence is not impenetrable after all; someone in the Atlantic Division can beat the Celtics; and Andrea Bargnani is alive.

Finally, not that anyone should still have any doubts about this, but Jose Calderon can run the offense for a winning NBA team – quite effectively, in fact.

Calderon was the hero last night, converting a clutch three-point play with seconds remaining as the Raptors rallied to beat Boston 114-112.

The Spanish Fly was deadly accurate, nailing 8-of-10 from the floor (including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc) and all five of his attempts from the charity stripe for 24 points in 39 minutes. He capped his superb night by dropping 13 dimes and picking Celtic pockets for three steals.

Of course, Calderon – if he wasn't drafted -- has long since been picked up in every league with normal starter T.J. Ford out indefinitely, but those of you astute enough to grab him on draft day or snag him early have really reaped the rewards. And he's definitely showing no signs of slowing down. How about 11.8 APG over the past four? Does that work for you? He's picked up his outside shooting as well, canning eight treys over this stretch, and Calderon has also been a nice source of steals. Let's not forget that he's sunk 23 straight free throws in January.

Of course, Calderon wasn't the only Raptor on fire Wednesday. This team barely missed a shot last night, sinking 58 percent from the floor, 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc and all 19 of their free throw attempts. I don't care how good Boston has been this season -- when you come up against a team that hot, you're going down.

Boston Coach Doc Rivers took it in stride. As he said, half the players in the NBA couldn't shoot that well from 3-point range even if they were alone in the gym. So he's treating the game as an anomaly, as he probably should considering how airtight Boston's D has been.

Bargnani, a huge disappointment this season and particularly invisible lately, going nine straight games without reaching double digits in points, exploded for 20 points with seven rebounds and seven assists. Those hanging on to the struggling soph have to pray this is the start of something big.

For Boston, winners of three straight heading in, it was just its seventh loss in 40 games. Boston hadn't had more than two opponent players get 20 points against them in the same game this season. Last night, the Raptors had four do it, with Chris Bosh (23) and Anthony Parker (23) joining Calderon and Bargnani. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, you've got to go back to December 30, 2005 to find the last time someone did that to Boston.

That great Celtic defense I was talking about? The one that's held opponents under 42 per cent from the floor and had given up over 100 points just four times this year? Well, it went AWOL on this night, but give credit to Toronto's shooters.

This marked the first time in 10 games this season that an Atlantic Division rival had beaten Boston. I doubt the Celtics are sweating, with their division lead down to 11 games, but it's a big confidence builder for Toronto.

The Raptors, meanwhile, look like they are turning the corner, winning six of their past eight games to keep pace with Boston and put some serious distance between them and the struggling Nets.

With Toronto realizing it can finally slay the Beast of the East, let's turn our attention to the rest of the action from Wednesday night…

• Okay, you can start thinking about dumping Beno Udrih whenever you're ready. Unless, of course, you're absolutely sure Mike Bibby will be traded any day. Even in his reduced PT, Udrih has continued to supply nice offensive numbers off the bench, but Wednesday, he completely tanked. In just 15 minutes of action he was shut out on 0-for-4 shooting and contributed just one assist. Given a chance to start for most of the first half of the season, Udrih has enjoyed a breakout year, but it's time for you to evaluate other options for your team.



• With Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Chris Duhon all out for the disappointing Bulls, someone is going to get a chance to step up. Last night, it was Captain Kirk. Recently returned from a back issue, Hinrich exploded for a career-high 38 points to lead the Bulls past Indy. He was on fire, nailing 14-of-21 from the field, 4-of-5 from 3-point range and all six of his FT attempts. Hinrich dished 10 assists, pulled down seven boards and recorded two steals in a fantastic all-around game. Hinrich has been deadly from the line this year (90 percent), but it's been an awful season for him. However, he has a chance to be fantasy gold for the next little stretch with the Bulls dealing with multiple injuries. Joakim Noah is another man who looks like he'll benefit from this rash of injuries. He was the first man off the bench Wednesday, double-doubling with 14 points and 15 boards while adding three steals in 34 minutes. Neither Tyrus Thomas nor Joe Smith are stepping up, so Noah is looking like a good waiver wire bet, especially in deeper leagues. Gordon, by the way, had X-rays taken on his wrist and they came back negative. He's considered questionable for Friday and he could miss up to a week.



• Keep an eye on Ime Udoka for the Spurs. Other than the occasional big night, he's been mostly invisible this season after a bit of a breakout with Portland last year. However, Coach Popovich has talked about Udoka taking a bigger role with the Rodeo road trip around the corner, and we've seen him get significant minutes off the bench the past two games. Last night, Udoka hit 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc for a season-high 18 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Udoka won't knock defensive specialist Bruce Bowen from the starting lineup, but he's pecking away at his minutes, and this is something you should watch closely, especially since Bowen's modest offensive contributions keep getting smaller.

Tip-ins: So what's the deal with Paul Pierce? He's gone nine straight games without leading the Celtics in scoring and is averaging just 17.1 PPG this month…Tony Allen proved he's someone who at least needs to be tracked, going off for 15 points in just 17 minutes last night, scoring 14 straight points for Boston at one point. If injury strikes Boston's front five again, Allen will be valuable…Looking for 3-point help? Carlos Delfino was 5-for-5 from beyond the arc last night and has nailed 13-of-21 in the past five games…Tim Ducan exploded for 28 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block Wednesday. Over the past five, he's been a defensive stalwart, averaging 14.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks…Allen Iverson's left wrist must have been bothering him, as he sunk just 6-of-21 last night, but considering he was questionable to suit up at all, his owners must be pleased with the 29 points, six assists, three steals and two treys that A.I. dropped on the Hawks…Minny shocked the Suns Wednesday thanks to a career game from Al Jefferson. He set a new personal best with 39 points and pulled down 15 rebounds while pitching it with two steals…Josh Smith finally put up his first triple-double last night, going off for 22 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, five blocks and three steals. Okay, so he struggled with his shooting (8-for-23) and he turned the ball over seven times, but Smoov gave his fantasy owners a night to remember…Danny Granger was yet another player who set a new career high in points on Wednesday, pouring in 33 while pulling down seven boards and adding four assists, two steals, a block and four treys. With J.O. out, Granger is clearly the man in Indy…Still in Indy, David Harrison is back from his drug suspension but he only played five minutes last night. If he got some significant PT, Harrison could definitely be a decent source of blocks…The latest on the never-ending Seattle PG saga: Luke Ridnour had 10 points and eight assists last night and given more significant minutes off the bench, he's picked up the pace of late. At best, I'd say keep watching. We're loathe to recommend anyone from this mess…Of course, Seattle continues to go nowhere fast, dropping a franchise-record 12th straight game last night despite a solid shooting night from Kevin Durant (12-of-23 for 25 points). Nice to see the kid pitch in with a couple of blocks, but he didn't do much else.

Team Report

Okay, we knew things were going to be bad with the Clippers this year with Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston both out and Sam Cassell being in a seemingly constant day-to-day state. But the club surprised many by jumping out to a 6-4 start. Then, came the losing -- a 4-19 stretch which culminated in recent public sniping between owner Donald Sterling and coach Mike Dunleavy. Great.

Sure, the playoffs are pipe dream, but the Clips seem to have righted the ship somewhat, winning three of their past five, including a convincing 111-85 pasting over the Kings last night, their most lopsided win this season. Where would this team be without Chris Kaman? He had 21 points and 20 rebounds Wednesday for his fifth career 20/20 game. Eleven of those rebounds came in the first quarter alone, just two shy of the franchise record for boards in a quarter, shared by Michael Cage and Lorenzen Wright.

It's time to take another look at rookie Al Thornton. He came through with 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks last night, and is averaging 19.7 PPG over his past three, making him an intriguing waiver wire option.

Corey Maggette, despite six turnovers, continued his fine season as the Clippers' main scoring option, popping in 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting with four assists. His shooting touch just keeps getting better. He's sinking 46 percent of his shots from the floor this year – the third straight season his percentage has risen. And Maggette is absolutely on fire over the past five games, hitting 41-of-71 for 57.7 percent shooting.

Tim Thomas, enjoying a solid season, has seen a decrease in minutes in the past couple of games, but he enjoyed a big night Wednesday with 17 points, three assists and a pair of 3-pointers.

One Clipper you want to continue to avoid like the plague is Quinton Ross. Never known for his offense, what little he did supply has gone missing this year. Ross was 0-for-6 from the field last night and has missed – are you ready for this? – his last 19 shots. Yikes.

Rob Blackstien runs www.RotoRob.com, a site featuring daily fantasy sports analysis. In addition to his baseball work on the site, he contributes to Rotoworld’s basketball coverage. Rob also writes for CREATiVESPORTS.com, BaseballNotebook.com and has contributed to Rotoman’s Fantasy Baseball Guide and Fantasy Football Guide.

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