To borrow a line from comedic genius Fred Willard, "Wha-appened?"

The Post-Brunson era started nicely as the Raptors played some, at times, excellent basketball in the first half. They built up an 8-point lead at halftime and held the Mavs who average almost 108 points per game at home to 44 points. The homecoming Chris Bosh looked extraordinary early on with several dunks and smart plays. Donyell Marshall kept hot from the 3-point line and even Alvin Williams looked like a new man out there. Perhaps they were all playing on emotion as they wanted to win this one for Rick.

Unfortunately, the sad realization that Rick Brunson would never again grace the Raptor sideline took hold in the locker room at halftime. Although they built the lead to 13 the Mavericks made a surge to take a one point lead at the end of three quarters. Then what looked like a fight to the finish turned into a blowout as the Mavericks outscored the Raptors 34-18 in the final quarter.

The Raptor cause certainly wasn't helped by their recent schedule (in Boston Friday, at home yesterday) that hasn't let them get a lot of rest. Maybe all the breakdowns offensively and defensively in that final quarter had something to do with dead legs. Maybe the team should learn to box out on the defensive glass (17 offensive rebounds for Dallas). Maybe Coach O'Neill should do something about his switching defence that constantly left Donyell Marshall struggling to cover Steve Nash (23 points, 11 assists). Maybe Coach O'Neill made a huge mistake in starting the 4th quarter without both Vince Carter and Jalen Rose on the floor. With Morris Peterson and Michael Curry leading the attack things got ugly. Maybe Coach O'Neill should extend his bench beyond 8 guys when they get stuck in one of these bad travel schedules. While no one is screaming for a return engagement of the Lamond Murray Brick-a-thon, it might not be bad to give him some minutes while other players get a little more rest. For example a certain player who is nursing a sore Achilles tendon right now.

Speaking of Vince, he looked great at times (especially that awesome defensive play that he whipped up to Jalen Rose for a sweet two-on-one with Donyell) but the thing I noticed was that he was doing a lot of wincing and whining tonight. Not a good sign. Here's a even worse sign: The Raptors get to play the red-hot San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.