Ugly effort from Raptors

TORONTO After perhaps the poorest effort this season, the Toronto Raptors held a long and surely impassioned post-game meeting.

And when coach Dwane Casey finally emerged, his first words were an apology.

“That exhibition of basketball was unacceptable,” a seething Casey said. “I want to apologize to our fans, everybody, for the way we played tonight. The effort, the competitive spirit wasn’t there. That team came out and played like it was a championship game and we played like it was a middle of the season game. “So I apologize.” The Raptors were virtual spectators for the Russell Westbrook show Thursday, throttled 123102 by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

While Casey normally addresses the media 10 to 15 minutes after the final buzzer, the coach didn’t emerge until a full 38 minutes post-game.

“A lot of people talked a lot,” P.J. Tucker said of the meeting. “It was a good conversation but enough talking. We’ve got 14 games left, it’s time to put it into action, it’s time guys go out and show that we care about each other and we want to do something special here. We have the team to do it.

“It was terrible. It was a terrible game. There’s no two ways to put it, it was a terrible game.”

Westbrook had 24 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for his 34th triple double of the season. He took less than three quarters to achieve it, and now needs just seven more triple doubles to beat Oscar Robertson’s single-season record. The guard put on an MVP-worthy show, including a spectacular bounce pass from half-court that went through the legs of a running Cory Joseph and into the hands of Victor Oladipo who finished with a basket.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points to lead the Raptors (39-29), who have won just once in their last four games.

The three-time all-star said the loss was all about effort.

“No excuse for it,” DeRozan said. “It’s something where we have to go out there and play hard, simple as that. No matter if we make or miss shots, we’ve got to go out there and play hard.

“We’ve got to play with pride and whatever you want to call it, a sense of urgency.”