With just less than seven minutes remaining last night, the Celtics had everything they could have possibly asked for.

They had a nine-point lead on their own floor against a team that was playing the second night of a back-to-back. They had spent a lovely Thanksgiving at home and had to figure their tanks were a damn sight closer to full than that of the Raptors. They even had Vince Carter playing more like his namesake from ``Gomer Pyle'' than his all-star self (6-of-21 from the floor, 1-of-6 on treys).

But - surprise, surprise, surprise - it still wasn't enough to see the Celtics through to victory. All it took to wrestle the defeat away from the aforementioned preponderance of positives was one prolonged cold snap.