Playing the second game of a back-to-back and the third game in four days, the last thing the Maine Red Claws probably wanted to see Sunday was a well-rested team with the ability to pound the ball inside.

Maine was missing the zip it had during a three-game winning streak heading into the matchup with the Raptors 905, who got into Portland on Saturday and hadn’t played since Thursday. The Raptors took advantage on their way to a 102-89 win.

Maine's Demetrius Jackson, left, looks to make a pass while being defended by Raptors 905's Antwaine Wiggins during the Red Claws' 102-89 loss on Sunday. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

Red Claws Coach Scott Morrison thinks his team’s 7-3 record isn’t quite what it seems. It showed Sunday when Maine was outscored in the paint (66-36) and lost the rebounding battle (17-5 on the offensive glass, 44-33 overall).

“We’ve got to improve. We are not improving at the rate we need to,” Morrison said. “We have a decent team but we are not at the level of the best teams yet.”

Raptors 905 are coached by Jerry Stackhouse, who played 18 seasons in the NBA. Stackhouse recently moved 7-foot-3 center Edy Taveres into the starting lineup. Taveres was a tough matchup for Maine, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while altering a number of shots on the defensive end.

The presense of Tavares and 6-11 Yanick Moreira allows the Raptors to go inside or kick it out if Maine collapses down low. The result was open shots and the Raptors shoot 48.4 percent from the floor.

“I want to take advantage of Edy’s length and his ability to finish around the basket,” said Stackhouse, who has guided his team to a 6-2 record in his first year as coach. “It’s old-school basketball, playing inside-out. I loved the fact that we established ourselves and played our style.”

Jordan Mickey, the 6-8 second-year pro who was playing in his second game since being assigned by the Celtics, often defended Tavares.

“The game is changing a lot so you don’t see as many guys like that,” Mickey said.

“But some team do have them and you have to be able to adjust to try to help your team get the win.”

Tavares scored eight points in the first quarter and 16 in the second as the Raptors took a 58-42 lead.

“Unfortunately I think this being our third game in four nights showed,” Morrison said. “It’s just an excuse, but I think it affected us a bit, especially in the first half.”

Damion Lee was 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 25 points to lead Maine.

Demetrius Jackson, recently assigned to the Red Claws from the Celtics finished with 17, while Mickey had 10. Jalen Jones and Arthur Edwards each had 11.

Raptors 905 pushed the lead to 25 points, 70-45, a little more than midway through the third quarter.

Maine cut the deficit to 98-87 with 45.7 seconds left, but ran out of time.

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