(Sports Network) - LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will try and right the ship after a disappointing opening night loss to Boston when they travel north of the border to face the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

The Celtics' Paul Pierce scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, pacing Boston to a 95-89 win Tuesday night over the Cavaliers and spoiling the regular season debut for the Cleveland tandem of James and Shaquille O'Neal.

James, the reigning MVP, poured in 38 points and had eight assists. O'Neal, a 15-time All-Star who was traded to the Cavaliers from the Phoenix Suns in the offseason, tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds in a rare home loss for the Cavs.

"They took us out of a lot of our sets that we've been working on in practice," said James. "They made us get into a lot of hot situations, meaning a late (shot) clock and a lot of one-on-one basketball. They're a really good defensive team."

Last season, the Cavaliers won their first 23 home games, on the way to a 39-2 mark at Quicken Loans Arena. The team also won the Central Division title before losing in six games to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.

When O'Neal was introduced in Cleveland his rallying cry was "win a ring for the King," referring to helping James break Cleveland's championship hex. The city hasn't won a major sports championship since 1964, when the Browns captured the NFL crown.

"It's not really tough," O'Neal said about fitting in with his new teammates. "I've been around basketball for a long time. We have to learn each other. We've only been at it for a month, month and a half. I like the work ethic in practice and I like how the guys played in the game. We'll be fine."

The Raptors were one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA last season. A great shooting club, Toronto showed little toughness on the boards and needed to upgrade significantly at the defensive end.

Despite their deficiencies, the Raptors big moves in the offseason were acquiring former Magic All-Star forward Hedo Turkoglu in a sign-and-trade deal, and drafting USC forward DeMar DeRozan in the first round of the draft, Turkoglu is the best point-forward in the game and DeRozan is an incredible leaper and explosive finisher but neither fills the Raptors' biggest needs.

Power forward Chris Bosh remains an All-Star and center Andrea Bargnani is a skilled big man, but neither likes to mix it up down low. Meanwhile, point guard Jose Calderon is nice facilitator but gives up quite a bit at the other end.

Toronto needed toughness and it picked up a little by dealing the sharp- shooting Jason Kapono to Philadelphia for Reggie Evans but Evans, a limited offensive player, is already out with a mid-foot sprain.

Meanwhile, Raptors coach Jay Triano will be at the helm for his first full season after replacing Sam Mitchell last year.

Cleveland swept the three-game season series between the two clubs last season, including a 93-76 blowout in the only game north of the border. Overall, the Cavs have won five straight and nine of their past 10 vs. the Raptors.



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