Brad Stevens was not happy with the Boston Celtics' defensive performance in their blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Eastern Conference high flyers the Raptors took a commanding lead before half-time and cruised to an easy 118-95 NBA win over the Celtics in Toronto.

Celtics head coach Stevens addressed his team's poor play with reporters after Boston dropped to 37-24 on Tuesday.

"Same old, same old," Stevens said. "I thought we were all over the place defensively tonight. … We're taking too many shortcuts [defensively]."

The Celtics allowed Toronto to shoot 48.9 per cent from the field and 47.2 per cent from three-point range. They are now on a three-game losing streak and have dropped five of their last seven. 

"We have to be a lot more connected as a team," Stevens said. "That's been a theme for a while."

Celtics star Kyrie Irving, however, might not see it that way. 

"I don't know," Irving said when asked how to fix the team's defense. "It's up to Brad [Stevens]." 

Irving had just seven points on three-of-10 shooting from the field. He hit one of his three three-point attempts. 

The Celtics will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.