Spurs-Raptors Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Feb 15 2012 12:20AM

The Toronto Raptors just lost a heartbreaking game to the Eastern Conference's hottest team.

Welcoming the only team in the NBA with a longer winning streak could make it tough for the Raptors to bounce back.

The Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs will try to extend their season-best winning streak to nine on Wednesday night when they continue their lengthy trip in Toronto.

Leading the New York Knicks by as many as 17 - and 12 in the fourth quarter - the Raptors (9-21) lost 90-87 on Tuesday night when Jeremy Lin continued his remarkable run with 27 points, including a 3-pointer in the face of Jose Calderon with half a second left.

"It should not have come to (Lin's) play," said coach Dwane Casey, whose team's last five defeats have been by a combined 20 points. "We had some many boneheaded plays to get to that play and to make that play relevant. We should have taken care of business before that."

The Raptors, losers of seven of nine, continue their season-high seven-game homestand with their only matchup against San Antonio this season.

The Spurs (20-9) arrive in Toronto after improving to 4-0 on their nine-game trip with Tuesday's 99-95 victory over Detroit. San Antonio had won just twice in 10 road games prior to this stretch.

Tim Duncan has turned back the clock on this trip, averaging 16.5 points and 12.8 rebounds. The 35-year-old posted his fifth consecutive double-double on Tuesday with 18 points and 13 boards.

Tony Parker scored eight of his 14 points in the final 2:07 and Manu Ginobili - playing his second game after missing 22 with a broken bone in his left hand - added seven assists off the bench.

"We've got three veteran players out there in Tim, Manu and Tony, and they made plays down the stretch when we needed them," coach Gregg Popovich said.

San Antonio last won nine in a row during a 10-0 stretch from Dec. 3-22, 2010.

The Spurs also have a chance to win six straight road games for the first time since an 8-0 run to begin 2010-11.

San Antonio avoided a third consecutive loss in Toronto and capped off its first season sweep in this series since 2006-07 with a 111-100 victory on Feb. 9, 2011.

DeMar DeRozan had 25 points in that game and led the Raptors with 53 on 54.1 percent from the field in two matchups against Spurs last season. The third-year guard, though, has totaled 22 points on 7-of-25 shooting in the last two games.

Calderon has been far more efficient in those contests, making 24 of 35 from the field and scoring 55 points.

Parker leads San Antonio with 21.0 points per game and 6.8 assists on the trip. The point guard is averaging 20.3 points and 6.0 assists in the Spurs' last three games in Toronto.

San Antonio has won 22 of 31 in this series.

Spurs win 9th straight, beat Raptors 113-106

Posted Feb 15 2012 10:56PM

TORONTO (AP) While "Linsanity" consumes the NBA, not too many people are paying attention to San Antonio's winning streak.

That's just fine with the Spurs. They don't mind flying under the radar.

Tony Parker had 34 points and 14 assists, and the Spurs extended their season-best winning streak to nine games with a 113-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

"We've been on fire lately," Parker said. "We've been playing very good basketball, moving the ball great."

But are the Spurs the league's unsung heroes? Not according to Parker.

"There's no bigger story than Jeremy Lin right now," Parker said of the New York Knicks' sensation. "I'm happy for him. It's almost like you want to cheer for him. You want him to make every shot. His story is like a movie and he's performing every night right now."

Manu Ginobili, who scored 11 points in his third game back after missing a month with a broken left hand, echoed Parker's comments.

"I think New York deserves all the attention after all they've been through and what's happening right now," Ginobili said. "They draw attention from me: the New York game finishes and I go to see what they did. It's crazy."

Danny Green scored 13 points and matched his career high with seven rebounds and Tiago Splitter also had 13 points for the Spurs, who have not lost since a 101-100 overtime defeat at Dallas on Jan. 29.

But the winning streak is no big deal to the Spurs, who are hoping for more important victories come playoff time.

"No one is walking around here talking about (the streak), no one is sitting here focused on it," said Richard Jefferson, who scored 10. "It's more about how can we get better and how can we improve going into the next game?"

Parker went 12 for 12 from the foul line for San Antonio, which last won nine straight during a 10-0 stretch from Dec. 3-22, 2010.

"His 12 for 12 was really exciting because he works a lot on his shot and to have him do that is a real confidence builder," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.

The victory was the sixth straight away from home for the Spurs, their longest run since winning eight straight road games to begin the 2010-11 season.

San Antonio's Tim Duncan failed to extend his run of five straight double-doubles, finishing with eight points and three rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points for the Raptors, who have lost three straight and eight of 10. Jose Calderon added 16 points and 11 assists.

Toronto guard Jerryd Bayless missed his fourth straight game with a sore left ankle, while forward Linas Kleiza was sidelined with a sore left knee. Leading scorer Andrea Bargnani sat for the 18th time in 20 games because of a strained left calf.

"We're a little undermanned," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said before the game. "If anybody is looking for a 10-day (contract), we're looking for bodies."

Toronto trailed by five points to begin the fourth, but used a pair of baskets by Calderon and a driving layup by DeRozan to cut it to one at 97-96 with 4:14 left.

San Antonio answered with a baseline jump shot by Gary Neal and a pair of free throws by Parker, restoring their five point advantage with 3:25 left.

Parker made all eight of his free-throw attempts down the stretch as the Spurs improved to 23-9 all-time against Toronto.

Casey said Parker has developed into "the whole package."

"The last couple of weeks, he's been playing at a big time level," Casey said. "He's one of my favorite players. He's so slithery and so quick and now he's gotten a little strength. He makes it tough to get into him and guard him in these situations. Now he's developed a jump shot, so you have to honor that."

Green got all seven of his rebounds and made three of San Antonio's six 3-pointers in the opening half as the Spurs, who shot 6 for 10 from beyond the arc, led 55-45 at the break.

Toronto battled back by making its first 10 shots of the second half. DeRozan scored 13 points in less than six minutes, including two on a reverse alley-oop from Calderon, and the Raptors followed with a layup from James Johnson that tied it at 66.

San Antonio answered with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes, taking a 79-70 lead and forcing Toronto to call timeout. The Spurs led 83-78 heading to the fourth.

Notes: Parker's career high in assists is 17, set Jan. 23 at New Orleans. ... The Spurs, who evened their road record at 8-8, have four games remaining on their season-long nine game road trip. They don't play again until Saturday against the Clippers, giving them a couple of days at home to break up the trip. ... San Antonio rookie Cory Joseph became the eighth Canadian-born player to appear in a game in Toronto. Cavaliers rookie Tristan Thompson, Joseph's college teammate at Texas, also played in his hometown on Jan. 4.

Notebook: Spurs 113, Raptors 106

Posted Wednesday February 15, 2012 10:54PM

By Duane Watson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The San Antonio Spurs (21-9) won their season-high ninth game in a row, beating the Toronto Raptors (9-22) 113-106 at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night. Tony Parker had a game-high 34 points and 14 assists to lead the Spurs to their sixth straight road win. The Raptors have lost their third game in a row and both games of a home back-to-back, losing to the Knicks on Tuesday night.

Down 55-45 at halftime, the Raptors made a (17-7) run in the third quarter to tie the game 66-66 with six minutes remaining. DeMar DeRozan scored 13 points in the quarter, but the Spurs widened the margin again to five points taking an 83-78 lead into the fourth quarter.

Jose Calderon scored 6 points on a Raptors 10-8 run to bring it with a 19 foot jumper to bring the game within one point 1 point at 97-96 with 4:14 in the fourth quarter. However, Raptors turnovers down the stretch killed their chances, with DeRozan committing an offensive foul and Gary Forbes' committing a double dribble with 33 seconds left in the game.

Tiago Splitter and Danny Green each scored 13 points for the Spurs. Manu Ginobili had 11 points, and Matt Bonner and Richard Jefferson scored 10 each for a balanced attack. The Raptors were led by DeRozan's season high 29 points, Calderon scored 16 points and 11 assists, Ed Davis had 11 points, while Amir Johnson, Anthony Carter and Rasual Butler each chipped in 10 points.

QUOTABLE: "Every game is new, it presents different challenges. I'm going to go ahead and guess we're probably going to lose at some point, maybe real quickly at some point. But you take some good lessons from wins and losses."
-- Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on the nine-game winning streak.

THE STAT: Bench scoring was big for both squads, with the Raptors missing three of their top six scorers due to injury. Andrea Bargnani (calf) Jerryd Bayless (ankle) Linas Kleiza (ankle) their bench stepped up, outscoring the Spurs 45-41. The Spurs bench had three players in double digits with Splitter, Ginobili and Bonner.

TURNING POINT: With the Raptors down 103-98, and 1:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, DeRozan denied his team a chance to narrow the margin. Committing an offensive foul on Ginoblili and turning over the ball, the Spurs went on a 10-8 run to finish the game.

QUOTABLE II: "We got nine in a row so if nobody talks about us that's good. We'll keep playing good basketball, I think the key for us is to be healthy at the right time."
-- Spurs guard Parker on going under the radar.

HOT: Spurs guard Danny Green scored a game-high 13 points in the first half on perfect shooting with 7 rebounds. He shot 3-for-3 from the 3-point line, 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. The Spurs shot 56.8 percent from the field in the half leading 55-45.

NOTABLE: Spurs guard Cory Joseph, a Toronto native, became the eighth Canadian player to appear in an NBA game in his home country. ... Kleiza was inactive after injuring his left knee and ankle in Tuesday's game vs. New York. ...The Spurs extended their season high winning streak to nine, they last won nine in a row during a 10-0 stretch from Dec. 3-22, 2010. ...The Spurs win marks their six straight road win, the first time since an 8-0 run to begin 2010-11. ... The Raptors are 1-4 on a record tying seven game homestand. ... The Spurs led wire-to-wire and have won three in a row against Toronto, including their last two visits to the Air Canada Centre.

UP NEXT: Toronto plays Friday vs. Charlotte, Wednesday vs. Detroit and Tuesday @ Houston. The Spurs continue their road swing Saturday @ LA Clippers, Monday @ Utah and Tuesday @ Portland.

• Spurs: Ford
• Raptors: Bargnani, Bayless

• Spurs: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #52 Scott Twardoski, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 15999
• Duration: 2:10