Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com
IT WAS OVER WHEN
Kyle Lowry exited with the Raptors trailing 64-97 and 8:03 remaining on the clock. Toronto finished out the game with reserves and rookie Pascal Siakam on the floor as the Spurs dominated from beginning to end in a 110-82 loss to close out their six-game road trip.
STRUGGLE FROM THE JUMP
The Raptors know how difficult it is to win in San Antonio; They haven’t done it in seven years. Despite wanting to snap that streak on Tuesday, Toronto wasn’t able to slow San Antonio early, allowing the Spurs to shoot 57 percent in the first quarter while making just 30 percent of their own field goals to trail 29-18 after one. DeMar DeRozan had 12 of Toronto’s 18 as he was the lone Raptors player to get anything going offensively.
SPURS STRETCH THE LEAD
Although Toronto was able to trim San Antonio’s lead to eight in the second quarter, the Raptors couldn’t contain the Spurs long enough to get back into the game. Giving up 31 points in the quarter, Toronto again allowed the Spurs to shoot 57 percent as they went into the half trailing 60-41 despite a 16-point half from DeMar DeRozan. Kawhi Leonard scored 21 in the half on 8-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-6 from beyond the arc to lead the Spurs.
MORE OF THE SAME IN THE SECOND HALF
Things didn’t get any easier in the third quarter for Toronto. DeRozan continued to score, making 5-of-7 shots for 10 points in the quarter, but the rest of the team went 1-for-11 as the Raptors scored just 17 points to San Antonio’s 28, and went into the fourth trailing 88-58 and the game all but decided. Pascal Siakam played the entire final quarter, and Lowry played four minutes, as Toronto went with reserves for the rest of the quarter, the hope of a comeback out of reach.
RAPTORS PLAYER OF THE GAME
The final score could have been worse if not for DeMar DeRozan’s 26-point performance. With the majority of his teammates struggling offensively, DeRozan scored a game-high 26 points on 12-for-21 field goals to go with four rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of action.
UNDERRATED RAPTORS PLAYER(S) OF THE GAME
Terrence Ross played 25 minutes off the bench and was Toronto’s second leading scorer. Ross scored 17 points on 7-for-11 field goals, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. Ross added five rebounds and two steals.
THAT'S A RAP…
“You don’t go up against a team like the San Antonio Spurs that often, on their home floor, at the end of a road trip for us. It’s no excuse. They took full advantage of every opportunity tonight. They got us good.”- DeMar DeRozan summing up a rough loss
BY THE #’S
37…Percent shooting for the Raptors, 55 percent shooting for the Spurs.
13…Made three-pointers for San Antonio (on 24 attempts), compared to just four for Toronto (on 18 attempts).
32…Assists for the Spurs, eight for the Raptors.
15…Blocked shots for San Antonio, four for Toronto. Pau Gasol led the Spurs with four blocked shots, while Kawhi Leonard added three.
THEY SAID IT…
“There’s no explanation. That was a championship performance from a championship team. If we don't come out and put our foot down each and every night, it’s not just tonight, we have had some slow starts and it’s a habit. We have to come out and develop those habits. That’s the way you come out, the championship approach and a desperation mode [that the Spurs had] and we didn’t meet it. That’s the ballgame. It started from the first play of the game.”- Dwane Casey on the start of the game setting the tone
“They took us out of our rhythm. They did a good job being physical and playing harder than us. Didn’t let us get to the spots that we wanted to and they made us take tough, contested shots.”- Cory Joseph on how the Spurs made things difficult from beginning to end
“Slow starts killed us, but we’ve just got to go out there and play, be more competitive. Tonight we just got the butt-kicking we got. They did their job; they did what they were supposed to do, you know 28-7. We’ve got to get better. If we want to compete with the best of the best, we’ve got to be better.”- Kyle Lowry on needing to curb slow starts
“Move on. It’s the Spurs. They did what they were supposed to do. Move on. Go back home and start off right.” - DeMar DeRozan on leaving the loss in the rearview
“I’ve always said we’ve got to develop where our defence can carry us when our shots are not falling, when teams get into us like tonight and when it’s a slugfest. You allow a team to shoot 55 percent? Whether it’s 13 days on the road, that’s no excuse. This is the NBA. Fatigue had something to do with it, but that’s when you strap it up and put your boots on, whoever is on the bench comes into the game and makes a difference.”- Dwane Casey on needing to be able to rely on defence when things get tough
UP NEXT:
Up next: The Raptors return to Toronto to take on the Utah Jazz at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday at 7:30 P.M. ET.