The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Toronto Raptors, playing their style better than them at times and surviving a late comeback attempt to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2017. It was a quieter
night from Victor Wembanyama in the scoring department — 24 points on 87.5 percent shooting — but it seemed like he was trying to make the point that his teammates are good enough to take the reins.
The Spurs put the Raptors in the rearview, taking a 27-10 lead in the first seven minutes. The Raptors closed some of the distance heading into the second quarter, but they were kept at arm’s length because their perimeter attack faltered, and the Spurs had five players log multiple baskets.
The Spurs soon took over. Victor Wembanyama heard some MVP chants in the second quarter, and the crew was never in danger of giving up a comeback while he was present. They even got into the bonus for the last six minutes and went to halftime ahead by 19 after making seven triples at the top of the key and 11 baskets in the lane.
But the second half followed a different script. The Spurs started the second half sloppily with four turnovers, causing coach Mitch Johnson to call an early timeout. They only had two baskets halfway through the third quarter with a handful of free throws, and the Raptors banked on those struggles, slowly creeping back into the game. The drought came from Toronto raising their pressure, and San Antonio’s offense going stagnant with some missed open jumpers.
The Spurs used Harrison Barnes at the five to start the fourth quarter, making the visitors defend five instead of four when Bismack Biyombo is on the floor. The Raptors subsequently cut the Spurs’ lead to eight on a 9-0 run, but Wembanayma, Stephon Castle and Harrison Barnes countered and powered San Antonio past the finish line.
Observations
- In the previous three wins, the Spurs averaged the third-slowest pace in the NBA (97.13), and the Raptors were the second-fastest team over their last three. The problem Toronto had over those games was that they didn’t have the same juice in their legs for defense after racing up the court, but that wasn’t the case against the Spurs in the second half. The Raptors late run was reminiscent of a veteran boxer getting stronger in the later rounds against a young opponent before their code is cracked.
- With Luke Kornet, Kelly Olynyk and Jeremy Sochan out, the backup big man rotation was desperately thin. Biyombo was summoned off the bench and attacked as the low man thrice quickly in his first minutes. The Raptors became looters in a riot without Wembanyama there to stop them as the Spurs were minus seven points in that span, then negative five in second non-Wemby minutes.
- Jakob Poeltl’s foot speed couldn’t keep up with Wembanyama’s upgraded footwork, nor could his reach challenge the release point. Wemby drew two fouls on him in the first five minutes and went on to make three more freebies than field goals. He also showed his point guard skills, taking the ball up court, plus had a marvelous feed to Devin Vassell on the break. On top of that, the Raptors had to deploy their wing players on Slick Vic to match speed, but they couldn’t do anything either.
- Stephon Castle continued his early-season streak of being a terror at close range. Keep in mind that he shot at just about league average last season at 0-3 feet. He got to his spots beating defenders in the half-court, and took 14 free throws, making nine. Turnovers have been one of his few weaknesses this year, and they were again on Monday with five against his four assists. He was averaging 6.7 turnovers before the game.
- Dylan Harper doesn’t play like a rookie. He added the finishing touches of the first quarter, assisting and scoring on five points in the last 28 seconds to push the Spurs’ lead to 41-29.
- Toronto’s top three players- Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes- are decent to below average at 3-point shooters. The Spurs’ defense held them to 47 points on 47 percent shooting. Ingram had the most success against San Antonio’s coverages in the first half, getting to the middle and backline, but Barrett was the threat after halftime.
