LaredoSpur
03-03-2005, 10:26 AM
The Toronto Paper is Less Harsh on Spurs Re Their Win
Spurs take Raps to hoops school
San Antonio defence stifles Toronto
Fourth-quarter comeback falls short
DOUG SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—It was a combustible mix, the NBA's best defensive team against one that all of a sudden couldn't make a shot to save its collective soul.
And the results were predictable.
With San Antonio defending as it usually does and the Raptors shooting like they seldom do, the Spurs rolled to a 92-86 victory at the SBC Center here last night, underscoring the huge disparity between a legitimate NBA championship contender and a team clawing to stay within shouting distance of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
It's hard to ascribe blame for what transpired because the Raptors are generally better than they showed and the Spurs, while good, should have to work harder to earn a victory.
Toronto shot 24 per cent in the first half, as atrocious as the Raptors have been all season, and only one of their patented fourth-quarter rallies made the final score respectable. Not indicative of the play, mind you, but respectable.
"I thought we had some good looks in the first half and I thought we rushed some things, too," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said.
"If you're not making shots against them, it's going to be tough to win. That's a tough basketball team; they're long and they're athletic."
It is easier to chalk it up to just one of those nights that occur periodically in the NBA, an evening when nothing went right on one side, everything worked out okay on the other and the attention can now be focused on what lies ahead.
That's because there was nothing that could be considered remotely positive for Toronto — well, no one got hurt — while the workmanlike Spurs overcame 17 turnovers and were glad to get out of the game with a win.
"We decided to go ahead and count this as a win after much discussion," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich joked. "When you miss free throws and have turnovers, it keeps teams in the ball game."
Toronto, which made only nine field goals in the entire first half, shot 36 per cent from the field in the face of the typically stingy San Antonio defence and the Raptors' own terrible shooting.
The Raptors were in early foul trouble, settled for quick shots instead of good ones on offence and were not completely embarrassed only because they enjoyed a huge free-throw-attempt advantage. Toronto was 29for35 from the free-throw line, the Spurs were 11for19.
Other than that, it was all Spurs, as San Antonio ran its home record to 25-2 on the season. No one was outstanding — MVP candidate Tim Duncan was pretty much a non-factor — but the Spurs are deep enough and talented enough that so-so play from a handful of them is enough to beat a team like Toronto.
Duncan finished with only 13 points but had 11 rebounds and made two big baskets late in the fourth quarter.
Duncan and fellow 7-foot Spur Rasho Nesterovic dominated inside, allowing San Antonio to hold a 45-32 rebounding advantage.
"They've got two 7-footers, they've got the paint locked up," said Donyell Marshall, who defended against Duncan as well as he could and finished with 11 points and nine boards. "They force teams to make jump shots and when you're not making them, you're not going to win."
But, to their credit, the Raptors did not stop playing, despite trailing by as many as 21 points in the third quarter. They cut the lead to seven with just under two minutes left, but the Spurs grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds they turned into baskets to seal the win.
"We let them build an 18- or 19-point lead in the third quarter (it got as high as 21) and you can't do that against a good team at home," Mitchell said.
"But our guys never quit."
Spurs take Raps to hoops school
San Antonio defence stifles Toronto
Fourth-quarter comeback falls short
DOUG SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—It was a combustible mix, the NBA's best defensive team against one that all of a sudden couldn't make a shot to save its collective soul.
And the results were predictable.
With San Antonio defending as it usually does and the Raptors shooting like they seldom do, the Spurs rolled to a 92-86 victory at the SBC Center here last night, underscoring the huge disparity between a legitimate NBA championship contender and a team clawing to stay within shouting distance of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
It's hard to ascribe blame for what transpired because the Raptors are generally better than they showed and the Spurs, while good, should have to work harder to earn a victory.
Toronto shot 24 per cent in the first half, as atrocious as the Raptors have been all season, and only one of their patented fourth-quarter rallies made the final score respectable. Not indicative of the play, mind you, but respectable.
"I thought we had some good looks in the first half and I thought we rushed some things, too," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said.
"If you're not making shots against them, it's going to be tough to win. That's a tough basketball team; they're long and they're athletic."
It is easier to chalk it up to just one of those nights that occur periodically in the NBA, an evening when nothing went right on one side, everything worked out okay on the other and the attention can now be focused on what lies ahead.
That's because there was nothing that could be considered remotely positive for Toronto — well, no one got hurt — while the workmanlike Spurs overcame 17 turnovers and were glad to get out of the game with a win.
"We decided to go ahead and count this as a win after much discussion," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich joked. "When you miss free throws and have turnovers, it keeps teams in the ball game."
Toronto, which made only nine field goals in the entire first half, shot 36 per cent from the field in the face of the typically stingy San Antonio defence and the Raptors' own terrible shooting.
The Raptors were in early foul trouble, settled for quick shots instead of good ones on offence and were not completely embarrassed only because they enjoyed a huge free-throw-attempt advantage. Toronto was 29for35 from the free-throw line, the Spurs were 11for19.
Other than that, it was all Spurs, as San Antonio ran its home record to 25-2 on the season. No one was outstanding — MVP candidate Tim Duncan was pretty much a non-factor — but the Spurs are deep enough and talented enough that so-so play from a handful of them is enough to beat a team like Toronto.
Duncan finished with only 13 points but had 11 rebounds and made two big baskets late in the fourth quarter.
Duncan and fellow 7-foot Spur Rasho Nesterovic dominated inside, allowing San Antonio to hold a 45-32 rebounding advantage.
"They've got two 7-footers, they've got the paint locked up," said Donyell Marshall, who defended against Duncan as well as he could and finished with 11 points and nine boards. "They force teams to make jump shots and when you're not making them, you're not going to win."
But, to their credit, the Raptors did not stop playing, despite trailing by as many as 21 points in the third quarter. They cut the lead to seven with just under two minutes left, but the Spurs grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds they turned into baskets to seal the win.
"We let them build an 18- or 19-point lead in the third quarter (it got as high as 21) and you can't do that against a good team at home," Mitchell said.
"But our guys never quit."