Game Blog: Spurs @ Raptors - Feb.9

[timtonymanu]

Duncan beast block.

[GinobiliForTres]

Seriously this Raptor guy really overreacts to every play. I don't think Kevin Harlan yells this much.

his pants must be soaked from all the jizzing in the 3rd quarter.

[Muser]

Seriously this Raptor guy really overreacts to every play. I don't think Kevin Harlan yells this much.

He shits himself if a Raptor makes a freakin' free throw.

[CFH]

Neal gets a call, NOWAI!

[Cessation]

lol raps have their own chucker/Bean barboass

[DPG21920]

Spurs defense has been solid this quarter. Much better energy and rotations.

[Spurologist]

barbosa is now in clutch mode

[DesignatedT]

wow blair has really imrpoved throughout the season on his touch under the rim. great shot

[arodz]

Raptors showing their colors in nut cuttin' time

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Spurs have this game now.

[Muser]

Neal 3 FTs

[DPG21920]

Blair with a very solid game. His energy has really helped the Spurs tonight.

[m33p0]

even neal is missing free throws.

[Leetonidas]

And the brickfest as the FT line continues.

[Muser]

Good to see Leandro hasn't changed over the years.

[TIMMYD!]

Missed FT's are contagious tonight.

[CFH]

Wow, what's up with the free throw shooting tonight?

[Creation88]

FT shooting is horrendous.

[Leetonidas]

lol barbosa

[timtonymanu]

Seriously Neal?

[DPG21920]

What a freaking pass by Tim. Spurs with great ball movement.

[CFH]

Nice passing

[Muser]

God damn great pass from Duncan

[Refocus]

The beast!

[m33p0]

mwrar!

[L.I.T]

The Spurs have just ground the Raps into the dust. Amazing. Almost like they really are pacing themselves.

[Muser]

That's game then. Great D in the 4th.

[Capt Bringdown]

lol @ Tiago's sprained hamstring... Just when he starts showing some worth... Poor guy can't catch a break

Yeah, kinda of a sign that it just wasn't meant to be for him this year.

[benefactor]

Foot is on the gas

[Spurs Brazil]

TD and Blair working great together

[m33p0]

24 seconds... wow... that's rare.

[TIMMYD!]

Another block by Tim!

[CFH]

Timmy with the block and Neal with the hustle

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Parker going to the line for two.

[TIMMYD!]

Tim quietly having a monster game.

[lefty]

We won in Portland????

:lmao

[L.I.T]

I'll be curious to see if the Spurs are the best team in the 4th quarter this year. They seem to have a tendency to turn it on early in the fourth and just continue through to the end of the game.

[benefactor]

This was a competitive game just a short while ago.

[DPG21920]

Tim has played a great all around game. He finally saw the jumper wasn't falling, so he did more work down low and it paid off.

[Tp9gospursgo]

Spurs playing great defense now.

[timtonymanu]

Good to see Duncan taking advantage of the shitty defense. Wow. The Craptors are now shooting under 50% when they shooting over that the whole game.

[DesignatedT]

lol wow. what a great quarter. crazy we refuse to play like this for the whole game :lol

[m33p0]

good move from derozan.

[Muser]

Well, good night to all. Spurs just played down to a scrub team until the 4th tbh.

[siraulo23]

we're 4-0 so far on RRT?

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I think Tiago's hammy is just slightly tweaked. He presumably hurt it on that nasty spill, because after that play I saw him grabbing his backside, where is hamstring is.

And right after that he was moving fine and even got a double-clutch shot at the rim.

I think Pop's just being very cautious.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Nice jumper by Parker!

[m33p0]

almost twice now.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

We won in Portland????

:lmao
I guess we did. :lol

[arodz]

Spurs will head to Philly tonight and Pop should make all the guys spend tomorrow at a Day spa to get ready for another back to back.

[Arc]

the raptors just came back down to earth and are now missing their shots.

[lefty]

we're 4-0 so far on RRT?

And apparently we destroyed the Blazers

[DPG21920]

lol wow. what a great quarter. crazy we refuse to play like this for the whole game :lol

You simply can't do that for 82 games. They did a great job of managing the game, even if they didn't go full speed on both ends.

4-1

[CFH]

Spurs just like to toy with teams till' the 4th quarter

[awktalk]

Novak coming in

[m33p0]

I think Tiago's hammy is just slightly tweaked. He presumably hurt it on that nasty spill, because after that play I saw him grabbing his backside, where is hamstring is.

And right after that he was moving fine and even got a double-clutch shot at the rim.

I think Pop's just being very cautious.

hamstring is on the back side of the thigh... not the kidney area.

[Capt Bringdown]

I'm curious how many layups the Raptors got tonight. Seems like every basket they make is a layup FFS.

[InRareForm]

"This team just has another gear, they say enough is enough, we are putting you away" - raptors announcer

[timtonymanu]

Good to see the Spurs break the losing streak in Toronto.

[Spurs Brazil]

Spurs playing great defense now.

I don't know why took so long. Play strong D in the 1st half and Novak-Quinn would play 10 minutes today

[Mugen]

damn i hope Tiago isnt out long. was lookin forward to him gettin mins. this weekend.

good D by the spurs in the 4th.

Blair PYOG tonight.

[Spurologist]

+30 in the paint. DAMN

[DesignatedT]

novak about to bust some treys

[Leetonidas]

This is frustrating to watch some times, but I'm glad that they almost ALWAYS seem to shift gears and break the game open in the 4th. I too am curious about the 4th quarter stats for our Spurs.

[cutewizard]

Spurs win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[awktalk]

30 assists on 45 buckets. Offense is incredible. Defense up to par in the 4th.

[Tp9gospursgo]

Novac

[Ice009]

Blair with a very solid game. His energy has really helped the Spurs tonight.

Great game from DeJuan, especially the 4th quarter.

[lefty]

Lulz

[lefty]

Mlik Rose sighting !!!!

[Budkin]

What's going on here?

[Spurs Brazil]

Hope Tiago injury is not bad, today he did a good job.

And the good thing Dice got the night off

[BanditHiro]

i hope they have checked the guy with the turban...

[timtonymanu]

Ugh Barbosa

[Budkin]

Blair!!

[Budkin]

Blair fucking beasting!

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

blairr eatingg glasssss

[CFH]

Blair isn't done

[L.I.T]

Early second round pick.

[Libri]

The Beast!!

[DesignatedT]

blair is a FUCKING BEAST

[L.I.T]

And that was just nasty.

[CFH]

Blair stat padding :lol

[Budkin]

Blair awesome!

[Cessation]

wow blair beasting

[m33p0]

[/ballgame]

[DPG21920]

Blair :lmao

Going nuts on the offensive glass.

[Spurologist]

FUCKING BLAIR

:lmao

TAKE IT EASY MAN!

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

lol blair :rollin

[TIMMYD!]

DeJuan "The Motherfucking Beast" Blair

[hater]

LOL Dejuan stat padding

[lefty]

Beast!!!!

:rollin

[timtonymanu]

Blair beasting. This looks more like the Blair I became a fan of.

[Warlord23]

Blair just took a dump over the entire Raptors franchise

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

Blair! Wow!

[DesignatedT]

LOL Blair. just ABUSING the raptors front court. hilarious to watch

[Libri]

It's amazing how Blair is always standing at the right place where he can get the rebound.

[m33p0]

Pop: "Someone hand a glass of wine."

[Spurs Brazil]

Blair owning the Raptors

[Budkin]

Another great win!

[lefty]

Sarcastic cheers !!! :rollin

[BanditHiro]

i love blair ball

[Capt Bringdown]

Neal +26? zoinks!

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Blair made the Raptors look like little kids in those final possessions.

[Spurologist]

100 must be some sort of magic number for raptor fans

[Arc]

44-8 sup

[Mugen]

Sarcastic cheers !!! :rollin

what happens when teams hit a 100 in Canada?

do the fans get like a baguette or something?

[DPG21920]

Wow, just a great job by the Spurs of taking care of business. Very impressive. Great, great rebound on the RRT from the terrible Portland game.

4-1

[BoricuaCJA]

We just played good defense and offense the last few minutes and dominated. GJ Spurs.

[cutewizard]

blair was best player out there

[Refocus]

26 pts 11 rebounds, God damn!

[BlackSwordsMan]

Can we trade blair for lebron?

[Libri]

what happens when teams hit a 100 in Canada?

do the fans get like a baguette or something?

Malik said that it could be a free taco. :lol

[cutewizard]

blair with 26 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots!!!!

awesome blair

[lefty]

i hope they have checked the guy with the turban...

Lol I was sitting right behind him in a pre-seaaon game

[mVp]

You gotta love Blair's hustle... what a fucking beast.

[BlackSwordsMan]

blair+neal+quinn+jefferson+novak+the spur mascot if they need the contracts to match

[Cant_Be_Faded]

McDyess with a much needed DNP-CD

[cutewizard]

blair was an animal tonite

manu with some deft passes

[cutewizard]

i am liking this rodeo trip so far

[lefty]

what happens when teams hit a 100 in Canada?

do the fans get like a baguette or something?

Mapke syrup

[m33p0]

thank you, french guys!

[cutewizard]

duncan with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists

not bad for Old Wine Duncan

[DesignatedT]

Neal +26? zoinks!

:wow

[cutewizard]

cool 4th quarter by the spurs

[Spurs Brazil]

Spurs played terrible D in the 1st 3 quarters but Raptors is so bad that 1 quarter of decent D was enough. We can't do that against the 76ers. They're playing well, we need to start strong from the tip

Blair had trouble against Bargnani on D but on O he killed the Raptors. He's playing much more under control now. Good to see.

[cutewizard]

truly blair is becoming impressive by the day!!!!!!

go Grizzly bear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cutewizard]

spurs put it away in the 4th quarter with good defense

[alfahdlan]

the great things is four of the spurs have 6 or more dimes mostly for blair

[cutewizard]

another win, another day in paradise by the spurs

[ThePop]

i hope they have checked the guy with the turban...

http://images.mylot.com/userImages/images/postphotos/2283585.gif

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Spurs make it look easy to win all these games on the road. Next up: 76ers! Go Spurs Go!

[cutewizard]

Super jedi Manu with 12 points and 9 assists!!!!

cool!!!!

[cutewizard]

hill with a good game too

[cutewizard]

Hill with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals!!!!!

impressive

[cutewizard]

just hoping tiago is not hurt

[LakerHater]

duncan with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists

not bad for Old Wine Duncan
It seemed like he was the only one trying to play D!!
Spurs had no energy on the defensive end but, Back to backs have been our achilles heel this season!

[Spurs Brazil]

TD with 5blks

[Pauleta14]

duncan with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists

not bad for Old Wine Duncan


in 25 mins only...

[cutewizard]

Tiago with a decent game,

6 points, 8 rebounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cutewizard]

yeah , timmy with 5 blocks too!!!!!

cool

[cutewizard]

its like the spurs just wait for one quarter to turn on the Defence.......

oh yeah, and its enough

[jimo2305]

funny postgame interview with hill

[cutewizard]

the raptors just VANISHED in the 4th guys

[DPG21920]

Tim/TP/Manu/Blair/Hill were absolute monsters statistically tonight.

Tiago played very well on both ends in his time as well. Just an all around feel good game if you ask me.

[cutewizard]

still wv got to be content with the way things are going for us...


best record in the nba, with no sweat?

hehe


lol

[cutewizard]

Guys,

did you see how our Coach Pop sort of laid back in his seat in the 4th

a near-smile in his face

he is enjoying this, he can feel something is special brewing this year...

oh yeah, Pop can feel it....

[cutewizard]

guys, there is something in this team, our Spurs this year

something.............

INTANGIBLE

[cutewizard]

in 25 mins only...



INDEED

nice game by our Spurs

[cutewizard]

Tim/TP/Manu/Blair/Hill were absolute monsters statistically tonight.

Tiago played very well on both ends in his time as well. Just an all around feel good game if you ask me.



completely agree with you man

i really like Tiago.......

[cutewizard]

oh god, i hope all Spurs games are like this

hehehehehe

[cutewizard]

the Spurs are actually the best team in the nba, skill wise

the way i look at it

they are not arrogant, pompous asses like players from other teams

they do it with SKILL

[cutewizard]

Mr Sandwich was one of four from three point land tonite

practice those bombs Bonner,

wll gonna need them in the playoffs man

[cutewizard]

i tot Novak could have played more minutes

[timtonymanu]

44-8. Wow! Just last season, people were worried this team wouldn't reach 50 wins and now they are almost there before the ASB.

[cutewizard]

Neal should practice his free throws more

bury those free throws Gary neal

[cutewizard]

the 4th quarter score was 32-16!!!!!

lol

cool

[cutewizard]

44-8. Wow! Just last season, people were worried this team wouldn't reach 50 wins and now they are almost there before the ASB.


right

we are blazing the sky fellas

go Spurs go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cutewizard]

i hope Manu is not too banged up in there

he has to play the all star game

[cutewizard]

would it not be better for Manu to rest

rather than play in the all star game?

[gameFACE]

This team should be called the "Horry Spurs". They play when it counts. In this case defense.

[cutewizard]

what an animal Blair was tonite

GO Blair go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cutewizard]

44-8 and counting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cutewizard]

another incredible pass by Manu tonite

[cutewizard]

Splitter can really play man

he just needs playing time

[cutewizard]

Splitter just needs to get stronger......

Go Tiago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mikepatton]

I propose that, from now on, there should be two Game Threads:



The regular Game Thread
And the awesome, new, CUTEWIZARD GAME THREAD!

[awktalk]

I propose that, from now on, there should be two Game Threads:



The regular Game Thread
And the awesome, new, CUTEWIZARD GAME THREAD!


:lol I agree. But she's (?) a welcome addition here, with all the peppiness and stuff.

:flag::flag:

[ElNono]

Good win. Next game will be interesting. Philly has been playing better and we've not beat them in their house in like 3 seasons.

[AidanNelson2009]

Great win by the Spurs, makes it 44-8 now, WOW, what a record so far. Tonight was a back-to-back, so all we needed to do was stay in the game till 3Q time, then turn it on in the last, it's exactly what they did, awsome :D

[Capt Bringdown]

Great win by the Spurs, makes it 44-8 now, WOW, what a record so far. Tonight was a back-to-back, so all we needed to do was stay in the game till 3Q time, then turn it on in the last, it's exactly what they did, awsome :D

Great win? Seems to me that we had to struggle too much to beat a 14 win team. Comparatively speaking, the Sac-town win was great in that we played up to our promise, this one was forgettable at best.

[duncan228]

Some post-game quotes.


Blair scores 28 as Spurs beat Raptors 111-100 (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011020928)

Even though they knew it was coming, the Toronto Raptors were still powerless to stop a fourth-quarter surge by the San Antonio Spurs.

DeJuan Blair matched a career high by scoring 16 of his 28 points in the fourth, George Hill had 18 points and the Spurs won their fourth straight game, beating the Raptors 111-100 Wednesday night.

Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each had 16 points and Manu Ginobili 12 as San Antonio won for the 15th time in 17 games.

“In the fourth quarter we knew they were going to crank it up,” Raptors coach Jay Triano said. “They had strategically rested their guys and came back in the fourth and made it difficult for us to score.”

With Blair making eight of his 11 shots in the fourth, it was even more difficult for the Raptors to keep pace with San Antonio, whose 44-8 record is the best in the NBA

“He’s just got a knack,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Blair. “He’s a natural player. He’s got great hands, he understands what’s going on. He’s got great body control. He gets it done.”

Blair added 11 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season. His previous high this season was 22 points, set in a Jan. 19 home win over Toronto. He also scored 28 against Oklahoma City on Jan. 13, 2010.

“He played great,” Parker said. “He was a beast on the boards and he was doing everything. He was getting in great position when I penetrated or when Manu penetrated. He was feeding off everybody.”

At 6-foot7, Blair doesn’t have the same height as most opposing centers, but he more than makes up for it in effort.

“I’m one of the shortest centers in the league but at the same time I think I’ve got one of the biggest hearts as well,” Blair said.

Being willing to throw his 270-pound frame around doesn’t hurt, either.

“He’s the type that’s going to lay it on the line and rebound and do some dirty work,” Hill said of Blair. “We don’t worry about his size. We all know he can make up for that with his strength. He just bullies people.”

Andrea Bargnani scored 29 points and DeMar DeRozan had 25 for the Raptors, who have lost 15 of 16.

Amir Johnson had 12 points and 13 rebounds, Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points and Jose Calderon had 11 assists for Toronto.

Trailing by three points to begin the final quarter, the Spurs opened the fourth with a 9-2 run, forcing Toronto to call timeout after a 3-pointer by Matt Bonner with 10:22 remaining put San Antonio up 90-86. The Spurs scored six of the next eight points after the stoppage to lead 96-88 with 8:25 left.

“We had a great fourth quarter tonight,” Popovich said. “But I thought in the first three quarters that Toronto sliced and diced us. Finally, in the fourth quarter, we handled it all well.”

Even with the strong finish, Popovich made it clear he wasn’t satisfied.

“That’s not good enough come playoff time,” he said.

Bargnani scored 13 points in the opening quarter while Parker made all five shots he took in the first as the Spurs took a 31-29 lead after 12 minutes.

Toronto trailed 52-43 with 3:55 left in the half but DeRozan scored on three straight possessions to help cut the deficit to 60-56 at the break.

San Antonio extended its lead to 70-62 with 6:55 left in the third before Toronto battled back, taking advantage of five straight Spurs misses. A 3-pointer by Bargnani gave the Raptors a 73-72 lead at 4:15, putting Toronto in front for the first time since the opening quarter. The Raptors led 84-81 heading into the fourth.

Toronto’s Johnson limped off midway through the first after spraining his right ankle, but returned to start the second.

“Amir was hurt,” Triano said. “You could tell even when he got offensive rebounds in the second half, he couldn’t explode back up with it.”

San Antonio rookie Tiago Splitter left late in the third with a strained left hamstring and did not return.

“It’s a little bit painful right now but I’ll be good,” Splitter said. The Spurs visit Philadelphia on Friday night.

Raptors guard Jerryd Bayless returned after missing the past two games with a sprained right knee, while Alexis Ajinca played despite sitting out Tuesday’s loss at Milwaukee with a sore toe.

Notes: Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins sat courtside and was honored as the Raptors marked Black History Month. … Former Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar watched the game from a luxury suite. … The Spurs lost their two previous visits to Toronto.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011020928

[Capt Bringdown]

“It’s a little bit painful right now but I’ll be good,” Splitter said. The Spurs visit Philadelphia on Friday night.

Good to hear, I hope he makes it back soon as he was finally starting to round into form and getting more burn.

[Budkin]

guys, there is something in this team, our Spurs this year

something.............

INTANGIBLE

Agreed... this is unlike anything we've seen in this team in quite a few years.

[duncan228]

Highlights

http://www.nba.com/video/games/raptors/2011/02/09/0021000777_sas_tor_recap.nba/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

[Cessation]

Splitter is butthurt.

[LakerHater]

Highlights

http://www.nba.com/video/games/raptors/2011/02/09/0021000777_sas_tor_recap.nba/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt2

Got'em in Youtube??

[Cessation]

cutwizard is female?

[TampaDude]

Spurs toyed with them for 3 quarters, then put them away in the 4th. Great win, guys!

GO SPURS GO!!!!!

[duncan228]

Beast.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/ap/00/fullj.fa1bff9996b9f98f4b534fd9ef6086d4/ap-afdf3ebf7bee4007b34be04c656350a8.jpg

[TampaDude]

Beast.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/ap/00/fullj.fa1bff9996b9f98f4b534fd9ef6086d4/ap-afdf3ebf7bee4007b34be04c656350a8.jpg

Yup...28 and 11 tonight...beast, indeed!!! :hat

[duncan228]

..."We always try to make adjustments in the game,” point guard Tony Parker said. “We made a good one in the fourth.”


..."We got more physical, started rebounding,” center DeJuan Blair said. “We played Spurs basketball.”


...Afterward, Popovich was asked a question to which there is no obvious answer. If his team could play that well defensively in the fourth quarter, why not the previous three?

“If I knew, everyone would score 20 against us,” Popovich said.

Spurs find defense – finally – in fourth (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/02/09/spurs-find-defense-finally-in-fourth/)
Jeff McDonald

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/02/09/spurs-find-defense-finally-in-fourth/

[duncan228]

San Antonio Spurs 113, Toronto Raptors 100: The Spurs and the walking dead (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Jesse Blanchard
48 Minutes of Hell

To quote my colleague and Editor Timothy Varner, another night another ho-hum victory for the San Antonio Spurs.

There is a reason why, in Detroit, Varner and the contingent of travelling Spurs media were quizzed by perplexed beat reporters on what exactly makes this team so damn good (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/san-antonio-spurs-100-detroit-pistons-89-no-one-knows-what-makes-the-spurs-so-good) at 44-8. For over three quarters in Toronto it was impossible to distinguish one team from the other before the Spurs pulled away for a relatively easy victory (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310209028).

But the San Antonio Spurs will not be, as suggested, the first team in NBA history to accidentally back their way into 65-wins. Though they might be the first to stumble their way into it, this is no accident. This is purposeful.

Because the offense-oriented nature of this Spurs revival, there have been comparisons to the Phoenix Suns of recent memory. But those Phoenix teams injected life and a frenetic pace into the game, if only to burn out every season. These Spurs offer no such charisma, speed, or energy. They simply march forward at a steady, unrelenting pace.

What makes these Spurs so good? Simply put, they won’t die. Or, in another theory, they are the walking undead. Zombies.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/san-antonio-spurs-113-toronto-raptors-100-the-spurs-and-the-walking-dead#more-12812)

[TampaDude]

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b168/Basel57/Comic.jpg

[duncan228]

Hit the link for the whole piece.


Spurs share the wealth with rare statistical feat (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/02/10/spurs-share-the-wealth-with-rare-statistical-feat/)
Tim Griffin

...Four different Spurs had at least six assists in the game, a feat that hasn’t happened for the franchise in more than 18 seasons acccording to STATS LLC.


...STATS reports the last time the Spurs had four players with at least six assists in the same game came in a 113-105 loss at Atlanta on Dec. 5, 1992, in a game coached by Jerry Tarkanian.


...And it’s been nearly a year since it happened in the NBA. Golden State achieved it on Feb. 10, 2010, in a 132-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/02/10/spurs-share-the-wealth-with-rare-statistical-feat/

[Bukefal]

Wow, nice DeJuan :clap

[Cessation]

nice comic, spurs are coming back from the dead, lol

[Manufan909]

wow blair beasting

Never expected you to type that.:p:

P.S. What was Blair doing on the last couple possessions? Dunking after getting the O board with 5 Raptors draped on him?