Raptors break the Spurs - Second home loss marked by turnovers
Web Posted: 12/29/2007 12:16 AM CST
Jeff McDonald
Express-News
Afterward, Gregg Popovich questioned his team's physicality and focus and execution, as well as a few other things.
Not among them were his mathematical abilities.
Based on his grasp of simple arithmetic, Popovich figures he should have been kicked out of the Spurs' 83-73 loss to Toronto on Friday much earlier than he actually was.
Popovich had already stalked off the AT&T Center floor in the fourth quarter, convinced he'd just picked up two successive technical fouls redeemable for one free ejection. A luckless team staffer had to race down the hallway to catch Popovich and break the bad news: Actually, no he hadn't.
This caused a stunned Popovich, who was hoping an ejection might fire up his listless troops, to double-check his math.
"I swear I can count," Popovich said after the game. "One plus one is two."
Instead, Popovich had to return to the floor, whereupon it took all of 0.2 seconds to scream his way into a bona fide heave-ho.
On a night in which Popovich set an unofficial NBA record for most ejections in one game, a few other things did not add up in the Spurs' favor, either.
Such as 19 turnovers, plus the worst shooting night of the season plus a general sense of sluggishness equals one ugly defeat.
It marked only the second time in 17 games this season that the Spurs (20-8) left the AT&T Center with a loss. It was the first time this year they lost to an Eastern Conference foe.
It was a night so bad for the Spurs, their coach couldn't even get ejected right.
Popovich said he could live with the turnovers. He could live with shooting a woeful 31.9 percent from the field. He could even live with setting a season scoring low.
But he could not live with the lethargic effort.
"I do care about not being as physical and not being as focused and not executing well," Popovich said. "All those things are inexcusable."
Jason Kapono scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Raptors (16-14), who built a 16-point lead in the first half and never trailed again.
Michael Finley had 20 to pace the Spurs, who played an inspired third quarter to pull within a point before coming unraveled again.
The game eventually devolved into a technical fest, with the Spurs' Matt Bonner and Tim Duncan picking up one apiece within 40 seconds of Popovich's ouster.
"I think they were looking for some calls they didn't get," said Toronto's Kris Humphries. "For us, we want it to be a situation where the ball is getting poked loose and guys are coming all over the place."
Humphries said that swarming strategy was good for harassing Duncan, who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, but also had five turnovers — second only to Tony Parker's seven.
By halftime, the Spurs had produced more turnovers (12) than field goals (10) and were lucky to be behind only 44-32. It took a Finley 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds for the Spurs to match their lowest-scoring first half of the season.
After closing to within a point late in the third quarter, the Spurs opened the fourth by missing three field goals, two foul shots and committing four turnovers before recording another point.
By the time Duncan became tangled with a horde of Raptors without drawing a whistle, the Spurs were behind by nine and Popovich was seething.
He exploded onto the court, red-faced and howling, to argue his point with referee Scott Wall. Wall issued a technical foul, after which Popovich swears he saw Bob Delaney call a second.
Popovich stalked to the locker room, only to be summoned again to the court again.
Purposefully, he didn't last long. It took Popovich two tries to get his ejection. His players wish it would have taken him zero.
"Pop shouldn't even have to do that," Robert Horry said. "We should fire ourselves up. We're professional basketball players."
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