San Antonio Spurs 102 – Raptors 95: made ’em sweat

Apr 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Norman Powell (24) and forward Terrence Ross (31) and center Jonas Valanciunas (17) defend against San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the second half at the AT&T Center. The Spurs defeat the Raptors 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Norman Powell (24) and forward Terrence Ross (31) and center Jonas Valanciunas (17) defend against San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the second half at the AT&T Center. The Spurs defeat the Raptors 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Raptors were short-handed by choice but didn’t mail in their effort. Toronto’s young players played like veterans.

The Toronto Raptors did the best they could using a lineup of rotation players and rookies. They never led in this game, but they never quit either. The San Antonio Spurs needed to use their best players the entire match to maintain their perfect home record.

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While I’m not a fan of the idea of a moral victory, because of how often [about 100%] it’s a loss in the record book, I’ve no other way to describe the spirited Raptors effort.

Apr 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Delon Wright (55) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) during the second half at the AT&T Center. The Spurs defeat the Raptors 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Delon Wright (55) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (21) during the second half at the AT&T Center. The Spurs defeat the Raptors 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Coach Dwane Casey gave Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan the night off (Kyle didn’t even dress). Norman Powell and Delon Wright received extended minutes, which was great for the rookies’ learning curves but not likely to help produce a win (not that there was much chance of one anyway).

The kids were more than alright against the mighty Spurs. Norman scored 17 points, which led our attack. Delon added 12, with several of his baskets coming off some nifty drives.

The Raptors scored 40 field goals, five more than the Spurs, including a 6-5 margin from beyond the arc. Sadly, this game was lost at the foul line, where the Spurs poured in 27 of 30 attempts, compared to 9 of 10 for the Raptors.

Much like the Memphis game, both coaches were assailing the work of the referees. If I were a zebra, I’d hate to whistle a San Antonio game. Coaching legend Greg Popovich can snap at any time, and his prestige is so great that he frightens refs into make-up calls. Not that I’m suggesting his outsized reputation created a 3-1 margin at the charity stripe for his team, no, not at all…

The rebounding margin was grossly overweighted; 47-32 in favour of San Antonio, as they “won” both ends of the floor. Tim Duncan used positioning and smarts to his advantage, frequently staying floor-bound (as he did for his three blocked shots) while tipping rebounds to his mates.

In Q4 Toronto closed the gap to four points twice but were forced to foul late. Their prayers weren’t answered, as the veteran Spurs kept draining their free throws. Kawhi Leonard didn’t miss a shot, scoring 14 in the quarter. He ended with 33 points, while frequent Raptors killer LaMarcus Aldridge did his thing again with 31. He’s my mental image of a true power forward. Aldridge shoots accurately out to the arc, passes out of trouble, rebounds at both ends and protects the paint.

The first quarter belonged to Jonas Valanciunas, who led all scorers with 10 points. He beat his cover in the low post with simple, efficient moves and took open looks when available. He was rested in favour of Bismack Biyombo for much of Q2, and his mates largely forgot about him. Being cooled out by your own team isn’t optimal. JV finished with 16.

Meantime, the Spurs offense functioned like a well-oiled machine. They don’t get into late-clock dilemmas but move the ball inside and out until a quality shot is revealed. And they can all shoot. Leonard may be the quietest superstar I’ve ever seen. He has no interest in spectacular plays and doesn’t require them to make an impact.

Cory Joseph played almost 33 minutes and scored 16, while delivering 7 assists. We could have done without his 4 turnovers, but the Spurs are notorious for forcing those.

The Raptors are home against Charlotte on Tuesday.