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 "We played good basketball after the first quarter," Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich said. "We played very badly in the first quarter, no
defense. Then we played pretty good ball after that."
Guard Manu Ginobili came off the bench to lead the Spurs with 16
points and nine assists. He added five rebounds.
"He played great D, moved the ball, passed the ball, made decisions,
he shot the ball well," Popovich said. "He's really starting to look
like Manu, which is great for us, obviously."
Buoyed by a big win against the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday, the
Raptors started confidently and led by as many as 14 points in the
first quarter and were ahead 36-24 entering the second quarter.
However, for the second game in a row, the Raptors played with a
short bench as they await the arrival of four players obtained from
the Sacramento Kings in a trade.
"I was really happy and proud with the way our guys executed in the
first quarter," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "It was a carryover
from the L.A. game, and it's a good sign. There are no excuses in
this league, but I'm going to chalk this up to travel a little bit.
We ran out of gas, and you're talking about one of the best teams in
the league."
Guard Tony Parker added 15 points for the Spurs, while guard Danny
Green and forwards Tim Duncan and Aron Baynes chipped in 14 each.
Guard Marco Belinelli had 12 and guard Patty Mills scored 11 for the
Spurs.
Forward Amir Johnson and guard DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 19
points each. Johnson added nine rebounds. Center Jonas Valanciunas
and guard/forward Terrence Ross scored 14 each, and guard Kyle Lowry
scored 11 points with seven assists and seven rebounds. Guard Dwight
Buycks added 10 off the bench.
The Spurs (16-4) won for the sixth consecutive meeting against the
Raptors (7-13), who last beat them Jan. 3, 2010, at the Air Canada
Centre.
The Spurs led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday.
"They started very confidently," Ginobili said. "Amir Johnson made a
lot of jumpers and Valanciunas in the post was really aggressive.
DeRozan was making shots. So they started really sharp. "But, of course, in a 48-minute game when you are playing
six, seven or eight guys against a team that plays 10, there's a
chance that will be a difference. But you can't let them be too
confident because once they're up 10 and the third quarter
approaches and then the fourth, then they get confident and say
this is a great opportunity and we can get this.
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"It was good that we woke up earlier than that and played a much
better second half."
Duncan scored nine points in the third quarter as the Spurs
stretched a six-point halftime lead to 15 points going into the
fourth quarter. A 3-point jump shot by Lowry with 3:22 left in
the third quarter cut San Antonio's lead to seven, but the Spurs
took command again.
"We made too many mistakes against this caliber of a team,"
Johnson said. "Everybody has to cover each other's back. We're
that type of team. Everybody has to be on a string. We can't
really make mistakes."
The Spurs entered the second quarter trailing by 12, but they
led 43-40 with 6:50 to play in the half after Baynes scored six
consecutive points.
The Raptors regained a three-point lead in the second quarter,
but with Parker scoring six of San Antonio's final eight points
of the half, the Spurs led 59-53 after going 12-for-19 from the
field in the second quarter.
Toronto does not play again until a Friday home game against the
Philadelphia 76ers, so it will get an opportunity to work with
the new players.
"It's good that we have a couple of days to be able to do that
instead of having to play again tomorrow or Thursday," DeRozan
said. "We can take advantage of it and get ready for a new start
on Friday."
NOTES: Spurs C Tiago Splitter, who first experienced discomfort
in his left calf during the second half of a Dec. 2 win over the
Atlanta Hawks, did not make the trip to Toronto. ... The Raptors
waived G D.J. Augustin on Monday after officially announcing the
trade of F Rudy Gay, F Quincy Acy and C Aaron Gray to the
Sacramento Kings for G Greivis Vasquez, F John Salmons, F Chuck
Hayes and F Patrick Patterson. None of the new players was in
uniform Tuesday. ... Raptors F Tyler Hansbrough (sprained left
shoulder) did not play Tuesday but could be ready to play
Friday. ... The Spurs began a stretch of four games in five days
Tuesday. They play the Bucks in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
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