Spurs 125 Raptors 107
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS— DeMar DeRozan wasn’t sure how he would react to what he called the first truly big emotional game of his NBA career. Seems he’s pretty deft at it. DeRozan had the first tripledouble of his career — a 21point, 14-rebound, 11-assist gem of a night as the San Antonio Spurs clobbered the Toronto Raptors 125-107 in a brutally lopsided contest.
On a night of bitter raw emotion at the AT&T Center, when Kawhi Leonard was booed at every instance and the fans’ anger at the one-time local hero was palpable, DeRozan gave his remaining Toronto Raptors fans one for the ages.
He got the triple double about midway through the fourth quarter, long after the outcome had been determined and just before leaving to a huge ovation with about four minutes left.
It ended a brilliant contest in which he clearly outplayed Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard in a battle of stars that fizzled from the opening tip.
It was a masterful performance from start to finish for DeRozan, who had said Wednesday he didn’t know what to expect from himself or his emotions.
He had a thunderous dunk with about four minutes left in the first quarter that gave San Antonio its first 10-point lead of the game and forced the Raptors into their first timeout.
He was defended by Leonard, Danny Green and Norm Powell at different times, he initiated the Spurs’ offence every now and then and was dominant the entire night.
The same couldn’t be said for any of the other principles involved in the July blockbuster.
Leonard, booed every time he touched the ball, had 21 points but no real impact, Green didn’t score and Jakob Poeltl barely played, putting all the attention on DeRozan.
It would be foolish to put too much on Thursday’s a game, it was a lovely two-day story and one-off meeting before the NBA regular season has even reached its halfway point.
The same, too, will go for the Feb. 22 rematch in Toronto, which is sure to be far more emotional for DeRozan than Thursday was.
But still, there were many issues that came up for the Raptors that need to be addressed. Their active, swarming defensive effort is rapidly disappearing, they don’t move the ball as crisply or as well as they did in the first six weeks of the season and their offence lacks consistent pace.
Still an issue: Toronto’s poor three-point shooting an issue that’s existed all season but one that is not being addressed.
The eventual return of Kyle Lowry will help and C.J. Miles being nailed to the bench is a problem but the Raptors missed the first 10 three-pointers they took on Thursday night.
Not quite yet: Kyle Lowry got a lot of work in on Thursday, he did some at the team’s morning shootaround and then went through his regular pre-game shooting and stretching regimen.
He wasn’t ready for the physical grind of a real game because of his back pain but coach Nick Nurse’s recent assertion that Lowry is getting closer to getting back in action seems at least a bit more realistic.
Up next: An off-day for reflection and introspection and maybe some bratwurst as the Raptors head to Milwaukee where the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo are waiting.