Spurs, Raptors look to rebound from routs

Even the San Antonio Spurs get blown out sometimes.

So do the Toronto Raptors, every time they play a postseason game in Cleveland.

But the huge deficits they faced on the scoreboard Monday have been erased, and the only deficit that matters now is a minor one.

No matter how bad it looked, it’s still just 1-0.

“We’ve been in all these situations before — won by a lot, lost by a lot,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Everybody knows, they’re all pros. You go to the next game and see if you can get it right.”

The Spurs’ 126-99 loss to Houston to start the Western Conference semifinals was their worst ever under Popovich in a series opener. They trailed by as much as 39 points and were buried under an avalanche of 22 3-pointers by a Rockets team that made more than anyone in NBA history during the regular season.

“It’s definitely tough to take. You never want to lose a game like that, especially in the playoffs,” Spurs guard Patty Mills said. “But lose by 40, lose by two, at the end of the day, it’s a loss. It’s the first game of a long series.”

The Raptors’ 116-105 loss to open the second round was their closest yet in Cleveland in the playoffs, after falling by 31, 19 and 38 during last year’s Eastern Conference finals. Maybe that’s why coach Dwane Casey was so easily able to downplay it Tuesday.

“It wasn’t as bad as it felt going through it. And it wasn’t as bad — somebody last night said ‘dominated.’ There are things we can do better to take away that feeling,” Casey said. “They’re a very good team. We all know that. We’re a good team, too. We had the same record. We have to go in with that confidence and that feeling and say, ‘Hey, they put their pants on one leg at a time, too, and one shoe at a time.’”