Fuming Raptors drop ball vs. Spurs
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS— As the reeling Toronto Raptors have tried desperately to find a way out of their month-long slump, they’ve insisted all along that all they really needed was one win to get their mojo back.
It probably wasn’t ever going to come against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Raptors fell to one of the NBA’s elite teams, which is rounding into form with the post-season on the horizon, losing 117-107 to the Spurs at the AT&T Center Tuesday night. It was a loss that had the Raptors shouting on the sidelines in frustration and their coach fuming after the game.
The Spurs have won six straight games. The spiraling Raptors, meanwhile, have lost a demoralizing nine of their last 10.
A late rally gave Raptors fans some hope, but against the red-hot Spurs it simply wasn’t enough to close what had at one point been a 26-point gap. Kyle Lowry wound up with 32 points in the loss.
The scale of the drubbing got to the Raptors. Lowry could be seen loudly chiding his teammates during a second-quarter huddle, taking over the role normally reserved for head coach Dwane Casey. Asked to elaborate on what he’d said on the sidelines to help spur his teammates on, Lowry demurred, saying it wasn’t fit for publication.
A few minutes later, he practically spat in indignation when asked if the loss, particularly the first half, was what the team needed to break out of its slump.
“It’s nine out of 10 . . . We need to play. We don’t need no kick in the a--. We’ve literally been getting our a-kicked. So we shouldn’t need that type of first half. We should be able to go out and do it,” said Lowry.
Lowry wasn’t the only one fuming. A terse-sounding Casey also had the look of someone who’s seen enough.
“We shouldn’t have to wait to get kicked in the teeth and hit in the head before we start playing,” said Casey.
It was as thorough a pasting as the Raptors had taken in a while.
Perennial all-star Tony Parker penetrated the paint at will for the Spurs and wound up with 23 points. The Spurs dominated the Raptors on the boards early, led by surefire hall of famer Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard and Brazilian giant Tiago Splitter. San Antonio ended up with 45 rebounds, compared to 46 by Toronto. But that masked one of the ugliest first quarters the Raptors have played this season. In the opening frame, the Raptors were outscored 28-17 and outrebounded 16-6.
“It’s a tale of two teams, the first half and second half. We’re just not play- ing as well as we should,” said a downcast Lou Williams in a quiet Raptors locker room after the game. Asked what made the difference in the second half, where the Raptors narrowed the gap briefly to single digits, Williams added: “Just trying not to get embarrassed, play harder. That’s one of the things, just taking pride in your job.”
Coming into the game, Casey had been preaching the need for a solid 48 minutes of defence. The Spurs managed to shoot 48.2 per cent from the field, including a staggering 61.1 per cent from three-point range. He’d also been speaking about the need to move the ball more on offence. Instead, the Raptors wound up with just 18 assists on the night.
If there was one thing Casey took away as a positive, it was the performance of Lowry. Not just the 32 points, but the fire he showed in taking over the second-quarter huddle.
“I was glad to see somebody had a give-a-crap level. That’s what it has to be about and it shouldn’t be just one guy. I should have two, three or four guys upset and teed off that we are playing that way. I shouldn’t be the only one jumping up and down and going crazy and cursing guys out or getting on guys,” said Casey.