Raptors, Spurs meet in cross-conference battle (Jan 03, 2017)
One of the top East versus West matchups of the new year is on tap Tuesday when the San Antonio Spurs host the Toronto Raptors at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Both the Spurs, of the Western Conference's Southwest Division, and the Raptors, from the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division, are atop their respective divisions and hold the second seeds in their conferences as the NBA season nears its midway point.
The Spurs fell to the Atlanta Hawks on the road 114-112 in overtime Sunday, a loss that ended San Antonio's four-game win streak. The loss was the first for San Antonio when leading after three quarters and was the only loss for the Spurs this season when Tony Parker has scored in double figures.
LaMarcus Aldridge was the Spurs' leading scorer in defeat, pouring in 27 points and hauling down 14 rebounds while pacing the San Antonio offense for the third time in the past four games. Parker added a season-high 22 points for the Spurs.
Despite Aldridge's recent scoring prowess and Parker's hot hand, neither player got the last shot for the Spurs (27-7) when it counted the most. When the game came down to a chance to win in regulation and to tie the contest at the end of overtime, San Antonio put the ball in the hands of Kawhi Leonard, who missed both opportunities.
Leonard scored just 13 points on 3 of 12 shooting from the floor after missing San Antonio's two previous games with a stomach illness. Leonard, who was listed as questionable for the game, started and played in his 32nd game of the season. He leads the Spurs with his average of 24.4 points per game and admitted afterward that he was "just trying to work my way back in" against Atlanta.
"Taking all that medicine and stuff made me a little weary out there," Leonard explained.
It was the first time in five tries that Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer has beaten the Spurs, for whom he was an assistant for 19 seasons.
"It was a great game -- I'm happy for him," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Guys played well. If we're going to lose, it's good to feel like somebody on the other end was made happy. It was a good win for those guys. It would have been a good win for us. Both teams played pretty well."
Toronto will bring a full head of steam with it into the Alamo City after a 123-114 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday. Kyle Lowry (who had 41 points) and DeMar DeRozan combined for 72 points as the Raptors snapped a two-game losing streak.
"If it's taking the extra shot or making more shots or creating more shots, it's just a chance to go out there and play basketball," Lowry said after he finished just two points shy of his career-high. "It was my time to go out there and be more aggressive."
The Raptors (23-10) forged a 9-0 run to start the fourth quarter and extended their lead to 17 points at one point as Lowry scored 20 points in the final quarter.
"He took us down the stretch and really carried us home in a big-time way offensively," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "
It's the first of two regular-season meetings for the two teams this year (the Spurs will visit Toronto later this month). The squads split the two games they played last season, with both teams winning at home.
