San Antonio Spurs Fall in Frustrating Fashion, Dropping 123-116 in OT Against Toronto Raptors

In a game they could have easily run away with, the San Antonio Spurs found themselves stumbling in crunch time against the Toronto Raptors who would overcome a 22-point deficit to force overtime.

Scottie Barnes would score 17 of his game-high 30 in the fourth quarter (including the game-tying basket) with O.G. Anunoby & Dennis Schroder each adding 24 points. Toronto outscored San Antonio 39-24 in the 4th quarter and 13-6 in overtime, sealing the Spurs fate and their record at 3-3.

In their first game without Devin Vassell (out with a left adductor strain), the Spurs clearly struggled from distance, both in their lack of attempts and accuracy. The Raptors would end up winning the three-point differential by 27 points. Toronto attempted 16 more threes than the Spurs, and made 19 of those attempts; nine more than San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama would finish a seemingly light workout with a subtle total of 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists & five blocks.

San Antonio Spurs Drop 22-Point Lead

In the second half especially, the Raptors made a concerted effort to shoot over Wembanyama rather than attack the basket and risk being absorbed into the ‘twilight zone” he creates on the defensive end. Completely erasing some attempts before they came even remotely close to the backboard. His five blocks electrified the crowd and ignited the Spurs when they needed a spark. The offense throttled through the first 24 minutes like a fine-tuned machine, while the defense constricted the Raptors to just 35 points at half.

However, no lead is safe in today’s NBA, and allowing 75 points in the second half (many of them from deep) would be the Spur’s ultimate undoing. Jakob Poeltl would tally 16 points and ten rebounds in his first game back in San Antonio since the trade near last season’s deadline. Zach Collins had a season-high 21 and 11 rebounds, with Keldon Johnson adding 26 points

Struggles with maintaining leads and late-game execution are the inherit growling pains of an incredibly young team. In fact the Spurs are just the third youngest team in the league with an average age of 23.84 as they build around one of, if not the most prolific 19-year old in recent memory.

Back-To-Back

Hopefully, their collective youth will be an ally rather than an adversary. The Spurs will have a quick turnaround tonight as they head east for a matchup against the Indiana Pacers. A key player to contain in this matchup is Tyrese Haliburton, who is coming off a monster 43-point outing against Charlotte.

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