Raptors back up words of an NBA great in romp of Spurs

SAN ANTONIO — It was high pre-game praise from an NBA great.

And on a night that began with San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offering his admiration of the Toronto Raptors, calling them “the most unique team in the league” on account of their combination of length, athleticism and work ethic, the Raptors more than lived up to the opposing coach’s rave review in a 143-100 romp.

Pascal Siakam reeled off his second triple-double of the season with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds while OG Anunoby continued his stellar run of defensive play with five steals — a big part of a disruptive visiting defense that turned 23 San Antonio turnovers into 31 points. It was Anunoby’s second straight game with five or more steals; he had six in Monday’s blowout win over Atlanta.

“They’ve got just a great attitude about how you play hard every minute,” Popovich, the all-time winningest coach in NBA history, said of the Raptors. “Their coach has done a great job making them (a team) you have to worry about on both ends of the floor because they cause so many turnovers. And on offense they’re so hard to guard because of their speed and athleticism. They’re a really fine team.”

The Spurs, pegged as a likely lottery team before the season, came into the game with a 5-2 record. Toronto coach Nick Nurse said his team “took the scouting report and preparation very seriously, which is what we needed to do … We really played hard defensively.”

Gary Trent Jr. scored 24 points on 13 field-goal attempts while Chris Boucher added 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

“He was everywhere,” Nurse said of Boucher.

It was Toronto’s second straight game, and second straight easy win, without starting point guard Fred VanVleet, who continues to grapple with a back injury he suffered in Friday’s loss to the Sixers. The game marked the Raptors debut of Otto Porter Jr., the three-point shooting specialist who signed a two-year free-agent deal worth $12.3 million (US) last summer. Porter Jr., who missed the first seven games of the season with a hamstring injury and the birth of his daughter, played 11 minutes and went 1-for-2 from three-point range.

SHARE: