Mathieu Warnier, Media365, published on Monday November 6, 2023 at 12:24 a.m.
Long in control of the match, with up to 22 points in advance, San Antonio ended up losing in overtime against Toronto (116-123 after).
The San Antonio Spurs are suffering a setback. While they remained on two consecutive successes, the players of the Texan franchise fell on their floor during the reception of the Toronto Raptors. If the players of the Canadian franchise were able to count on Dennis Schröder (24 points, 6 assists) to start the match with a bang and take a five-point lead after four minutes, the Spurs did not panic. Thanks in particular to Keldon Johnson (26 points, 6 rebounds), the Texan franchise got back together but it was the return to the floor of Victor Wembanyama (20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks) which allowed Gregg Popovich’s players to take their distances from the scoreboard. The nine-length lead seen a little less than two minutes from the end of the first quarter was however reduced by the Raptors thanks to two long-distance shots from OG Amunoby (24 points, 7 rebounds) then from Malachi Flynn (5 points). A closer look at the Canadian franchise that didn’t last very long. Indeed, the second quarter turned into a nightmare for Darko Rajakovic’s players. Zach Collins (21 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) had a field day in Toronto’s defense.
The Spurs thought they were safe
The result was notably an 11-0 in the space of three minutes and a Spurs lead which flirted with the 20 point mark… which was crossed in stride. OG Amunoby’s three-point shot at the start of the last minute of the second quarter allowed the Raptors to get back under this bar just before returning to the locker room. The recovery first saw Jakob Poeltl (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Malaki Branham (16 points, 6 rebounds) going blow for blow. However, the Spurs were able to tighten the game in defense to regain some breathing space in the score, having a 21-point lead with eight minutes still to play in the third quarter. The Raptors then relied on Dennis Schröder to stay in contact and not lose hope in this meeting. Indeed, it was with a delay of only fifteen lengths that the Canadian franchise approached the last twelve minutes of this meeting. It was then that Spurs lost track of their game in front of their home crowd. With Victor Wembanyama better muzzled by the defense and the newfound efficiency of Scottie Barnes (30 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists), the Raptors chipped away at their deficit to come back two lengths with six minutes still to play.
The Raptors stripped themselves
Despite the return to favor of Malaki Branham and Zach Collins, the Spurs were unable to thwart the plans of a Toronto team ready to seize every opportunity. Scottie Barnes cooled down the Frost Bank Center with 38 seconds to go before the buzzer. After passing a two-point basket, he adjusted the crosshairs from long range to put the two teams even. If Keldon Johnson made his two free throws, Victor Wembanyama narrowly missed the rebound of victory on a long-distance shot from Dennis Schröder four seconds from the buzzer. OG Amunoby took the opportunity to tie the two teams with the clock barely over a second behind. The last two possessions being unproductive, the two teams had to resort to overtime to decide between them. Pascal Siakam (8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) woke up with a three-point shot to start these extra five minutes, to which Victor Wembanyama responded immediately to bring the Spurs within one length. However, it was the Raptors who took the advantage in the game, OG Amunoby pushing the Spurs to six points in the middle of this overtime. Without solutions, the Spurs lost by seven lengths (116-123 ap) and saw the start of their good series come to an end.
2023-11-05 23:36:29
#Regular #season #San #Antonio #falls #overtime #Toronto
