Late offensive burst lifts Spurs past Raptors
DeMar DeRozan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball against OG Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors in the second half at AT&T Center on December 26, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images/AFP
DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, as the San Antonio Spurs rallied and then held off the visiting Toronto Raptors 119-114 on Saturday.
The Raptors led 114-110 after Fred VanVleet’s 26-foot 3-pointer with 2:07 to play but San Antonio rallied on a 3-pointer by DeRozan and a putback layup by LaMarcus Aldridge with 29.9 seconds remaining after two offensive rebounds by the Spurs.
Two free throws by Rudy Gay with 12 seconds left expanded the lead. After a timeout and a missed 3-pointer by VanVleet, Keldon Johnson secured the win for San Antonio with a pair of free throws with 1.1 seconds left.
Patty Mills added 21 points off the bench for the Spurs, with Lonnie Walker IV scoring 14, Johnson and Aldridge hitting for 12 each, and Dejounte Murray racking up a triple-double, scoring 11 points, taking 10 rebounds and recording 10 assists.
The Raptors were led by VanVleet’s 27 points. Chris Boucher added 22 points off the bench, Pascal Siakam had a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Kyle Lowry also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. Aron Baynes scored 13 points and OG Anunoby hit for 10 for Toronto.
The Spurs trailed by as many as 10 points in the first quarter before clawing back to within 39-33 after 12 minutes of play. DeRozan kept San Antonio close with 16 points in the period.
San Antonio improved its defense in the second quarter, drawing even at 50 on an Aldridge jumper at the 4:45 mark of the period and continuing on to a 10-2 run that handed it its largest lead of the half at 58-52 with 2:05 to play in the quarter.
The Spurs went to the locker room up 61-58, with the half’s stats virtually even.
DeRozan led San Antonio with 16 points over the first two quarters, with Walker hitting for 12 and Mills adding 11 off the bench. Siakam paced the Raptors with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the half despite missing all five of his 3-point shots.
