The San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors will always be intertwined by the superstar that brought a championship to the franchises but ultimately got away. His name is Kawhi Leonard. The NBA is a league built on the success of superstars, and both teams are searching to find and develop that player to take them to the next championship. However, in this matchup on January 4, 2022, Fred VanVleet continued his all-star level play by scoring 33 points while Pascal Siakam added 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Raptors pushed their win streak to three games as they rolled past the Spurs.
Game Highlights
The first quarter started with both teams playing solid basketball to make it an even contest. The Spurs started the game strong with Derrick White scoring five early points to push the Spurs ahead 18-13. Fred Vanvleet responded with an acrobatic layup and pullup three-pointer as the Raptors met the adversity and pulled the scores to 30-29 to end the first quarter.
The tight contest continued in the second quarter with the ex-Raptor, Jakob Poeltl, contributing 4 quick points to tie the game. The Raptors then created the need separation by going a 29-14 run to the end of the quarter. The run was galvanized by Siakam dominating in the paint and VanVleet raining three 3-pointers to demoralize the opposition. Halftime score 68-53.
In the third quarter, Vanvleet picked up where he left off by draining two more three-pointers and Gary Trent making a tough floater as the Raptors pushed the lead to 75-68. The domination continued with the Raptors sharing the ball with Trent Jr making a step-back three and Siakam having a pair of easy dunks at the rim. A highlight to the end of the quarter run was when Vanvleet called the bank from a midrange shot even though it was closed. It was that kind of night where he did no wrong. Despite a Derrick White and-1 layup in the closing seconds, the Raptors maintained a 16-point advantage at the end of the quarter to lead 97-81.
Nick Nurse wisely decided to rest Vanvleet to start the fourth quarter. However, OG Anunoby torched the Spurs with two 3-pointers and a fadeaway 2-point shot. Scottie Barnes added 4 points by doing good work in the paint to push the lead to 117-86. At that point, Nurse decided to rest all his starters and key rotation players since the Raptors game had a quick turnaround to play tomorrow.
Final score– Raptors 129-Spurs 104.
Player of the Game
Fred Vanvleet’s play is making him a serious contender for the All-Star game in Cleveland. Fred dazzled in this game with 33 points and seven assists. He went 12 of 23 from the field and 7 of 14 from the three-point range. In the past five games, VanVleet has averaged 31.4 points and scored at least 30 in four of those contests. He also set a Raptors’ record in this game by draining 30 3-pointers in a five-game span.
International Payer Performances
Toronto native Joshua Primo made his first return to Canada and had a solid game with 15 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds. It would be a big homecoming for the Canadian but due to Covid restrictions, the Raptors performed a nice gesture by allowing 20 of his friends and family to attend the game.
Chris Boucher played 19 minutes and contributed 4 points, rebounds 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Khem Birch added 2 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 1 steal in 19 minutes.
Interviews
VanVleet spoke about his tremendous performances during this stretch after the game. He stated, “You recognize when you’re in rhythm and you just try to hold on as long as possible because it’s not always like that. I try to keep my floor a little higher but when you’re hot, you’ve just got to be aggressive and ride it out as long as you can.”
Nick Nurse also spoke about Fred’s chances of being an All-Star. He stated, “I think he’s got to be in the conversation. “We’ve got to climb the standings some. I just think that’s part of it. If we do, then he certainly will deserve it.”
Despite the heavy defeat, Spurs coach Greg Coach was happy with Jakob Poeltl’s play. He stated, “I thought Jakob was great tonight. I was really glad to see Jakob be as assertive as he was on offense.”
Takeaways
The scoreline indicates that these two teams are going in different directions. The Spurs are now on a four-game losing streak while the Raptors are on a three-game winning streak. Importantly, despite all the struggles this season, the team is finally back at .500 and on an upward trajectory. Impressively the team had 30 assists in this game which has been their weakness.
The Raptors took care of business on this homestand by beating the Clippers, Knicks, and Spurs. However, it will be interesting to see how this team will fare when they face teams the better teams in the league. In 5 of the next seven games, they will face the Bucks twice, the Jazz, Suns, and Heat. We will get a greater sense of the team’s potential after that important sequence of games.
Up Next
The Raptors face a quick turnaround when they face the World Champions Milwaukee Bucks on the road at 8:00 pm eastern time.