Raptors notebook: San Antonio hands Toronto first loss of season

E.Jay Zarett

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Raptors notebook: San Antonio hands Toronto first loss of season image

The Toronto Raptors dropped their first game of 2017-18 on Monday night.

Toronto held a six-point lead with nine minutes to play, but the Spurs went on a 22-7 run over the next seven minutes to secure a 101-97 win in San Antonio.

DeMar DeRozan recorded 28 points for Toronto, while Serge Ibaka added 13. C.J. Miles chipped in 13 points, while Jakob Poeltl recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes of action.

MORE: Inside the 2017-18 Toronto Raptors

Five Spurs reached double-figures, led by 20 from LaMarcus Aldridge. Danny Green finished with 17 points, including a crucial 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.

The win moved San Antonio to 3-0 on the season, while Toronto fell to 2-1.

Toronto struggles on the boards

The Raptors failed to corral loose balls throughout the night, leading to multiple second chance points for the Spurs.

In total, Toronto was outrebounded 56-33 and the Spurs grabbed 18 offensive boards. The Spurs registered 20 turnovers in the game, but still managed to record 10 more shots.

Dejounte Murray, San Antonio’s point guard, tallied a game-high 15 rebounds, while four other Spurs grabbed seven or more boards.

Quiet night from Lowry

Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry had an uncharacteristically quiet night on Monday.  

Lowry totaled just eight points in 35 minutes against the Spurs. He shot 3-of-11 from the field and 2-of-8 from 3-point range while registering three assists and grabbing two rebounds.  

Lowry scored 17 points in Toronto’s victory over Philadelphia on Saturday.

DeRozan leads Toronto’s offense

DeRozan nearly made it back-to-back games with 30 points against San Antonio.

He shot 10-of-20 from the field, hit two 3-pointers and tallied 28 points to lead Toronto’s offense in the losing effort.

MORE: DeRozan's 30 point night leads Raptors past Sixers

DeRozan connected on a crucial three with 14 seconds left to keep the Raptors in the game, but it was too little too late as San Antonio iced the game at the free throw line. 

 

E.Jay Zarett