Spurs at Raptors
THE STORY: So far, so good for the San Antonio Spurs on their yearly “Rodeo Trip”. The annual extended road run, which happens every February when the rodeo comes to the AT&T Center, has started with a bang, with the Spurs winning their first four outings as they head into Toronto on Wednesday night. San Antonio has had trouble with the Raptors in recent meetings, going 3-2 in their last five encounters. The Raptors are shaking off the cobwebs after a letdown loss to the New York Knicks and overnight sensation Jeremy Lin, who buried a 3-pointer in the final seconds to steal the victory Tuesday. San Antonio leads the all-time series with Toronto 22-9.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Southwest, TSN2
ABOUT THE SPURS (20-19): Manu Ginobili is slowly working his way back into game shape after missing 22 games with a broken hand. The Argentine guard played just under 25 minutes in the 99-95 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, shooting 0 for 4 and recording just one point on 1-for-2 shooting from the charity stripe. Ginobili has averaged 21 points per game in San Antonio’s last four victories over the Raptors, but may not get a lot of minutes with the Spurs playing back-to-back nights.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (9-21): Lost in all the negative press of back-to-back last-second losses is the play of veteran point guard Jose Calderon. The Spaniard scored 30 points and dished out six assists in a 94-92 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, then scored 25 points and recorded nine dimes in a 90-87 defeat to the Knicks. Calderon has had to pick up his scoring with backcourt mate Jerryd Bayless on the sideline with an ankle injury. He’s shooting 24 for 35 (68.5 percent) from the field and 7 for 9 from beyond the arc in the last two outings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Spurs first-round draft pick and Toronto native Cory Joseph makes his return home. He’s played sparingly in the past four games.
2. San Antonio’s 4-0 start to the Rodeo Trip is the team’s best start on this annual swing since going 6-0 to start the 2005-06 version.
3. Toronto is playing back-to-back home games for just the ninth time in franchise history.