Raptors at Spurs
The Toronto Raptors are heading in the wrong direction at an important time of the season and they’ll attempt to get back on track when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Raptors have lost three straight games and eight of nine to fall into fourth place in the East after sitting in second for a long stretch. The Spurs have won five in a row and sit in seventh place in the West, owning a comfortable 4 ½-game lead over the eighth-place Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Spurs did the Raptors a favor Sunday by beating the Chicago Bulls, who came into the week a half-game ahead of Toronto in the East, but the Raptors couldn’t take advantage and fell to the Thunder later in the day. Toronto beat visiting San Antonio on Feb. 8 to deny coach Gregg Popovich his 1,000th career win. The Spurs shot a season-low 33.3 percent in that game, which ended a seven-game winning streak against the Raptors, and also set a season-low for points in the second half (36).
TV: 8:30 p.m. TSN (Toronto), FSN Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (38-25): The Raptors will be trying for their first season sweep of the Spurs in franchise history and will look to DeMar DeRozan to continue his hot streak. He has scored at least 20 points in the last four games to match his career high, which he has done six previous times. DeRozan is averaging 28.1 points in the four games last week, which was fourth-highest in the NBA in that stretch.
ABOUT THE SPURS (39-23): San Antonio was just a half-game behind the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers and sixth-place Dallas Mavericks entering the week with the injury-depleted Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets within reach as well. Tim Duncan did not make a field goal Sunday against the Bulls, a first in his 18-year career, but Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard are playing exceptionally well lately. Parker is averaging 25 points and shooting 64.6 percent from the floor in the last three games, while Leonard is averaging 22 points in the last four and shooting 56 percent in that span.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Raptors will be trying to beat a reigning NBA champion twice in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
2. Toronto leads the NBA with 21 games this season with less than 10 turnovers, five better than the Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies.
3. Leonard is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals.