Who's Playing
Matchup: Toronto Raptors vs. San Antonio Spurs
Records: Raptors (31-14), Spurs (20-24)
Where to Watch
Date: Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
TV: SN1/E/O/W/P (Canada), KENS or NBA League Pass (USA)
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Game Preview
For the second time this month, the Raptors face off against the Spurs.
The Spurs won the first meeting between the two teams thanks to a dominant fourth quarter, in which they outscored the Raptors 36-22. DeMar DeRozan led the charge, scoring eight of his team-high 25 points in the final period.
With the win, DeRozan improved to 2-1 against the Raptors since last season's blockbuster trade. He has scored at least 21 points in each of those games, even recording his first career triple-double against the Raptors.
It would appear as though DeRozan gets up for playing his former team.
.@DeMar_DeRozan had himself a night in his return to Toronto 🔥
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 13, 2020
25 PTS | 8 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL
⭐️ https://t.co/w8uWNcfmat ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/27ZWy6u4BI
Since that loss two weeks ago, the Raptors haven't dropped a game. They enter Sunday's contest riding a six-game winning streak, with wins coming over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Washington Wizards, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks.
That's tied for Toronto's second-longest streak so far this season, their longest win streak being seven games, which ended on Dec. 3 with a loss to the Miami Heat.
With another win, the Raptors would move ahead of the Heat for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. They are currently tied with a 31-14 record, although the Heat hold the tiebreaker having won two of their three matchups with the Raptors this season.
Norman Powell has led the way for the Raptors during this streak. He's averaging a team-high 22.0 points over his last six games, doing so on 58.2 percent shooting from the field and 48.6 percent from 3-point range. Fred VanVleet is the only other player on the roster averaging more than 20 points per game over that span.
Pascal Siakam has struggled since returning from injury, but he played well in Toronto's win over New York, finishing with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field.
Siakam went 2-for-5 from the perimeter in the win, his final 3-pointer being the one that sealed the deal.
COLD BLOODED @pskills43 pic.twitter.com/jHQxr8mJOe
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 25, 2020
Siakam said after the game that he's starting to feel better, although his energy still isn't quite where he wants it to be. The Raptors have a favourable stretch between now and All-Star Weekend for him to regain his rhythm — including this game against the Spurs, eight of their next 10 games are against teams with a losing record.
Injury Report
Dewan Hernandez (ankle) and Patrick McCaw (nose) are out for the Raptors.
The Spurs have not yet submitted an injury report.
Game Notes
- LaMarcus Aldridge has already set a career-high with 50 made 3-pointers this season. He's shooting 42.7 percent from beyond the arc.
- DeMar DeRozan is averaging 23.0 points per game against the Raptors in his NBA career. The only team he has a higher scoring average against is the Portland Trail Blazers (24.0 points per game).
- Jakob Poeltl has been one of the more effective rim protectors in the league this season. Not only is he averaging 1.5 blocks per game, opponents are shooting only 47.3 percent against him near the rim. The latter is better than Anthony Davis, Kristaps Porzingis and Rudy Gobert, to name a few.
- Pascal Siakam looked more like his All-Star self in Toronto's win over New York, scoring 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field. He says he's still finding his rhythm since returning from injury.
- Fred VanVleet has made 48.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts this season. Of players taking at least 2.0 catch-and-shoots 3s per game, that ranks fifth in the league. The only players ahead of him are Rodney Hood, Terry Rozier, Georges Niang and Marcus Morris Sr.
- Norman Powell has scored in double figures in seven straight games, the longest streak of his career.
Last Time They Played
Date: Jan. 12, 2020
Score: Spurs def. Raptors, 105-104
Raptors: Serge Ibaka — 21 points, 14 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist
Spurs: DeMar DeRozan — 25 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
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