Spurs beat Raptors to set franchise-record with 64th win
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Kawhi Leonard had a career-high 33 points, LaMarcus Aldrige had 31 points and 15 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Toronto Raptors 102-95 Saturday night for their franchise-record 64th victory.
San Antonio never trailed and topped its 63-win season in 2005-06. The Spurs also extended their NBA-record home winning streak to start the season to 39 games.
Toronto sat Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan for rest.
The Spurs closed it out at the free-throw line, capturing their 48th straight home victory dating to March 2015.
Patrick Patterson's intense effort helped the Raptors outscore the Spurs 52-36 in the paint.
Norman Powell had 17 points, Jonas Valanciunas and Cory Joseph added 16 points and Patterson had 12 points for the Raptors.
Aldridge and Leonard were able to push back Toronto's efforts, combining to shoot 22 for 35 and grab 21 rebounds.
Leonard had seven assists. He zipped a touch pass in the lane to Aldridge for a layup in the first half, and in the second half, he tipped away an alley-oop intended for Valanciunas and sprinted downcourt to set up a hook shot by Aldridge with a bounce pass.
Emotions ran high 3 minutes into the fourth quarter when Patterson set a high and hard screen that sent Patty Mills reeling backward in front of the Spurs' bench. Gregg Popovich screamed for a foul, which led Patterson to scream and flail an arm at the San Antonio coach. Mills got revenge on the other end, draining a 3-pointer for an 80-70 lead after initially missing a 3-pointer that David West tipped back to him.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: DeRozan has missed only two games this season, also sitting out for rest March 15 at Milwaukee. ... Lowry was out for just the third time this season. He also sat out for rest Feb. 28 at Detroit and did not play March 23 at Boston due to a sore right elbow. ... Former Spurs guard Joseph received a warm ovation during pregame introductions in his first game in San Antonio since signing with Toronto in the offseason. Joseph played four seasons with the Spurs, averaging 5.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 204 games while primarily serving as the team's third point guard.
Spurs: San Antonio had to return to the court briefly at halftime as officials reviewed a full-court pass to Manu Ginobili that was knocked out of bounds. The Spurs were upset no foul was called, but officials were reviewing if there was still time remaining when the ball went out of bounds. ... The only teams to hold a lead in the fourth quarter in San Antonio are the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors. The Spurs have trailed for only 11 minutes, 13 seconds of the 456 minutes played in the fourth quarter at home this season. ... There was a rare in-game jump ball midway through the third quarter when Tony Parker's jumper became lodged in the left side of the rim and glass. Valanciunas won the tip over Tim Duncan, but Leonard grabbed it to keep possession for the Spurs.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Host Charlotte on Tuesday night.
Spurs: At Utah on Tuesday night.
