San Antonio Spurs (42-17) beat Toronto Raptors (34-25) 110-107 on the road on Wednesday, February 25, after falling far behind. The Spurs were down 12 at one quarter break and still finished 3 ahead.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Spurs had the better start, winning the first 30-29 to lead by 1 after one. The Raptors moved in front with a 30-27 second quarter, carrying a 2-point lead into halftime.
The Raptors won the third 31-21 to create some separation, taking a 12-point lead into the fourth. The Spurs took the fourth 32-17; the Spurs completed the comeback for a 110-107 regulation win.
What flipped it
The Spurs got more from their shots, finishing at 56.4% effective field-goal shooting compared with 46.7% for the Raptors. In a 3-point game, that shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Raptors did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 26.1% against 13.6%. The Spurs made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 103 possessions per team, the Spurs produced 107.3 points per 100 possessions to 104.4 for the Raptors.
Who carried the comeback
Devin Vassell was the game's biggest individual force for SAS: 21 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast on 8-13 shooting. His Game Score of 16.8 led everyone. His team was +2 with him on the floor.
Jakob Poeltl led the Raptors with 15 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk on 5-11 shooting, good for a 15.5 Game Score.
Brandon Ingram (20 pts, 11 reb, 4 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 57% for the Spurs.
Across the last 3 meetings in our records, San Antonio Spurs lead 3-0.
The Spurs are now 42-17, and the Raptors are 34-25. The Spurs last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.