Spurs Beat Raps Behind Manu’s 36, Matt Bonner Can Dunk

So much for projected starting lineups. Duncan was a late scratch from last night’s game with an ankle injury suffered against Portland. So going into last night without Duncan or Parker looked slightly bleak. We knew George Hill would start at PG, and there was speculation that Bogans could get a start soon for defensive purposes, but who saw Ratliff getting the start at center last night? Not I. Thankfully, he only played 8 minutes and Pop went with McDyess and Bonner most of the night. Bonner finally bounced back in a big way, with 18 points, including 4-of-8 from downtown. He had a nice dunk in the game too (see video below). The big story of the night, however, was Ginobili. He brought that same energy from the Portland game into this one and carried the Spurs with 36 points off the bench. The teams were tied at halftime and Toronto took a two point lead into the 4th quarter, but then the Spurs actually started making some of those three-pointers. They made six in the 4th quarter, and Ginobili had four of them. Jefferson had 12 points in the 4th quarter as well. There were 25 lead changes and 18 ties in the game. The Raptors were whistled for 35 fouls compared to 22 for the Spurs. The Raps even had two players foul out – Turkoglu and Calderon. That’s one of the good things about players like Ginobili, Hill and Jefferson, is that they have a knack for getting to the foul line. The only real cause for concern is that the Spurs allowed the Raps to score 124 points on 59% shooting. As Stewie Griffin would say, “What the Deuce?!”

I like how a couple of Raptors players (Bargnani and Belinelli) just kind of jump out of obligation but don’t seem to really know what to do. Are they just that bad defensively (could be, SA had 50 points in the paint last night), or were they just that shocked that Bonner took it to the rack? I say both.

Spurs Relevant Stat Lines
Manu Ginobili: 36 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 steal. He was 8-of-15 from the field including 6-of-8 from downtown (4 of those in the 4th quarter). He also shot 14-of-16 from the foul line. Manu carried this team last night and it shows just how much we missed him last season and in the playoffs. And 4 blocks? Holy crap, where’d that come from?
Richard Jefferson: 24 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. He had half his points in the decisive 4th quarter. He also shot 9-of-16 from the field. And this, my friends, is why the Spurs brought him in. For Spurs fans who still aren’t sold on RJ, I pity you.
George Hill: 22 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal. I told you he’d be fine. If you scooped him off the waiver wire in your league (like I suggested), good job. Don’t get too attached though, because Parker is thinking about coming back against Dallas tomorrow.
Matt Bonner: 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 Out-of-nowhere Dunk. Bonner was 7-of-16 from the field and 4-of-8 from downtown. It’s about frickin time, man.
Antonio McDyess: 10 rebounds, 7 points, 3 assists. Now that’s the McDyess I am looking for. If he started he could average a double-double, but for now I will be happy to get this kind of production off the bench.
DeJuan Blair: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist. Not a huge game, but he has been fairly consistent in less than 20 minutes per game.

Raptors Relevant Stat Lines
Chris Bosh: 32 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block. Bosh had a double-double and shot 8-of-16 from the floor, and 15-of-17 from the free throw line.
Hedo Turkoglu: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 fouls, 3 turnovers. 8-of-12 from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Not a bad game, but not enough. He had more turnovers than anyone else.
Andrea Bargnani: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block. He started at center, and he played more minutes than anyone for either team (technically he played one more second than George Hill), but he only managed four rebounds. Five Spurs players had four or more rebounds. This is why the Spurs outrebounded the Raps 41-29.
Jose Calderon: 13 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 6 fouls. I’m still not a fan, but he is averaging 11.6 points and 6.4 assists per game, so it’s hard to deny his value.
Marco Belinelli: 12 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound. Marco is a decent player, maybe even a little underrated, but he will not put up these numbers often in Toronto. Even if Calderon were to get hurt, Jarrett Jack would most likely move into the starting lineup.
Amir Johnson: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block. Nice game, but he had bigger opportunities in Detroit and squandered them. I wouldn’t recommend picking him up in any leagues any time soon.

Coyote Ugly: Roger Mason
Where is he and what have you done with him? Mason was 0-for-4 last night in 17 minutes of action. This is the second time he has done that this season. To be fair, he did have 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a block, but where has his shooting been this season? He started 5-of-11 in the Spurs opener but since then has been an atrocious 7-of-28 – that’s 25% for those scoring at home. Come back, Mase, we need you.

Next Game: Tomorrow (11/11/09) against the Dallas Mavericks. Personally, I hope everyone is back so we can get a real preview of what we’ll be up against. The Mavs have Josh Howard back now, so if the Spurs are at full strength then it should be a great game.

Tags: Amir Johnson, Andrea Bargnani, Antonio McDyess, Chris Bosh, Dallas Mavericks, DeJuan Blair, George Hill, Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, Jose Calderon, Josh Howard, Keith Bogans, Manu Ginobili, Marco Belinelli, Matt Bonner, Richard Jefferson, Roger Mason, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Toronto Raptors