National Basketball Association
San Antonio 102, Toronto 95
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 2, 2016
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Officials: #16 David Guthrie, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #22 Bill Spooner
Attendance: 18418

SAN ANTONIO -- Both the playoff-bound San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors would have been excused for playing a less-than-intense game on Saturday since, at this stage of the season, there is little, if anything on the line.

Instead the two squads battled into the final seconds like the game meant everything.

Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 33 points, eight of which came in final minute, as San Antonio thwarted a determined upset bid by the Raptors in a 102-95 win that allowed the Spurs to remain unbeaten at home.

With San Antonio clinging to an 88-84 lead, Leonard took charge of the game at the end, hitting two contested jumpers and then sinking four straight free throws to secure the victory.

"It wasn't very consistent tonight," Leonard said of the Spurs' effort. "We've got to keep executing on offense and when we have a 10- or 11-point lead to really punch those teams in the stomach and blow it into a 20-point lead.

"You have to have the same focus and mindset going onto the floor whether you're playing the best or worst players in the NBA," Leonard added. "That's the mindset, every game."

With the victory, San Antonio (64-13) established a franchise record for wins in a season that was set in 2005-06 when the Spurs went 63-19. The Spurs have now defeated every team in the NBA this season.

The Spurs are 39-0 at the AT&T Center this season and have supplanted the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the longest home winning streak to start a season in NBA history. They are the only team in the NBA that hasn't lost at home in 2015-16.

San Antonio has also won a franchise-best 48 straight regular-season games at home since a loss to Cleveland on March 12, 2015. The Spurs' streak is the second longest in NBA history, but with just two regular-season home games remaining, they will have to wait until next season to try to break Golden State's mark of 54 that ended Friday night.

"I thought we had good ball movement in the first half, but in the second half not so much," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We wanted to get the minutes up for Kawhi [Leonard] and Timmy [Duncan] and Tony [Parker] and LaMarcus [Aldridge]. We got that done, but we didn't play great."

The Spurs also got 31 points and 15 rebounds from Aldridge and Duncan pulled down 11 rebounds.

"We were playing against a bunch of guys tonight that wanted to prove they belonged on the court and deserve the minutes -- they played with a lot of confidence," Aldridge said. "It was good to face an opponent that's one of the top teams in the league because it keeps you sharp."

Six players scored in double figures for the Raptors (51-25), led by Norman Powell's 17 points.

Cory Joseph and Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points apiece for Toronto, Terrance Ross scored 13 points and Patrick Patterson and Delon Wright had 12 points each for the Raptors, who outshot the Spurs 50 percent to 46 percent from the field.

Toronto's bench outscored the Spurs' reserves 44-22, even though the Raptors started two players who normally play relief roles.

That's because Toronto coach Dwane Casey pulled a move often enacted by Popovich when he announced an hour before tipoff that starting guards Kyle Lowery and DeMar DeRozan would sit out Saturday's game to rest.

"We wanted to rest the guys and we may do it again," Casey said. "Our goal is to be fresh and getting in the right rhythm going into the playoffs. I loved the fight, and I loved the spirit -- out young guys came in and competed."

That meant that Joseph, whom the Raptors signed in the offseason as a free agent after he was released by the Spurs, got just his third start of the season in his first game back in San Antonio.

"It felt good to be back -- I'm upset that we lost but we put forth a good effort against a great team," Joseph said. "San Antonio is good at closing out games. Kawhi was able to knock down a couple of big shots and extend the lead for them. We've developed a mentality that we're going to compete no matter who is on the court for us."

NOTES: Toronto defeated the Spurs 97-94 at the Air Canada Centre in the two teams' initial matchup this season. The Raptors shot a San Antonio opponent season-high field goal percentage (57.8) in their win and connected on 20-of-22 from the free-throw line. ... San Antonio leads the overall series 28-11. ... Raptors F Luis Scola was originally drafted by the Spurs in the second round (56th overall) in the 2002 NBA Draft. ... Scola and Spurs G Manu Ginobili are both natives of Argentina and are former teammates on the Argentinian National Team. ... Through the Spurs' first 75 games, 15 of their 63 wins have been by 25 points or more, breaking a single-season franchise record (1978-79 and 2012-13). ... Toronto clinched its third consecutive Atlantic Division title March 31. The Raptors are the only team in the NBA to win their division each of the last three seasons. ... Toronto SG DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and PG Kyle Lowry chipped in with 22 points Friday night at Memphis. It marked the 30th time that DeRozan and Lowry have each scored 20 or more points while starting in the same backcourt over the last two seasons.
Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   San Antonio
Norman Powell 17 Scoring Kawhi Leonard 33
Cory Joseph 7 Assists Kawhi Leonard 7
Patrick Patterson 7 Rebounds LaMarcus Aldridge 15
Norman Powell 4 Free Throws Made Kawhi Leonard 11
Delon Wright 3 Steals Manu Ginobili 3
Jonas Valanciunas 2 Blocks Tim Duncan 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Toronto 95 50.0 6-18 9-10 18 32 3 8 13
San Antonio 102 45.5 5-20 27-30 28 47 5 11 15
Upcoming Games
  • San Antonio will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Spurs have a W/L % of .812 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game at home against Charlotte. The Raptors have a W/L % of .692 after a win and .625 after a loss.