Devin Vassell scored 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter and the visiting San Antonio Spurs dominated the Toronto Raptors 123-89 on Sunday night.
Julian Champagnie added 20 points for the Spurs (31-39), who have won three straight. Stephon Castle scored 15 points, Sandro Mamukelashvili added 13 points and Harrison Barnes had 10.
Scottie Barnes scored 22 points for the Raptors (24-47), who have lost four in a row. RJ Barrett added 18 points, Jamal Shead scored 17 and Ja’Kobe Walter had 10.
The Spurs’ defense was strong and the Raptors’ shooting was off in the first quarter. Toronto missed seven consecutive shots from 6:10 left in the quarter to 4:48 and followed that with a 24-second violation as the Spurs built a 20-10 lead.
Orlando Robinson broke Toronto’s drought with a layup with 3:46 to play in the first. Blake Wesley’s steal at midcourt and running layup put San Antonio up by 16 with 1:23 left. San Antonio forced 10 turnovers, had eight steals and blocked four shots to take a 36-16 lead after one quarter.
Toronto woke up and scored the first six points of the second quarter but soon lapsed into another run of poor shooting. The Spurs’ passing and ball movement were too much for Toronto.
Barnes hit a 3-pointer and added a running layup off Vassell’s defensive rebound to bump the margin to 27. San Antonio led 62-40 at halftime.
Vassell picked off a long rebound after Shead’s missed 3-pointer and completed the sequence with a 15-footer to push the lead back to 27 with 10:05 left in the third quarter. Vassell continued to be a force when he nabbed an errant Toronto pass and scampered down the court for a dunk that increased the lead to 28 with 5:46 left in the third.
The Spurs went ahead by 30 points on Jeremy Sochan’s steal and dunk, and San Antonio led 97-63 after three quarters.
Mamukelashvili’s 3-pointer gave San Antonio a 38-point lead with 10:32 to play in the fourth quarter. By that time, the reserves were taking over and the crowd was quiet.
Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley were rested.
