Duncan leads Spurs over Raptors

Manu Ginobili tallied 12 points, Fabricio Oberto donated 12 points with nine rebounds and Brent Barry recorded 16 points off the bench for the Spurs, who bounced back from an 88-81 loss to Cleveland in the home opener.

San Antonio made half of its shots and drained seven three-pointers in the victory.

Chris Bosh led Toronto with 19 points and 17 rebounds, while T.J. Ford and Morris Peterson added 15 apiece. The Raptors were attempting to climb over .500 for the first time since having a 4-3 record on November 13, 2004.

Toronto cut a 91-79 deficit to 93-88 with just over three minutes left in the game. The big three for the Raptors — Ford, Peterson and Bosh — scored all nine points with Bosh’s running hook making it a five-point game with 3:11 left.

San Antonio, however, scored the next eight points to put the game away.

"Their experience definitely helped them tonight. They have guys like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker who have won championships and been through battles," said Peterson. "We are trying to get where they are and tonight we didn’t pass the test."

The Raptors started off fast, reeling off 12 straight points near the end of the first period to take a double-digit lead. The top-overall pick in the draft — Andrea Bargnani — showed off plenty of skills, converting a three- point play with a running bank shot and scoring off a layup in transition.

Bargnani finished with eight points in just over 11 minutes of action.

San Antonio reasserted itself during the second period, using an 11-2 burst to take the lead just before the half. Duncan tallied the first four points, Oberto converted a three-point play and Bruce Bowen’s three-pointer gave San Antonio a 47-42 edge.

The Spurs led 49-46 at the half.

"We got some great play from our bench which really gave us a pick-up after a little lull in the first half," said Duncan.

The lead grew methodically during the third period, as San Antonio scored 10 consecutive points to open a 75-62 lead. Duncan scored the first four points then Barry and Beno Udrih drained back-to-back three-pointers to open the substantial edge.

Game Notes

The Raptors shot just 42.1 percent for the game...San Antonio had 21 assists for the game...The contest featured three ties and five lead changes...The Spurs have won three straight in the series and five of their last seven in Toronto.