Spurs use thrilling second-half comeback to end season with win over the Raptors

After a lackadaisical first half, the Spurs turned it on in the second for a huge comeback win to close the season off in style.

With the 2024-25 season coming to a close, the Spurs had a good chance to end things on a high note in front of their home fans against a Toronto team that was even more shorthanded than them. At first, it looked like it wasn’t going to happen, with the Raptors shooting red hot in the first half while the Spurs were sloppy and indecisive. After being challenged at halftime by Mitch Johnson, they came out strong in the second half, coming all the way back from 22 points down for a thrilling win as they head into one of their more promising offseasons in recent memory.

The start of the game was a little sloppy with both teams looking nonchalant, but the Spurs still led 15-14 after two straight Harrison Barnes threes led to angry timeout from Darko Rajaković. His team responded, and Coach Johnson soon called another timeout after Jamison Battle hit his third three for the Raptors to tie things up at 17 apiece. Battle remained hot, hitting 6-7 threes in the quarter. Malaki Branham and Keldon Johson brought some energy off the bench, but it wasn’t enough as the Toronoto led 37-32 after 12 minutes.

Things were no better in the second quarter, as the Raptors started on an 11-2 run to push the lead out to double figures while the Spurs continued to struggle protecting the ball and getting back on defense. They seemed to find a little life with a three from Stephon Castle and high flying dunk from Sandro Mamukelashvili, but again the Raptors responded well to a timeout, out-hustling the Spurs and taking advantage of their sloppy play. They continued to gradually stretch the lead throughout the quarter, peaking at 20 points, 74-54 at halftime. They out-performed the Spurs in just about every category in the half, with 10 more field goals, 5 more threes, 13 more assists, and 7 more points off turnovers.

The Spurs’ defensive effort picked up in the second half, and they slowly began to chip away at what briefly became a 22-point lead thanks to Julian Champagnie hitting a couple of threes and Chris Paul becoming the assertive version of himself with 10 quick points. With the Spurs finally asserting their will, they moved the ball on offense instead of settling for isos and came all the way back on consecutive Johnson layups, the second of which came from Blake Wesley stealing the inbound pass on his first and handing it back to Johnson for the second. A.J. Lawson hit a couple of free throws to briefly give the lead back to Toronto at the end of third quarter, 93-95, but it was still an excellent response from the Spurs after such a horrid first half.

The Spurs finally took the lead for the first time since the first quarter with Mamu finding Wesley under the basket two minutes into the fourth. For the first time nearly all game, both teams were fully engaged, but the Spurs had the edge. Johnson gave the Spurs their largest lead of 6 off a three and free throw with just under 6 minutes left, but the Raptors kept fighting back, getting as close as two a couple of times. Still, the Spurs never relinquished the lead, even in a chippy final minute as the Raptors had one last-ditch effort in them, and they ended the season on a high note with a resounding 125-118 win.

Game Notes

• Champagnie, Paul and Barnes became the first Spurs trio to play in all 82 games since Tim Duncan, Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose did it in 2001-02. The last time any team in the NBA accomplished that feat was in 2017-18 by the Minnesota Timberwolves when Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson played in all 82 games. Paul is also the first player in NBA history to play in all 82 games in his 20th season or later.
• Champagnie also hit his own milestone, becoming the only undrafted player in NBA history with 800+ points, 300+ rebounds, and shooting over 90% from the line. He was one of the few Spurs that had it going in the first half, and he finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds, including hitting 4-6 from three.
• The Spurs got a lot of production from their depleted bench unit, with Keldon Johnson leading the way with 23 points on 10-14 shooting and his usually energy and enthusiasm. Mamu was energetic all game with 12 points on 6-8 shooting, including several high flying drives, and Branham reminded everyone what he brings to the table when he’s focused with 11 points and zero misses.
• Most preseason predictions had them winning no more than 35 games, so with that in mind, if you were told that Victor Wembanyama would only appear in 46 games, you probably would not have guessed they would still reach 34 wins. A lot of that is a testament to internal improvement and growth, as well as the impact of bringing in veteran presences like Barnes in Paul. (The CP3 Effect lives on!) IT’s also worth noting that the Spurs would like be in the play-in at worst if Wemby had stayed healthy, so this season should not be considered a failure in any capacity. Instead, the future is looking brighter than it has in several years, and it’s going to be a long six-month wait for the next season.

Play of the Game

Nothing like ending things with some classic KJ hustle and celebration on the bucket that all but sealed the win. (I will personally be extremely upset if this is his last game with the Spurs. I don’t believe he’ll be traded, and he proved himself has a great sixth man this season, but you never know.)

I want to once again thank the Pounding the Rock community for your continued support. I’ve been doing this for nine seasons now, and it is you guys who keep me going, even during this seven-year playoff drought (that hopefully ends here!).

Be sure to stick around all off-season for player reviews, draft and free agency coverage, summer league, and any other fun projects we can think up. Thank you again, and Go Spurs go!