Spurs Chasing History, and More Importantly, the Thunder

When the Spurs face the Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday night, they'll have a chance to secure San Antonio's first 10-game winning streak in a decade.

After battling for the win in Detroit to remain undefeated on the Rodeo Road Trip, they gave themselves a chance to do something the Alamo City hasn't seen since the 2015-16 season. That year the Spurs won 13 in a row en route to 67 total.

San Antonio's first win of the current streak came after losing to the Hornets, getting snowed in in Charlotte, making an emergency landing, and eventually beating the Magic. That was the only win in the streak by less than 10 points, and according to Spurs radio announcer Dan Weiss this is the second-longest streak of double-digit wins in franchise history.

The streak also happened to begin on February 1, meaning that if the Spurs can beat Toronto and then the Nets the following night in Brooklyn, they will complete an undefeated calendar month. The Spurs' next victory will be number 42 on the season, which will make this the first winning season for the proud franchise since they last made the playoffs in 2018-19.

All of these numbers are cool, but if the Spurs care about any number that isn't on a scoreboard right now it's 3. That's how many games back they are from the mighty defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who remain banged-up and without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as their schedule gets much spicier.

The Thunder are 1-4 against the top five teams in the NBA, all of those games against the Spurs. They still have two left against each of the Pistons, Knicks, Celtics, Nuggets, and Lakers. That's the second-hardest strength of schedule remaining, while San Antonio sits right around the middle.

The Pistons did their best to rough up Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs on Monday night, but San Antonio secured the win and also escaped Detroit with no injuries to report. Their full 10-man rotation is healthy for this one, and the recently-acquired Mason Plumlee is still reconditioning to return to the court after a surgery he underwent in December.

The Raptors hosted the always-physical Thunder on Tuesday night, falling 116-107 as the starters all played 30 minutes or more. Their star Scottie Barnes is working his way back from an ankle injury, and Toronto has listed him as questionable for this one with a right quad contusion. Former Spur Jakob Poeltl missed last night's game with a back injury that has hampered him throughout the season, but it looks like he'll be good to go for tonight.

The Raptors have a variety of long, athletic wings they can throw at Wemby and the Spurs. Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett combine for 40 a night, and Immanuel Quickley is the team's best volume 3-point shooter.

Spurs legend Sandro Mamukelashvili seems to have found a home in Toronto. He sports the fifth-highest scoring average on the team, putting up 11.2 points per game while shooting 52% from the floor and 38% from deep.

Toronto is near the top of the NBA in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, so they'll be a good test of the disruptive force of San Antonio's defense. The main reason they're 34-24 on the season has been their top-six defense, holding teams under 112 points per 100 possessions.

When

6:30 p.m. Central

Where

Scotiabank Center, Toronto, Ontario

How to Watch

FanDuel Sports Network Southwest

Injury Report

SAS:

Mason Plumlee (return to competition reconditioning) - OUT
David Jones-Garcia (ankle) - OUT
Harrison Ingram (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT
Emanuel Miller (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT

TOR:

Scottie Barnes (right quad contusion) - QUESTIONABLE
Chucky Hepburn (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT
A.J. Lawson (G-League, Two-Way)- OUT
Alijah Martin (G-League, Two-Way)- OUT
Jonathan Mogbo (G-League, Two-Way)- OUT