basketball

“I would rather watch the young guys play than have Peja go out and thwart those efforts. It’s the right thing to do for us,” Colangelo said.

A nine-point loss to this Spurs team in this building, at this stage in this season, is nothing to be ashamed of.

Like that Dec. 28 win over a Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavericks, the Raps went into this one vastly undermanned. Unlike that game, in this one the Raptors came up short.

“I’m proud of the way our guys fought in this game,” said coach Jay Triano. “I can’t ask for much more from our guys in a back-to-back when we have so many guys hurt."

Not to sound the alarm bells, but the Raptors appear to be a run-away train with no end in sight, at least not one that has a happy ending.

“Our effort and intensity is good, we just have to finish plays and I think a lot of that has to do with youth,” Triano said.

Right now the Raps aren’t getting any calls and hit a new low last night getting to the free throw line just 12 times.

“They’re a very tough team for us,” Triano said of the Hawks, now fifth in the Eastern Conference and seeking their fifth straight win. “They’re big, strong and athletic. We seem to struggle with that.”