There have been few big men in the history of the NBA with the vision, basketball IQ and passing ability that Tim Duncan possesses. For a small moment in the 112-99 win for the San Antonio Spurs over the Toronto Raptors, he also showed he can dribble like a point guard.
Duncan isn’t actually known for his ability to lead a team up and down the court, but from time to time he lets that skill shine through and translate into a good play on the court. As he led the Spurs to an attack against the Raptors, Amir Johnson tried to take advantage of the opportunity and surprise Duncan from the side, attempting to steal the ball.
Duncan didn’t get confused from the sudden pressure, simply dribbling the ball between his legs and getting by Johnson, who was on the floor after being faked by that move.
The Spurs improve to 22-6 with the win, good enough for 3rd in the west. They are 1 game behind the Portland Trail Blazers and 0.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lost at home to the Raptors only a day earlier.
Duncan had a quiet game, finishing with 9 points and 12 rebounds on an awful 4-of-15 from the field. Tony Parker was the team’s best player on the night (no surprise there), leading the team with 26 points, adding 8 assists. Manu Ginobili had a strong performance off the bench with 18 points as well.