TORONTO — When the Toronto Raptors announced their starting lineup against the San Antonio Spurs, there was a small surprise at centre with rookie Collin Murray-Boyles taking the tipoff instead of veteran Jakob Poeltl.
The seven-foot, 253-pound Poeltl is the tallest player on the Raptors by three inches and the heaviest by eight pounds. He’s also one of the most experienced players on Toronto’s roster and would presumably be able to give seven-foot-four Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama a hard time.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic had other plans, however.
“Our focus was to be physical with them in general, particularly Wemby,” said Poeltl of the strategy. “We know when he finds his rhythm and can play free, he’s a really good basketball player, a really good shotmaker.
“We try to make it as hard on him as possible and physicality was a big part of that.”
On an individual level, the plan worked. Wembanyama was limited to 12 points but had seven rebounds and five blocks. Poeltl finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Toronto came up short overall, losing to San Antonio 110-107 on Wednesday, their second loss in a row. The Raptors dropped a 116-107 decision to the Oklahoma City Thunder the day before as Toronto hosted the top two teams in the NBA’s Western Conference on back-to-back nights.
“I’m satisfied, but not happy,” said Rajakovic. “I thought that on a back to back, playing against such a good team, we really gave them a hell of a fight over there.
“I thought that we did a really good job, made it really hard, on their main guys. Did as well as you can do against Wembanyama.”
The 22-year-old Wembanyama was the first overall pick in the NBA’s 2023 draft. He was the 2024 Rookie of the Year and is a two-time all-star. He was averaging 24.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game heading into the game against Toronto.
Poeltl appreciated Rajakovic’s strategic gambit against the Spurs’ dominant centre.
“I really don’t mind either way,” said Poeltl. “They wanted CMB to be really aggressive with Wemby.
“I don’t mind. I like playing with the bench unit. I like playing with the starters. I’ll figure out a way to fit in.”
Toronto led the Spurs by as many as 15 points in the game and had a 12-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. San Antonio opened the final period on a 15-2 tear to take back control of the game.
Rajakovic had chosen not to put all-stars Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes on the floor to start the fourth.
“Brandon never starts the fourth quarter because he played for the entire third quarter,” said Rajakovic, who noted that Barnes had aggravated a right quad contusion he’d suffered on Tuesday against the Thunder. “(Barnes) was really playing through the pain, so he was in constant communication with us.
“He was saying, ‘if you guys don’t have to play me, try to keep the momentum.’ So we had that technical communication.”
Ingram had a double-double with 20 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Barnes scored 15.
It was the fifth time this season Toronto had lost after holding a double-digit lead, the most in the NBA.
The loss dropped the Raptors to 4-15 against the league’s top 10 teams with three of those wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers before they acquired 11-time all-star James Harden in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 4.
“I think this is good for us, especially me,” said Toronto point guard Immanuel Quickley. “I feel like just the last couple games I have gone against some really good defenders.
“This is good for me and for the rest of our team, just being able to get a taste of that experience of teams that are being really physical, especially the good teams.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
