San Antonio @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 23, 2017 ) Toronto 97, San Antonio 101

The San Antonio Spurs are once again staring at life without Kawhi Leonard for the foreseeable future, but they're not having a problem winning. The Spurs will try to make it back-to-back victories since learning of Leonard's latest setback when they visit the Toronto Raptors in the finale of a three-game road trip on Friday.

San Antonio improved to 25-12 without Leonard with Wednesday's 100-95 win over the Brooklyn Nets, and expects to be without the MVP candidate indefinitely due to lingering soreness in his quad. "He didn't re-injure it or anything," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "But you know he was having pain, not right after games but maybe the next day. The pain wasn't dissipating. It wasn't going the right direction, it was going the other way." The Raptors are not dealing with the same injury concerns and avoided their first three-game losing streak of the campaign by downing the visiting Detroit Pistons 96-91 on Wednesday. "We made it complicated on ourselves, but we've got to give Detroit credit," Toronto coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "They were really getting into us, getting after us, and doing something a little different defensively that threw our rhythm off a bit with their traps."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (San Antonio), TSN 1/4/5 (Toronto)

ABOUT THE SPURS (30-16): San Antonio leaned on LaMarcus Aldridge with Leonard out and he responded again with 34 points in Wednesday's triumph. "It's tough, but we've got to keep pushing," Aldridge told reporters of losing Leonard again. "Just keep doing what I've been doing. Keep having guys play well, keep trying to make my teammates better and just try to keep rolling." Kyle Anderson started in place of Leonard at small forward on Wednesday and managed only two points in 22 minutes but is averaging 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 32 starts.

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (30-13): Toronto brought in CJ Miles in the offseason to help aid an offense that intended to shoot more 3-pointers. Miles is battling through some inconsistency and is shooting 38.9 percent from the floor on the season but poured in a team-high 21 points off the bench on Wednesday. "He really spaces the floor," Casey told reporters of Miles. "He allows you -- if teams are double-teaming -- to pick them apart. We took advantage of that a few times where they had to make a decision if they were going to take the roll man or the kick-out. He had 12 (3-point) attempts. We did a good job of finding him and he did a good job of knocking them down."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Spurs SG Manu Ginobili (thigh) sat out Wednesday and is day-to-day.

2. Raptors PG Fred VanVleet (knee contusion) did not play against Detroit and is questionable for Friday.

3. San Antonio took the last four in the series, including a 101-97 home win on Oct. 23.

PREDICTION: Spurs 111, Raptors 107