Spurs Sink Raptors 97-86

February 27, 1998 / 12:00 AM EST / AP

Tim Duncan led the San Antonio Spurs in scoring for the ninth straight game, but he got some solid support from his teammates.

Duncan had 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks as the Spurs beat the Toronto Raptors 97-86 Thursday night.

Vinny Del Negro added 18 points and Monty Williams tied his season-high with 16 as San Antonio won for the fourth time in six games without ailing David Robinson.

"Tim was playing defense and going to the hole," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said."Monty was driving to the bucket which was great, because the one thing I didn't want to do was get into a jump-shooting contest."

Duncan and Williams keyed a 20-6 third-quarter run that helped the Spurs pull away from the Raptors. Williams scored seven points during the streak and Duncan had six.

"The shots were coming to me and I tried not to force too much," Williams said.

Duncan, who was 9-for-15 from the field, said his teammates have been coming through in Robinson's absence.

"Monty played well tonight," he said. "It's a continuing theme for us, guys stepping up."

Chauncey Billups, playing his third game for Toronto after being traded from Boston, scored 15 points for the Raptors. Gary Trent had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto.

NOTES: Going into the Toronto game, Duncan was averaging 25.6 points, 13.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.4 blocks in the five games Robinson has missed ... Toronto has three players chosen in the first round of the 1997 draft - Chauncey Billups (3rd overall), Tracy McGrady (9th) and John Thomas (25th). ... The Raptors are now the youngest team in the league with an average age of 24.6, down from the pre-draft age of 25.2 ... San Antonio is 15-4 against the Eastern Conference this season. ... Willie Burton, signed to a 10-day contract by the Spurs on Feb. 24, saw his first action for San Antonio, checking in midway through the fourth period ... Toronto had only two rebounds in the first quarter, tying a franchise-low for a Spurs opponent.