Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
One day after their worst offensive performance of the season, the San Antonio Spurs came back with one of their best.
Tony Parker scored 10 of his 18 points in less than 2 minutes during the first quarter to jump-start San Antonio to a 118-94 rout of the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
After losing 77-71 at Philadelphia Friday — the Spurs’ lowest point total of the season — San Antonio bettered that scoring output before halftime.
“You know, sometimes I don’t even try to understand basketball,” Parker said. “It’s weird.”
Parker’s 10-point run came entirely on fast breaks, including three steals he converted into layups. It was part of a 12-0 run that gave San Antonio a 16-point lead, and the Spurs never looked back.
San Antonio shot better than 60 percent from the field for most of the game, and even though the accuracy suffered a bit late in garbage time, the Spurs finished with a mark of 58.4 percent, including 13 of 25 from 3-point range. They led by as many as 41 points and every available San Antonio player had scored midway through the third quarter.
“It’s just one of those games,” Parker said. “Coming back from a tough game last night, we didn’t shoot the ball well, tonight everything was going in.”
George Hill scored 18 points and was 4 for 4 on 3-pointers for San Antonio, which has won 10 consecutive games against the Wizards, including five straight in Washington. Gary Neal added 16 points as six Spurs finished in double digits.
“The simple thing is we made shots tonight that we didn’t make last night,” Hill said after the game.
The Spurs led 37-18 after the first quarter and 72-45 after the first half. The 72 points were the most San Antonio has scored in any half this season, and tied the most allowed in a first half by Washington.
“Words can’t totally explain how I feel. Disappointed. Embarrassed,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “I didn’t see this coming. I don’t think anyone saw it coming.”
The Spurs are in the midst of a nine-game road trip as a rodeo takes over their AT&T Center home. The game at Washington was San Antonio’s fourth in five nights and the Spurs’ early lead gave them a chance to rest their starters most of the second half.
Tim Duncan scored six points in 12 minutes, the fewest he’s played in a game since Dec. 2, 2007. For the first time this season, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich made a change to the starting lineup as Hill replaced Manu Ginobili to allow Ginobili extra time off — Ginobili scored six points in 8 minutes.
“It’s huge for us,” Ginobili said. “We earned ourselves the possibility to rest a little bit, and it’s well-needed.”
Cartier Martin and Andray Blatche each scored 16 points to lead Washington.
After losing to the team with the NBA’s best record, the Wizards now head to Cleveland for a game Sunday matching teams setting marks for futility this season. Washington has an 0-25 road record and is looking for its first win away from home against the Cavaliers, who recently snapped an NBA-record 26-game losing streak.
“You’re as good as your last performance. Right now, we’re not very good,” Saunders said. “We’ve got to get a lot better to compete with anybody in the NBA.”
by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
