duncan228
02-06-2008, 11:48 AM
http://www.nba.com/games/20080206/SASWAS/preview.html?nav=scoreboardhome
Spurs-Wizards Preview
By MIKE VOTTA, STATS Senior Writer
The Washington Wizards' most recent loss might have been especially costly.
The Wizards could once again be without Caron Butler on Wednesday night when they meet the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and try to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the season.
Washington (24-23) dropped its fourth straight on Tuesday, 101-96 in Philadelphia. The Wizards, who have not won since a 108-104 overtime victory at home against Toronto on Jan. 29, opened the season with five straight defeats.
Washington has scored only 89.3 points per game during its current slide and has been outscored by an average of more than 16 points.
However, Tuesday's defeat was especially painful, as Butler aggravated the strained left hip flexor that kept him out of three games last week. He returned on Sunday, scoring 15 points in 39 minutes of a 103-91 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and managed eight points in just over 32 minutes against the 76ers.
With the injured Gilbert Arenas limited to just eight games this season, Butler has picked up the scoring slack with 21.4 points per game. His status for this contest is uncertain.
The Wizards led by 12 early in the fourth on Tuesday, but saw Philadelphia score 17 straight points late in the period to take the lead.
"They turned up the heat and really challenged us when they were scoring well," said Brendan Haywood, who had 18 points. "We just didn't hit shots down the stretch."
Antawn Jamison added 16 points and 14 rebounds for Washington, which has lost four straight and 13 of 16 to the Spurs including a 109-94 road defeat on Nov. 28.
San Antonio (30-16) improved to 2-2 on its nine-game rodeo road trip with a 116-89 rout of Indiana on Tuesday. The Spurs have won four of their last six away from home but are just 10-11 there this season.
Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs, who allowed the Pacers to shoot 67.6 percent in the first half before holding them to just nine points in the third. San Antonio has not yielded more than 89 points in its last three games.
"We stood toe-to-toe with them and just kind of waited for our defense to catch-up," Duncan said. "Defensively, we really turned it up in that third quarter, and that kind of turned the game."
Damon Stoudamire, who signed with the Spurs on Saturday after negotiating a buyout with Memphis, started and finished with 11 points but no assists. Stoudamire, who was averaging 7.3 points and 3.9 assists in 29 games for the Grizzlies, played for the first time since Dec. 30, when he faced the Spurs.
"I learned about another 10 plays tonight just in the game," he said. "A lot of the things we were doing we hadn't went over. I was learning a lot of it on the fly."
Stoudamire is expected to give San Antonio more depth while Tony Parker nurses a left heel injury. Stoudamire, the 1995-96 rookie of the year while with Toronto, is averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 assists in 12 career games against the Wizards in Washington.
Spurs-Wizards Preview
By MIKE VOTTA, STATS Senior Writer
The Washington Wizards' most recent loss might have been especially costly.
The Wizards could once again be without Caron Butler on Wednesday night when they meet the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and try to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the season.
Washington (24-23) dropped its fourth straight on Tuesday, 101-96 in Philadelphia. The Wizards, who have not won since a 108-104 overtime victory at home against Toronto on Jan. 29, opened the season with five straight defeats.
Washington has scored only 89.3 points per game during its current slide and has been outscored by an average of more than 16 points.
However, Tuesday's defeat was especially painful, as Butler aggravated the strained left hip flexor that kept him out of three games last week. He returned on Sunday, scoring 15 points in 39 minutes of a 103-91 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and managed eight points in just over 32 minutes against the 76ers.
With the injured Gilbert Arenas limited to just eight games this season, Butler has picked up the scoring slack with 21.4 points per game. His status for this contest is uncertain.
The Wizards led by 12 early in the fourth on Tuesday, but saw Philadelphia score 17 straight points late in the period to take the lead.
"They turned up the heat and really challenged us when they were scoring well," said Brendan Haywood, who had 18 points. "We just didn't hit shots down the stretch."
Antawn Jamison added 16 points and 14 rebounds for Washington, which has lost four straight and 13 of 16 to the Spurs including a 109-94 road defeat on Nov. 28.
San Antonio (30-16) improved to 2-2 on its nine-game rodeo road trip with a 116-89 rout of Indiana on Tuesday. The Spurs have won four of their last six away from home but are just 10-11 there this season.
Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs, who allowed the Pacers to shoot 67.6 percent in the first half before holding them to just nine points in the third. San Antonio has not yielded more than 89 points in its last three games.
"We stood toe-to-toe with them and just kind of waited for our defense to catch-up," Duncan said. "Defensively, we really turned it up in that third quarter, and that kind of turned the game."
Damon Stoudamire, who signed with the Spurs on Saturday after negotiating a buyout with Memphis, started and finished with 11 points but no assists. Stoudamire, who was averaging 7.3 points and 3.9 assists in 29 games for the Grizzlies, played for the first time since Dec. 30, when he faced the Spurs.
"I learned about another 10 plays tonight just in the game," he said. "A lot of the things we were doing we hadn't went over. I was learning a lot of it on the fly."
Stoudamire is expected to give San Antonio more depth while Tony Parker nurses a left heel injury. Stoudamire, the 1995-96 rookie of the year while with Toronto, is averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 assists in 12 career games against the Wizards in Washington.