Game Blog: Spurs @ Wizards - Feb. 12

[duncan228]

Some post-game quotes.

Parker sparks Spurs in rout of Wizards

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."

Notes: Spurs F Tiago Splitter missed his second straight game with a strained left hamstring. ... The Wizards had three forwards out due to injury, including Rashard Lewis (sore right knee). Al Thornton (dislocated right middle finger) missed his second straight game. Josh Howard (sore left knee), who has not played since Jan. 5, was originally slated to return against the Spurs but should play Sunday at Cleveland, Saunders said. ... It was Washington's third sellout of the season, drawing a crowd of 20,435.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011021227

[Cane]

Ouch that was only the third sellout for Washington?! Talk about adding insult to injury. There seemed to be quite a few Spurs fans there though FWIW. The owner was nowhere to be seen after the first half and who can blame him

[duncan228]

View from the other side.

Words can’t totally explain how I feel. Disappointed. Embarrassed. I feel bad from a fan standpoint. I look, there’s 8:40 left to go in the game, we’re down 36, and our fans are cheering for them to miss shots at the free throw line. Which says something about how your fans are trying their hardest to do what they can. They want to see you go out and just play. I can’t have an explanation of why we didn’t come out with the intensity we needed to. We do have a tendency, when we play against tough teams, and this is a tough physical team, sometimes we’re not ready for that. It’s disappointing.


...I didn’t see this coming. I don’t think anyone saw it coming, just with how well we’ve played at home, how well we’ve gotten up for games against big-time opponents. But there’s a prime example. There’s a team that they play how the game’s supposed to be played. They play out of substance not style. To them, it doesn’t matter who scores, they don’t go for the dunk. When they miss a dunk, they get back, they don’t care about the assist and the flamboyance. That’s how you want your organization to be, and that’s how we’re working to try to get there. You can say it’s a process, but it’s frustrating when you get against that, and you get steamrolled.


...You’re as good as your last performance. Let’s put it at that, so right now we’re not very good, based on how we played today, and we have to get a lot better to compete with anybody in the NBA.

I was more shocked I didn’t hear that many boos tonight. I don’t know if there was more San Antonio Spurs fans tonight or Wizards fans. Anyway, we didn’t hear no boos, and if there were Wizards fans, I’m proud for that part.

If I was in the crowd, I’d have did the same thing. It didn’t seem like nobody cared out there, even me, including everybody else, nobody cared. I think we all cared deep down inside, but we didn’t play like it. We didn’t show no type of energy that you gotta have when you’re at home. It don’t matter if you’re losing, you still gotta play hard, and I don’t think we did that.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/...tgame-reaction

[awktalk]

Ouch that was only the third sellout for Washington?! Talk about adding insult to injury. There seemed to be quite a few Spurs fans there though FWIW. The owner was nowhere to be seen after the first half and who can blame him

I was at the game tonight, and I can tell you first hand that Spurs gear outnumbered Wiz gear. That isn't to say there were more Spurs fans there, but the ones dressed in gear (including myself and my wife) outnumbered 2-1 Wiz gear. Section 118, the alleyway to the Spurs lockerroom was 90% Spurs fans. It was awesome, although we all agreed that we felt bad for the Wiz when they were down 41.

[Spurologist]

Just got back from the Wiz Spurs game...what a massacre. I hoped I would've seen more of the big 3 but I'll take the 3pt barrage.

The crowd was dead after the first quarter. It seemed like the spurs fans were louder at the Verizon Center. The wizards flat out gave up. It was embarrassing beyond belief.

[awktalk]

To the Spurs fans sitting in front of me, in 118 L, sorry that I spilled beer all over your head and jacket. I held my beer from the bottom and the spilled out because of this:

[703 Spurz]

To the Spurs fans sitting in front of me, in 118 L, sorry that I spilled beer all over your head and jacket. I held my beer from the bottom and the spilled out because of this:

I was at the game too. They had that beer thing on the jumbotron at one point. I have no ing idea how the it works. Beer from the bottom of the cup, it's bat insane!

The crowd was dead after like four minutes into the game. I've been to the Verizon Center for Spurs games for at least eight years now and it's never really been that loud of a place. Back when Arenas, Butler, and Jamison were around it was a little different but it's never been an intimidating place to play.

being embarrassed for the Wizards. As a team that matters, you need to beat the out of scrub teams like them. Well done tonight sirs

[spurs10]

Caption this?

"I wanna take you higher!"

[mudyez]

nice...no player over 18 points and TD+Manu unter 10 each...still managed to get 118

[nkdlunch]

Splitter hurt his hamstring at the Raptors. Not sure when he'll be back.

Splitter was active. But Pop didn't put him in to take care of him.

[Spurologist]

Bonner digging for gold

[awktalk]

Splitter was active. But Pop didn't put him in to take care of him.

He didn't even partake in warmups. He was dressed, but only playing if a serial killer took out 7 of our players.

[TampaDude]

I knew the Spurs were gonna be pissed after playing so poorly against the 76ers, so I figured this game would be a blowout, but damn...

[jjktkk]

Bonner digging for gold

[TampaDude]

Who was that butthurt Wiz with the lame move at the end there?

Yeah...that was a move...refs should've waved off the basket just to piss him off.

[Fundamental]

I was at the game too. They had that beer thing on the jumbotron at one point. I have no ing idea how the it works. Beer from the bottom of the cup, it's bat insane!

It's a magnetic diaphragm on the bottom of the cup. Allows them to serve more beer faster with less spillage, which ends up with happier customers, less wasted spilled beer and better foam head, and more dollars per hour for the beer stand. A win for everybody. I love when science and beer collide.

[LakerHater]

To the Spurs fans sitting in front of me, in 118 L, sorry that I spilled beer all over your head and jacket. I held my beer from the bottom and the spilled out because of this:

Theres always a flaw in new things. So what is it, you cant hold the cup a certain way or squeeze the cup to hard from the bottom... What?

[703 Spurz]

My view from the seats

[703 Spurz]

It's a magnetic diaphragm on the bottom of the cup. Allows them to serve more beer faster with less spillage, which ends up with happier customers, less wasted spilled beer and better foam head, and more dollars per hour for the beer stand. A win for everybody. I love when science and beer collide.

So there's some tiny ass opening at the bottom of the cup?

[TampaDude]

So there's some tiny ass opening at the bottom of the cup?