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San Antonio Spurs 101, Washington Wizards 73
San Antonio, TX Jan. 17 / Brett Dvorak -- Call it another audition in
front of the possible Western Conference coach; Parker came out looking to get his team off on the right foot. Seven points
and three assists later the Spurs were in control 21-2. Not only was his offense good, defensively he put the clamps down on
the Wizards leading scorer Gilbert Arenas, holding him to three points while missing all twelve shots he took in the game.
Parker said it just came down to playing solid defense: "I just tried to stay in front of him the whole game and stay in his
face.”
Arenas gave the Spurs credit for knocking the Wizards off their game: “Their rotation is so great," he said. "They didn't
let us do anything tonight. We couldn't get a good look or an easy look.
A beneficiary of Parker’s penetration was Rasho Nesterovic. The seven footer played one of his better games in recent
memory, using his significant size advantage to score six points and grab five rebounds in the opening quarter against a
Washington team that had won it’s previous seven games. While the Spurs were sizzling, Washington was fizzling, missing
twelve of their first thirteen shots, the only basket coming on a dunk by Brandon Haywood.
One of the few bright spots for the visitors was Jarvis Hayes. Upon completion of a 13-0 run that made the score 21-2,
Wizards coach Eddie Jordan inserted Hayes into the lineup, a move that paid immediate dividends as he scored eight points,
including a pair of three pointers as the gap was closed to 30-15 after twelve minutes.
With such a sizable lead so early in the game, the Spurs reserves were given plenty of playing time in the opening half. One
player taking advantage of the opportunity was Devin Brown. With Manu Ginobili missing the game with a thigh contusion,
Brent Barry was inserted into the starting lineup, leaving Brown to come off the bench and play key minutes at the two and
three spots on the floor. Brown responded with seven points in the opening quarter and nine in the half. Brown teamed with
Robert Horry and rookie Beno Udrih to score sixteen first half points.
Brown talked about the bench having to play well; “We lost a tough game in Houston (on Saturday) and Pop (Gregg Popovich)
got on us (bench players) about not being ready to play. Washington’s one of the better team’s in the east so we just had
to bring more juice tonight, more focus. That's what we did."
San Antonio continued it’s strong play, taking a 55-34 lead to the locker room thanks to a balanced scoring attack.
Backcourt mates Parker and Barry led all scorers with 11 points each while Brown added 9 points and Duncan chipped in 7,
most coming from the foul line as the Wizards were unable to contain Duncan in the low post.
Whatever Jordan said to his team at the half, must have fallen on deaf ears because things got progressively worse in the
second half. Antawn Jamison finally found the scoring column, scoring two quick baskets and all six of his points, but they
would be the only shots of the quarter he would take. The remaining Wizards players managed to make just three of twenty-one
shots, five of which were blocked by Duncan and Nesterovic, as Washington tried in vain to score inside. Washington was
playing without starting shooting guard Larry Hughes who broke his right thumb in Saturday’s win over the Phoenix Suns, and
it showed as the offense had little or no flow to it. Washington came in as the fourth highest scoring team in the league,
averaging 102 points a contest, tonight were held to a season low point total and a season low shooting percentage
(31.8%).
"We always said that Gilbert and Larry play so well together," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said when asked about the
team’s struggles today. "I don't know if (Hughes' absence) affected Gilbert. He didn't shoot the ball well, but I thought
he tried to run the team the right way."
On the other end of the floor, Parker continued to penetrate and score at will. Eight more points in the quarter helped inch
the fourth year player closer to his first career triple double, but he would leave early in the fourth quarter after
playing 34 minutes. His line total was an impressive 23 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds.
"He was the leader," Popovich said. "He got us into a lot of sets and didn't look over at the bench much. He ran the show
and played good defense at the same time. It was a good game for him, one of his best."
Parker was magnificent, but he wasn’t even the high scorer on his team today. That honor belonged to Brown who put on a
shooting exhibition with Hayes in the fourth quarter. Brown nailed a trio of three pointers in the quarter while scoring
thirteen of his career high tying 24 points. Hayes scored fifteen of his game high 27 points in the quarter, but it was too
little too late as one other Wizard (Juan Dixon – 10 points) managed double figures.
In addition to Brown and Parker, Barry set a season high scoring mark with 17 points, including a perfect five of five on
his three pointers while some guy named Duncan finished with a quiet 11 points and 11 rebounds.
With the win, the Spurs move their home record to a league best 20-1 and their overall record to 31-9, just a half game
behind Phoenix for the best record in the Western Conference. The teams meet Friday night in Phoenix with a possible All
Star game-coaching berth on the line, and maybe a point guard spot as well.
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