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01-03-2010, 01:20 AM
Spurs walk over Wizards for fifth straight win (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_walk_over_Wizards_for_fifth_straight_win.htm l)
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
WASHINGTON — Tipoff of Saturday's Spurs-Wizards game at the Verizon Center was still two hours away, but there was a starkly contrasting feel in and around the locker rooms separated only by a long hallway and a couple of turns.
Spurs captain Tim Duncan and assistant coach Don Newman laughed at a joke as they walked to the court for Duncan's pregame shooting routine while Roger Mason Jr. waved to some friends and family members who had come to see him in his only visit of the season to his hometown.
Several Wizards exited a locker room rocked this week by an incident of alleged gunplay involving teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. As they trudged to their practice court, one Wizard shouted, “Pow, there's another shot,” chuckling at his own bad joke.
By the time the Spurs finished grinding out a 97-86 victory that pushed their record to 20-11 and extended their season-best win streak to five games, the most monotonous team in the NBA reflected on the virtue of boredom.
“Am I happy we have no drama?” said Duncan, whose 23 points led the Spurs. “Yes, yes. It's a lot easier to come to work and a lot easier to play the basketball games when stuff off the court isn't bothering you.
“So, absolutely, a drama-less place is always better.”
The game had its own dramatic ebb and flow, with former Wizard and local prep star Mason making all four of his 3-point attempts and scoring 16 points in a first half that ended in a 50-all tie after the Spurs had led by 12 in the first quarter.
Mason didn't attempt another 3-pointer, finishing with 20 points. Starting Spurs big guard Keith Bogans made both of his 3-pointers, giving the two former Washington-area high school rivals a perfect night from long range.
“I don't know that it was my best game of the year, but I definitely made shots, and I'm happy we came out of here with a win,” Mason said. “We've got a good thing going on our team right now, and we wanted to keep it going.”
So did Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who understood Mason's shooting, by itself, wouldn't be enough.
“Roger Mason was great,” Popovich said. “He allowed us to stay in it the first half. I told the team, ‘We're not going to win it with one guy. Say thank you, Roger, for keeping us in it, but to win it, we're going to have to do it as a group defensively.'
“I thought they did that the second half.”
The closest the Spurs came to internal drama was a halftime soliloquy Popovich delivered at high volume, reminding his players he would prefer they play defense without committing so many fouls that the Wizards had outscored them from the line 11-1.
“That was suggested by Coach Popovich,” Duncan said. “Very nicely, of course.”
The Spurs proved a good audience. The Wizards managed just two free throws in the second half, when they scored only 36 points.
“We executed down the stretch, offensively,” Popovich said. “But the second half was totally different from the first half, defensively. We held them to 36 points in the second half, and that defense allowed us to execute at the end of the game.”
It was Duncan whose offensive execution keyed a 12-4 finish for the Spurs in the final 4:10 of the game. His perfect pass from the top of the key to a back-cutting Tony Parker resulted in a three-point play that gave the Spurs a 91-82 advantage with 3:15 left.
When Caron Butler's reverse layin pulled the Wizards within seven with 1:48 left, Duncan followed with his own three-point play. He split a double-team by Butler and Andray Blatche to throw in a 10-footer, then made the free throw after Butler fouled him.
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
WASHINGTON — Tipoff of Saturday's Spurs-Wizards game at the Verizon Center was still two hours away, but there was a starkly contrasting feel in and around the locker rooms separated only by a long hallway and a couple of turns.
Spurs captain Tim Duncan and assistant coach Don Newman laughed at a joke as they walked to the court for Duncan's pregame shooting routine while Roger Mason Jr. waved to some friends and family members who had come to see him in his only visit of the season to his hometown.
Several Wizards exited a locker room rocked this week by an incident of alleged gunplay involving teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. As they trudged to their practice court, one Wizard shouted, “Pow, there's another shot,” chuckling at his own bad joke.
By the time the Spurs finished grinding out a 97-86 victory that pushed their record to 20-11 and extended their season-best win streak to five games, the most monotonous team in the NBA reflected on the virtue of boredom.
“Am I happy we have no drama?” said Duncan, whose 23 points led the Spurs. “Yes, yes. It's a lot easier to come to work and a lot easier to play the basketball games when stuff off the court isn't bothering you.
“So, absolutely, a drama-less place is always better.”
The game had its own dramatic ebb and flow, with former Wizard and local prep star Mason making all four of his 3-point attempts and scoring 16 points in a first half that ended in a 50-all tie after the Spurs had led by 12 in the first quarter.
Mason didn't attempt another 3-pointer, finishing with 20 points. Starting Spurs big guard Keith Bogans made both of his 3-pointers, giving the two former Washington-area high school rivals a perfect night from long range.
“I don't know that it was my best game of the year, but I definitely made shots, and I'm happy we came out of here with a win,” Mason said. “We've got a good thing going on our team right now, and we wanted to keep it going.”
So did Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who understood Mason's shooting, by itself, wouldn't be enough.
“Roger Mason was great,” Popovich said. “He allowed us to stay in it the first half. I told the team, ‘We're not going to win it with one guy. Say thank you, Roger, for keeping us in it, but to win it, we're going to have to do it as a group defensively.'
“I thought they did that the second half.”
The closest the Spurs came to internal drama was a halftime soliloquy Popovich delivered at high volume, reminding his players he would prefer they play defense without committing so many fouls that the Wizards had outscored them from the line 11-1.
“That was suggested by Coach Popovich,” Duncan said. “Very nicely, of course.”
The Spurs proved a good audience. The Wizards managed just two free throws in the second half, when they scored only 36 points.
“We executed down the stretch, offensively,” Popovich said. “But the second half was totally different from the first half, defensively. We held them to 36 points in the second half, and that defense allowed us to execute at the end of the game.”
It was Duncan whose offensive execution keyed a 12-4 finish for the Spurs in the final 4:10 of the game. His perfect pass from the top of the key to a back-cutting Tony Parker resulted in a three-point play that gave the Spurs a 91-82 advantage with 3:15 left.
When Caron Butler's reverse layin pulled the Wizards within seven with 1:48 left, Duncan followed with his own three-point play. He split a double-team by Butler and Andray Blatche to throw in a 10-footer, then made the free throw after Butler fouled him.