Story By: Richard Thomas
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington D.C–
This was one of those games that the Wizards just really needed to win. A solid victory against a team that has had a track record for winning games, we know them as the San Antonio Spurs. Well, that didn’t go as well as planned for the Wizards as they dropped to the Spurs 112-100.
The Spurs came back from halftime with five quick points off a Danny Green three and classic steal-and-slam from Kawhi Leonard. They maintained a comfortable lead throughout and finished the third quarter up 90-76 with solid play from both units.
John Wall was held to 4 points and 3 assists even though he logged 20 minutes in the first half. On the other end, Kawhi Leonard only had 8 points on 2-8 shooting. The first half was mostly a two-on-two battle featuring Bradley Beal and Otto Porter against Tony Parker and LaMarcus Aldridge, all of whom took advantage of defenses daring them to make plays.
The Wizards finally got their first glance of Ian Mahinmi this season. He showed some promise and hopefully will help the Wizards give Marcin Gortat some help on the inside. He was a non factor tonight with just 1 point and 1 rebound in 14 minutes of action.
Washington didn’t have much help on the inside tonight after Forward Markieff Morris received a double technical and was ejected for arguing after picking up two quick fouls in the third quarter. . It was the first of four straight games against Western Conference teams for Washington. . The starters shot just one free throw in the first half. . Wizards fell to 5-6 with Wall and Beal in the lineup.
“We have some work to do, but these guys know what we are capable of. Tonight we played a very good team that won their 9th straight game, give those guys some credit for what we did tonight for what may be the best team in the league right now, said Wizards Head Coach Scott Brooks.