Spurs vs. Wizards recap, reactions: Spurs dominate second half to win

After four consecutive wins, the Spurs remained home to take on the Wizards. What went down in the Alamo City Wednesday night?

The San Antonio Spurs entered Wednesday night fresh off an 89-75 win over the Warriors and winners of four straight games. Facing Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards, the Spurs looked to extend their winning streak to five. Let’s take a look at how this one played out.

Both teams started slow out of the gate. Washington hit their first field goal, but missed their next four shots. San Antonio missed their first six attempts, causing Coach Popovich to call an early timeout. The Spurs finally got on the board at almost the 7:30 mark on a turnaround shot by LaMarcus Aldridge. The game picked up offensively as both teams found their rhythm. San Antonio tightened up on defense, holding the Wizards to 42.1 percent shooting in the quarter. Manu Ginobili delivered this hustle play towards the end of the quarter and the game was tied at 18 heading into the second.

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/976641424560017408

The Spurs took their first lead at the start of the second on a pair of made free throws by Rudy Gay. Both teams matched each other shot for shot. Washington took the lead back on a dunk by Kelly Oubre Jr. but thanks to Kyle Anderson‘s hustle on the glass, San Antonio kept it tight and reclaimed the lead. The Spurs’ lead grew to eight, their largest at that point, thanks to seven straight from Ginobili. Marcin Gortat cut it back to six by halftime. Aldridge led all scorers in the first half with 14 points on 7-15 shooting.

Anderson scored the first five points for the Spurs in the third quarter on this backdoor cut dunk from Dejounte Murray and his first three-pointer.

DJ with the pass and Kyle with the dunk ?

Anderson has 12 points in the contest #GoSpursGo https://t.co/UTWo5ZAkMy

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 22, 2018

After the game stayed tight for most of the first half of the quarter, San Antonio went on a 17-5 run to take a 15-point lead. With John Wall unavailable and Beal struggling in the quarter, Washington went into a tailspin offensively. The Wizards went scoreless for almost four minutes. Danny Green blocked Washington’s final shot and San Antonio held a 17-point lead going into the final period.

Danny Green with the block to end the 3️⃣rd ✋ #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/CrUwCDJv9U

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 22, 2018

The Spurs quickly increased their lead to 22 to start the fourth. Washington closed the gap to 12 on an 8-0 run with just under six minutes to go thanks to three-pointers from Oubre Jr. However, San Antonio tightened up defensively once again down the stretch and walked away with a 98-90 win, winning their fifth game in a row.

Turnovers by the Wizards and a cold offensive streak in the second half ultimately decided this one. Aldridge continued his dominance, finishing with 27 points on 52.2 percent shooting with 9 rebounds. Anderson finished with 16 on 7-8 shooting and Gay had 10 on 40.0 percent shooting. Another key contributor was Murray who finished with a team-high 10 rebounds, once again proving his value as a rebounding guard.

For the Wizards, Beal and Oubre Jr. led the way with 21 points each. Beal shot 69.2 percent on 9-13 while Oubre shot 52.9 percent on 9-17. Otto Porter was the only other in double figures, scoring 12 points and shooting 38.5 percent.

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With tonight’s win, the Spurs have clinched a winning record for the 21st straight season and stay very much alive in the Western Conference playoff race. They will be looking to keep their winning streak going when they face the Utah Jazz back home on Friday night at 7:30 P.M. CST.