"Spurs players, like the rest of us, have access to those handy pocket schedules floating around town. They are also human. So, yes, they are aware of what awaits them in the days to come, a five-game gauntlet against the NBA's elite and near-elite. The Lakers on Tuesday. Oklahoma City on New Year's Day. Road tests at Dallas, Boston and New York. Before the Spurs could get to all that, however, they had to pause Sunday for a not-so-marquee, post-Christmas matchup with a Washington team both hapless and short-handed. In a quintessential taking-care-of-business performance, the Spurs held off the Wizards 94-80 at the AT&T Center, winning with defense instead of offense for a change. "It would have been very disappointing to come out and lose to a team that isn't doing so well," said guard Manu Ginobili, who led the Spurs with 21 points. "It was good that we won, and our defense showed up." Tony Parker added 20 points and matched a season-high ? with 14 assists for the Spurs, who improved to an NBA-leading 26-4 in advance of their toughest stretch to date. The Spurs, who raced to a club-record start by scoring in the 100s most nights, held Washington to 37.5 percent shooting, a season low for a Spurs opponent. It was the first time the Spurs had surrendered fewer than 90 points since beating Portland 95-78 on Dec. 12. "We didn't really want to score 120, 110 today," Ginobili said. "We wanted to keep them under 90 and make them shoot a low percentage." The Spurs followed their worst defensive game of the season — a 123-101 loss at Orlando in which the Magic shot 59.5 percent from the field — with one of their best. The Wizards, who have lost 11 straight in San Antonio, did their part to aid the cause. Washington (7-21) hit town with the Eastern Conference's worst record and without two-thirds of its starting frontcourt. The team suspended center JaVale McGee and forward Andray Blatche, its leading scorer, after the two scuffled at a D.C. nightclub. The Spurs' upcoming schedule, starting with Tuesday's visit from the two-time defending champions, put more stress on Sunday's game, not less." Read more: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/26/wizards-no-trouble-but-bigger-tests-loom/
