Spurs 114, Wizards 95
SAN ANTONIO -- Small forward Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and the San Antonio Spurs set a franchise record with their 14th straight home win to start the season, a 114-95 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio shot 53 percent from the field and outscored Washington 59-43 in the second half to pull away.
Spurs point guard Tony Parker posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, power forward Lamarcus Aldridge dropped in 14 points and guards Patty Mills and Manu Ginobili scored 11 points apiece.
Washington center Marcin Gortat and point guard John Wall both had double-doubles. Gortat scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and added 10 rebounds, and Wall contributed 20 points, 11 assists and five rebounds. Guard Kelly Oubre came off the bench to add 18 points for the Wizards.
Leonard scored seven straight points for the Spurs during a 1:16 stretch early in the third quarter that pushed their lead to double digits for the first time. He started the streak by sneaking between two Wizards players to knock the ball downcourt and chase it down for a breakaway dunk. Leonard then made a midrange jumper and finished with a 3-pointer for a 66-56 lead with 8:30 left in the third.
Wall slowed San Antonio's momentum with a short shot in the paint, but the Spurs answered with a quick 7-0 run, led by as many as 16 points by the end of the quarter and were never challenged in the fourth.
The Spurs missed a chance to take control late in a back-and-forth first half. The lead changed hands 10 times in the first quarter and once in the second before a midrange jumper from Aldridge put San Antonio on top by nine with 1:47 left before halftime.
The Wizards closed the first half on an 8-2 run to pull within 55-52, thanks to a four-point possession when Ramon Sessions was fouled on a layup and missed the free throw, but the rebound was tapped back and guard Kelly Oubre made two free throws.
That spurt allowed Washington to carry momentum into the locker room, but it was all San Antonio thereafter.
NOTES: Washington had won two straight entering Wednesday's game against San Antonio but was on a 15-game losing streak in the Alamo City and hadn't won there since Dec. 11, 1999. ... PG John Wall became the first Wizards player in history to finish with at least 26 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in three straight games before having that streak stopped in Monday's loss to Memphis. ... Spurs PF Tim Duncan (rest) did not play. ... The Spurs entered Wednesday's game ranked No. 1 in the NBA in four defensive categories: points per game (87.9), field goal percentage (.418), 3-point percentage (.306) and opponent rebounds per game (39.7).