Antonio Daniels scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack and Tim Duncan added 13 and 11 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs posted a 103-88 victory over the Wizards, who played their first game without Jordan.
Jordan, Washington's leading scorer, missed a game due to injury for the first time since March 5, 1993 after having fluid drained from his right knee Monday morning.
 Here, Tim Duncan lives up to his last name. D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty Images |
The Wizards were red-hot in their first 12 minutes without Jordan, but San Antonio seized control with a 16-6 run bridging the first and second quarters and scored 16 straight points in the third period to pull away.
"They're a better team, a 60-win team," Washington coach Doug Collins said. "(If Jordan played) they would have beat our (butt)."
David Robinson had 13 points and three blocks and Steve Smith chipped in 12 points for the Spurs, who had six players in double figures and bounced back from their first home loss of the season.
"It was good to get everyone involved," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We executed on both ends of the court. David set the tone for us and everyone followed his lead."
Washington's Richard Hamilton scored 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting and Courtney Alexander played for the first time in four games and added a season-high 16.
"This is really the first time all season that I feel like I contributed," said Alexander, who has scored in double figures just twice this season. "It's the first time I've felt comfortable in a long time. I've got a long way to go before I completely restore my confidence."
Brendan Haywood recorded 11 points and fellow rookie Kwame Brown collected 10 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The Wizards shot 58 percent (10-of-17) in the first quarter but still trailed, 29-26, after San Antonio closed the period on a 6-2 run consisting of three-point plays from Daniels and Duncan.
"We played well at the beginning of the game," Collins said. "The secret was our ball movement, that's a key for us. Tonight was the first time that we ran our plays all the way through. But then they adjusted and we got bogged down."
The Spurs scored 10 of the first 14 points in the second period. Charles Smith opened the quarter with a long jumper and capped it with a 3-pointer to give San Antonio a 39-30 cushion with 7:36 left.
Smith scored eight of his season-high 10 points in the second quarter and San Antonio had a 57-48 halftime advantage before blowing it open in the third.
"I was really surprised by the amount of minutes I got tonight," said Smith, who had scored just five points all season coming in. "I took open shots and they fell for me. All I thought about was making something happen. It was truly a great experience."
The Spurs took a double-digit lead for good on a layup by Bruce Bowen early in the third and had a 66-56 lead with 6:55 to go before scoring 16 straight points.
Six players scored for San Antonio during the burst and Daniels capped it with a running hook shot to give the Spurs their largest lead, 82-56, with 1:44 remaining.
Rookie Tony Parker had 11 points and five assists and Bowen narrowly missed being the seventh Spur in double figures with nine.