Make that five consecutive victories for the surging Spurs, who only a week and a half ago were mired in a three-game skid that dropped them to 10th in the Western Conference standings.
All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge continued his tear Wednesday night, scoring 27 points and just missing a double-double with nine rebounds to lead San Antonio to a 98-90 win over the Washington Wizards at the AT&T Center.
The Spurs extended the NBA record for consecutive winning seasons to 21 with their longest win streak of the current campaign. San Antonio, which has 10 games left on its schedule, ends a six-game home stand Saturday night against Utah.
Make no mistake: The Silver and Black won this one with defense, holding their fourth opponent during the win streak to under 100 points. Danny Green and Pau Gasol finished with five blocks each and Aldridge had two.
"I think we've lost enough to refocus, as simple as that sounds, but we talked about it," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, referring to the Spurs' renewed commitment to playing better defense. "We worked on it in shootarounds when we didn't have practices. They are an intelligent group and they realize if we don't get that back together, we've got nothing because we slip out offensively."
The Silver and Black didn't get their first points of the game until Aldridge hit a 12-foot turnaround jumper with 7:36 left in the opening quarter.
"Sometimes we can't score for four or five minutes, that kind of thing, so the defense is important," Popovich said. "Tonight, they played great defense. They did a great job and followed up with a board, and that won the game for us. playing the defense that we did. We had a group that kind of lost focus at the end, but that doesn't take away for how well the guys are playing."
San Antonio (42-30) remained sixth in the Western Conference standings because No. 5 New Orleans (42-30) won Wednesday night. The Pelicans are seeded higher than the Spurs because they lead the season series between the teams.
No. 7 Minnesota (41-31) and No. 8 Utah (40-31) were off Wednesday night.
Ahead only 50-44 at the half, the Silver and Black turned up their defense to outscore the visitors 27-16 in the third quarter. Washington shot 36.8 percent (7/19) in the period and was 1 of 6 from the three-point line. Meanwhile, San Antonio got going offensively, hitting 10 of 20 shots, including 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, to take a 77-60 lead into the fourth period.
"I thought we played with good effort," Washington coach Scott Brooks said. "We just couldn't make any shots in that third quarter and that was the game. Their defensive intensity picked up in the second half, especially in the third quarter and we just couldn't get it going."
The Wizards (40-31) outscored the Spurs 30-21 in the fourth quarter, trimming a 22-point deficit after Popovich emptied his bench. Washington shot 42.2 percent (35/83) for the game and was 8 of 25 (32 percent) from the three-point line.
"I guess we need to play defense if we want to do something in the playoffs, so it is a good sign," veteran point guard Tony Parker said. "Everyone is into it, everyone is talking, so we have to keep it going. For sure we talked about it. That is the only thing we talked about. We score the ball. We just have to play defense.
Aldridge, who hit 12 of 23 shots, also finished with four assists, one steal and the two blocks. Kyle Anderson (16) and Rudy Gay (10) rounded out the Silver and Black's double-digit scoring. Anderson, who has started for injured All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard for most of the season, was 7 of 8 from the field. Leonard missed his 63rd game of the season.
The Spurs shot 49.4 percent (39/79) for the game, and made 30.4 percent (7/23) of their three-point attempt.
Bradley Beal and Kelly Oubre Jr. led the Wizards' shooting with 21 points apiece.
Asked what has changed for the Spurs defensively during their extended home stand, Anderson said: "Just buckling down. We can't control shots going in or turning the ball over here and there. Defense, we can, so we just try to be more smart with that really."
Anderson said playing better defense has become the team's mindset.
"It is what we are talking about before that first five go out," he said. "It is what we want to lay our hats on."
The Silver and Black led 77-60 after three quarters and pushed the lead to 22 points before the Wizards closed the gap. San Antonio led 50-44 at the half after an 18-18 first-quarter tie.
Led by Aldridge, who scored nine points in the third quarter, the Silver and Black were up 77-60 heading into the final period.
Aldridge led the Spurs' first-half scoring with 14 points, hitting 7 of 15 shots. He also had five rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks in the first two quarters. Aldridge was the only San Antonio player scoring in double figures at the break.
The Spurs shot 47.7 percent (21/44) in the first half and were 2 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Beal (13) and Oubre (10) led the first-half scoring for Washington, which shot 46.2 percent (18/39). The Wizards were 2 of 10 from the three-point line.
