SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs (14-37) couldn't hang on against the Washington Wizards, who got their first victory in San Antonio this century on Monday night by a score of 127-106.
The Spurs have now lost six in a row.
Coming off a career-high 30 points, Jeremy Sochan came out on fire with 15 points in the first quarter. He dunked inside, hit from mid-range, nailed some one-handed free throws, crammed home a lob from Tre Jones, and knocked in a three while playing solid defense on the other end.
Sochan's strong start got the Spurs off to an early lead. Keita Bates-Diop also made a big impact in the opening minutes, and Stanley Johnson picked off an inbound and beat the first quarter buzzer to put San Antonio up 36-30.
Washington responded and scored the first eight in the second to take the lead. Sochan cooled off and didn't score in the quarter, and the Wizards outscored the Spurs by 14 in the second quarter to take a 63-55 lead into the locker room.
Keldon Johnson found success slashing to the basket and knocked down a few triples over the course of the game.
In the second half Sochan got saddled with foul trouble, called for his fourth on a play where he didn't touch anyone. He got back in later in the quarter and assisted on three baskets in a row.
The Spurs trailed by 11 heading to the fourth. Zach Collins scored at the line, grabbed a board on defense and made a putback to get a double double off the bench.
Washington forced San Antonio into some sloppy execution and late-clock desperation in the fourth, and the Spurs couldn't find a way to close the gap.
Keldon continued to attack, scoring through fouls and chasing his own misses. He finished with 26. Pop pulled the starters with Washington up 19 late.
The big difference in the game was that the Wizards hit 16-30 from three and the Spurs managed just 7-29. San Antonio will host the Kings on Wednesday.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a 128-118 overtime loss versus the Suns.
Keldon Johnson had 34 points and three rebounds to lead the team while Jeremy Sochan added a career-high 30 points. Stanley Johnson finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds while Keita Bates-Diop recorded 14 points in the loss.
The Suns scored 18 points in the overtime session.
San Antonio was without Romeo Langford, and Josh Richardson due to injuries.
"I'm really proud of them. A great effort against a good basketball team," Gregg Popovich said. "A lot of guys played. A lot of guys participated. Physically they played hard and did everything they can do. A couple of guys [Suns] Chris [Paul} and Mikael [Bridges] took over during the overtime. Made shots. Keldon tried to keep us in it but those guys took over in the overtime. Tough way to lose but I'm really proud of what they did."
INJURY REPORT
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Association Edition jerseys today.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Wizards are on a five-game winning streak and have won four straight on the road.
2. The Wizards have five-consecutive games with more three-pointers made over their opponent.
3. The Wizards are 2-11 on the road when trailing after the first period.
4. The Spurs have won 22 straight games over the Wizards in San Antonio.
5. The Spurs are 6-4 at home against Eastern Conference teams.
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