to the line, where he missed his only free throw attempt. ... L

SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio point guard Cory Joseph didnt want to hinder the Spurs after battling an upper respiratory infection the past two days. He ended up hurting the Washington Wizards.Joseph had 19 points and the Spurs overcame Washingtons fast start to beat the Wizards for the 17th straight time, 101-92 on Saturday night.Joseph opted to play despite running a high fever Friday, but he and San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich were cautious.We were just going to try to test it out, Joseph said. If I felt like I was gassed or felt weak out there, well we didnt want to hurt the team out there, so I was going to let him know.Instead, he provided the team with a needed boost.San Antonio has won 14 straight games at home over Washington, but this was among the more unexpected. With Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard injured and Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili struggling, the Spurs turned to the role players that helped them win a championship last season.Tiago Splitter scored 16 points, Patty Mills had 15 and Boris Diaw added 14 for San Antonio, which shot just 4 for 16 on 3-pointers. Ginobili had five points, and Duncan four.Joseph was one point shy of matching his career high and also helped hold Washington point guard John Wall to 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting.The last couple of games, hes been very important, Ginobili said. Cory playing sick and a little weak, really attacked the rim well. He made a lot of jumpers. He made a lot of things happen for us, especially in the first half when we were not playing at our best.Washington shot 67 per cent in the first quarter and 60 per cent at the half.But Washington scored only four points in the final 5 1/2 minutes. Bradley Beals 3-pointer had pulled the Wizards to 91-88, but they went more than 4 minutes without scoring after that.Down the stretch, they made the hustle plays, Wall said. They got the 50/50 balls. You look at the stat sheet, we did everything right, weve got to get to learn how to get to the level of these last two teams we played. Execute and have guys make big plays and make those shots.Beal and John Wall led the Wizards with 15 points each. Marcin Gortat and Nene had 12 apiece. With Duncan and Ginobili combining to shoot 4 for 16 from the field, the Spurs turned to their super subs from last season.Mills opened the charge, running down a long rebound, sprinting to the left corner and rattling home a 3-pointer to give the Spurs an 18-14 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter. Mills would score 10 points while playing just 5 1/2 minutes in the opening quarter, including a backdoor cut for a layup off Ginobilis one-handed, whipped pass into the lane.Mills was 3 for 5 in scoring a season-high in his fourth game since missing off-season shoulder surgery.I think he feels a little more comfortable every game, Popovich said. It just takes some time. His shot looks a little bit better and hes starting to figure out where to be on the court.Diaw took over once Mills slowed in the second half.After scoring six consecutive points for the Spurs, Diaw passed out of a double team to Belinelli a 74-73 lead.Belinelli laid up a pass near the rim fired by Ginobili after Duncan tipped back a missed shot to the Argentine guard.In this stretch, weve lost a couple of things from a defensive standpoint that we have to get back in terms of helping one another. In a game like this, when its tight, those little breakdowns kill you. We had too many of those tonight. This team will make you pay when you make mistakes like that.TIP-INSWizards: Washingtons last victory over San Antonio was Nov. 12, 2005, and their previous win in San Antonio was Dec. 11, 1999. ... After verifying on replay that Joseph was shooting a 3-pointer when he was fouled by Andre Miller, official Joey Crawford smiled and said, I was doubted. ... The Wizards averaged 102.6 points while going 12-4 in December.Spurs: Popovich substituted his entire lineup three times, using the hockey-style line change for the third time in two weeks. He first employed the strategy Dec. 19 against Memphis following San Antonios triple overtime loss to Portland and did so again Dec. 31 against New Orleans on the second night of a back-to-back.OLD TIMERSThe Spurs were celebrating 80s night, but there were five players born in the 70s on the court in Duncan (1976), Ginobili (77), Miller (76), Paul Pierce (77) and Rasual Butler (79).UP NEXTWizards: Visit New Orleans on Monday night.Spurs: Host Detroit on Tuesday night. Nike Vapormax Canada Online . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. Nike Vapormax Canada Sale . Some will say that Martin is too sensitive while others will say that it is part of the way football is in the locker room. But to have to absorb what was said to him for any rational and intelligent person is too much. http://www.vapormaxcanada.com/ . He just didnt expect them to be this good. Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points to lead No. 6 Villanova to a dominating 77-59 victory over Georgetown on Saturday, preserving the Wildcats hopes of a No. Nike Vapormax Sale Canada . The 17-year-old had four goals and four assists in 38 games for Liberec in the Czech pro league this past season. Zacha had three goals and two assists in seven games at the world mens under-18 championship in April when the Czech Republic took the silver medal. Nike Vapormax Canada . Bostons bats exploded in Mondays opener, as David Ortiz belted a pair of two-run homers, Stephen Drew homered and drove in four runs and the Red Sox pummeled the Blue Jays, 14-1.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Clippers starters built an 18-point lead in a torrid opening quarter only to see the reserves blow it all by halftime, leading to an angry locker room.The starters got most of it back in third and the Clippers went on to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 120-100 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.Thats the most upset Ive seen our team at halftime, coach Doc Rivers said. The lesson for the second unit was make your own day. In the fourth quarter, the second unit came in and finished the job this time.Blake Griffin scored 30 points, going over 7,000 for his career, and made 10 of 15 free throws as one of just two starters to get fouled.J.J. Redick scored 13 of his 21 points in the first quarter, Jamal Crawford added 20, Chris Paul had 18 points and 16 assists, and DeAndre Jordan had 18 rebounds for Los Angeles.Earlier in the season, the Clippers wouldnt have handled faltering in such a way. But theyve grown during their current winning streak, which began with four straight wins during a recent seven-game trip.You cant figure out whose fault it is, youve got to find a solution, Paul said. We let our defence create our offence.Defensively, Griffin did a job on Pelicans star Anthony Davis, who scored 26 points but was held to a season-low three rebounds.To go against a guy like that is fun, Griffin said. Just keep a body on him. It was a team effort.Ryan Anderson scored 16 off the bench, Luke Babbitt had 12 after making four of five 3-pointers, and Omar Asik had 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which has dropped two straight and five of six.They shot the ball extremely well, but our first and third-quarter defence let us down, Pelicans coach Monty Williams said.The Clippers led by 18 early in the second quarter, only to watch the Pelicans tie it at 54-all at halftime. New Orleans shot 74 per cent and made 5 of 6 3-pointers in the quarter, when Anderson led the way with 12 points. Babbitt hit a 3-pointer for the tie with 28 seconds left.We were sharing the ball, moving the ball, and we didnt care who scored. It was fun, Davis said..dddddddddddd But at the same time, it wasnt enough. I think I can do a better job of moving the ball even more and making the extra pass. But at the same time, the guys have to be more aggressive.The Pelicans took their only lead of the game, 56-54, to start the third on a hook by Omer Asik. From there, the Clippers gradually pulled away to another double-digit lead on a 3-pointer by Paul. They stretched it to 93-78 at the end of the third on Pauls running layup.Redick capped his red-hot opening quarter with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, giving the Clippers a 34-18 lead after they shot 65 per cent.The Pelicans got back in it in the second with their five 3-pointers. Anderson had two 3s, Austin Rivers added one and Babbitt hit the tying 3 just before halftime.TIP-INSPelicans: G Eric Gordon, a former Clipper, remains out with a left shoulder injury. ... The Pelicans have lost four straight to the Clippers at Staples Center.Clippers: Jordan was the other starter who went to the line, where he missed his only free throw attempt. ... Led by Redicks five, the Clippers made a season-high 17 3-pointers. ... Longtime play-by-play man Ralph Lawler missed the game after having surgery to break up a kidney stone. The 76-year-old announcer tweeted it was the first game hed ever missed because of injury or illness. ... G Jordan Farmar (back spasms), G Reggie Bullock (right ankle sprain) and G Chris Douglas-Roberts (strained right Achilles) sat out.7,000 POINTSGriffins layup late in the second gave him 7,001 points, making the four-year veteran the second-quickest in franchise history behind Bob McAdoo to reach that mark. He finished the game with 7,018.NEW PELICANFormer Dallas guard Gal Mekel was scoreless playing 10:47 of his first game since being signed a day earlier. He was released by the Mavericks after the preseason.Im still learning our system, our offence and our plays, he said. Conditioning-wise, I felt good. Im still a little rusty, but in another few days I will be in good shape.UP NEXTPelicans: At Lakers on Sunday.Clippers: Host Phoenix on Monday. ' ' '