Spurs

LANDOVER -- With David Robinson back home nursing a sore lower back, it was the perfect time for the Washington Bullets to take on the San Antonio Spurs. And no one on the floor took advantage more than Bullets forward Chris Webber.Webber had a career game in rebounding, grabbing 21. The 6-foot-10 forward also scored 22 points to help the Bullets to a 96-86 win over the Spurs before a crowd of 17,110 at USAir Arena last night.It wasn't just Webber whohelped the Bullets to their first home win of the season.

LANDOVER -- San Antonio Spurs coach Larry Brown said yesterday that he and he and his players are ready to welcome back David Wingate, against whom rape charges were dropped recently in Maryland and Texas.Wingate, 27, has missed the first 55 games of the season, but can rejoin the Spurs as early as tomorrow, when they play the Philadelphia 76ers at home. But the veteran guard, a graduate of Georgetown University and Dunbar High School in Baltimore, first must get clearance from the National Basketball Association when he meets today with Howard Balmer, the league's director security.

SAN ANTONIO -- After more than a year away from the game, John Williams was back. Trouble was, his Washington Bullets haven't changed that much.Williams could not inspire the Bullets sufficiently and the San Antonio Spurs ran off with a 102-92 victory last night in front of 15,908 at the HemisFair Arena.The Spurs had too much Willie Anderson, David Robinson and a balanced bench for the Bullets to handle.Anderson and Robinson combined for 41 points. Reserves Paul Pressey had 15 and Sidney Green had 13 along with a season-high 13 rebounds to pace San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO -- Trying to pull off the difficult Texas sweep, the Washington Bullets ran into a brick wall last night.The San Antonio Spurs ended Washington's two-game winning streak, whipping the Bullets, 105-95, behind a career-high 23 points from Avery Johnson and 18 by David Robinson.Washington had beaten Houston and Dallas at the start of the road trip. Pervis Ellison led the way last night with 25 points, and Michael Adams had 19."We did a good job defensively," said Bullets coach Wes Unseld.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The San Antonio Spurs are doing it John Lucas' unconventional lean-on-your-leaders way these days. The San Antonio coach calls himself "the manager," calls David Robinson "the president" and Dale Ellis and Sean Elliott "the vice presidents" -- and there are no dissenters in the ranks.How could there be when the Spurs came out of last night's 111-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the HemisFair Arena with a 17-3 record with the onetime NBA drug dropout-turned-rehabilitator at the helm?

WASHINGTON -- Last night was one more sign that the dominance the Washington Wizards had enjoyed at the MCI Center since it opened last month has come to an end.David Robinson and Tim Duncan combined for 50 points and 31 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an 89-79 win over the Wizards before a sellout crowd.It was the third straight loss for Washington, which had expected to make the most of its current stretch of six straight games at home. Instead, the Wizards have dropped three straight at what had been the friendliest of confines.

Roger Mason had 25 points and five assists against his old team as the San Antonio Spurs concluded their 19-day road trip with a 98-67 win over the Washington Wizards (13-43) at Verizon Center last night. Mason returned to his hometown and went 9-for-15 from the field, including 5-for-9 from three-point range, and had 10 points and two steals in a 19-4 run that capped the third quarter and gave the Spurs (37-17) a 78-57 lead. He was done for the night after that, as San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich rested his starters.

LANDOVER - It was the perfect script for the Washington Bullets.San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson was saddled with foul trouble that limited his minutes for much of the night and, when that happens, opponents usually like their chances.But Robinson made the most of his 28 minutes last night, scoring 33 points and having to earn every point in a duel with Gheorghe Muresan, who had 30. The difference was that Robinson had a little bit more help from his teammates, and the Spurs extended their winning streak to 11 games with a 112-101 win over the Bullets before a crowd of 15,123 at USAir Arena.

When this NBA season was less than two weeks old, Jerry Tarkanian, the basset-eyed, bald-headed new coach of the San Antonio Spurs, already had lost half as many games as he did during his last three seasons at Nevada-Las Vegas, where his Runnin' Rebels were 95-8 and won the NCAA title in 1990.The waters of the pro game were unchartered for "The Shark." Before the season began, he panicked slightly when two of his key players -- forward Terry Cummings and all-purpose guard Willie Anderson -- were sidelined with major injuries.

DALLAS - Forget Leo Durocher and Vince Lombardi. Nice guys do finish first. Take the San Antonio Spurs and Steve Kerr, though no one has been able to do it in these NBA playoffs. The Spurs will open the NBA Finals at home Wednesday against the New Jersey Nets after a rousing comeback from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. They won the Western Conference finals, 4-2. "It was a great confidence builder," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We've given up so many leads.