National Basketball Association

Warriors C Marreese Speights on Wizards: We knew they would quit

Published Mar. 25, 2015 3:37 a.m. ET

foxsports

By Gordon Dixon

The Warriors picked up their sixth win in a row on Monday when they beat the Wizards 107-76 at home. Washington was down by just three at halftime. Then, Golden State came out in the third quarter and raised the intensity of their defense, allowing the Wizards to make just one shot from the floor in the period.

The strategy helped turn a once-close game into a blowout by the time the fourth quarter rolled around. Warriors reserve big man Marreese Speights also thinks it caused dissension within the Wizards.

“We just turned up a little,” Speights said of Golden State’s defense via CSN Washington. “We knew if we hit them, if we got a couple stops they would start arguing with each other and quit. We went out there with a good mindset in the second half and we did it.”

If this truly is the book on the Wizards, it certainly doesn’t bode well with the playoffs rapidly approaching and Washington comfortably on the way to securing a spot. The Warriors are among the stingiest teams in the league and are well equipped to turn it up a notch on defense at will. However, it will be interesting to see if any other teams look to take a page out of Golden State’s book when it comes to trying to rattle the Wizards.

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