Jazz Beat Spurs, 101-99, for 10th Straight Win
SALT LAKE CITY (Dispatches) - With nine minutes left in the game, the Jazz were dead.
They were out of energy, playing their third game in four nights. They were out of answers to San Antonio's disciplined, consistent execution. And, down by 13 points, they were running out of time against the best fourth-quarter team in the NBA.
But then the improbable happened.
Behind the inspired play of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Derrick Favors and Royce O'Neale, Utah came roaring back to life to claim a thrilling 101-99 victory over the Spurs Monday night in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz (29-28) have now won 10 straight games.
Mitchell once again led the way with a game-high 25 points, while Joe Ingles' reign of terror over Utah's opponents continued. Ingles finished with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting—including 4-for-6 from 3-point range—and added seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.
Rudy Gobert (10 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks) and Derrick Favors (19 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, four blocks) stuffed the stat sheet in the win.
Jae Crowder, playing his first home game as a member of the Jazz, scored 14 points in 33 minutes off the bench.
Kyle Anderson (16 points) led six players in double figures in the loss for the Spurs (35-23).
Mitchell didn't have his most efficient game (he shot 9-for-28 from the field), but he came up huge down the stretch for the Jazz. The rookie scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter—including 11 in the final five minutes. He hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, and two of his buckets—a layup off a steal, then a pull-up jumper—each reclaimed the lead for the Jazz in the final minute.
San Antonio scored eight straight points to take a 38-34 lead before an 18-2 Jazz run changed the momentum. Jonas Jerebko hit a long three from the wing, and then Crowder scored five straight points—on a tough reverse layup and then a 3-pointer. Gobert then grabbed a steal, led the fast break, and found Ingles in the corner for a three. Ingles hit a runner, and Mitchell scored two tough buckets in the lane to give the Jazz a 12-point lead.
The Spurs, though, closed the second quarter on a 7-0 run and then opened the third quarter on an 18-7 run to take a five-point lead. They extended that lead to 13 early in the fourth quarter before Utah came back to life. The Jazz went on an 18-4 run to turn a 13-point deficit into a one-point lead. O'Neale converted a three-point play in traffic, and then Mitchell canned a pretty stepback jumper. Gobert slammed home an alley-oop dunk (off a pass from Mitchell) and then drilled a 20-foot "jumper". Back-to-back threes by Ingles and Mitchell, followed by five straight points by Favors, gave Utah a one-point lead and set up a frantic finish.
******Jazz come back to beat Spurs for 10th straight win
They were out of energy, playing their third game in four nights. They were out of answers to San Antonio's disciplined, consistent execution. And, down by 13 points, they were running out of time against the best fourth-quarter team in the NBA.
But then the improbable happened.
Behind the inspired play of Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Derrick Favors and Royce O'Neale, Utah came roaring back to life to claim a thrilling 101-99 victory over the Spurs Monday night in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz (29-28) have now won 10 straight games.
Mitchell once again led the way with a game-high 25 points, while Joe Ingles' reign of terror over Utah's opponents continued. Ingles finished with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting—including 4-for-6 from 3-point range—and added seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.
Rudy Gobert (10 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks) and Derrick Favors (19 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, four blocks) stuffed the stat sheet in the win.
Jae Crowder, playing his first home game as a member of the Jazz, scored 14 points in 33 minutes off the bench.
Kyle Anderson (16 points) led six players in double figures in the loss for the Spurs (35-23).
Mitchell didn't have his most efficient game (he shot 9-for-28 from the field), but he came up huge down the stretch for the Jazz. The rookie scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter—including 11 in the final five minutes. He hit a 3-pointer to tie the game, and two of his buckets—a layup off a steal, then a pull-up jumper—each reclaimed the lead for the Jazz in the final minute.
San Antonio scored eight straight points to take a 38-34 lead before an 18-2 Jazz run changed the momentum. Jonas Jerebko hit a long three from the wing, and then Crowder scored five straight points—on a tough reverse layup and then a 3-pointer. Gobert then grabbed a steal, led the fast break, and found Ingles in the corner for a three. Ingles hit a runner, and Mitchell scored two tough buckets in the lane to give the Jazz a 12-point lead.
The Spurs, though, closed the second quarter on a 7-0 run and then opened the third quarter on an 18-7 run to take a five-point lead. They extended that lead to 13 early in the fourth quarter before Utah came back to life. The Jazz went on an 18-4 run to turn a 13-point deficit into a one-point lead. O'Neale converted a three-point play in traffic, and then Mitchell canned a pretty stepback jumper. Gobert slammed home an alley-oop dunk (off a pass from Mitchell) and then drilled a 20-foot "jumper". Back-to-back threes by Ingles and Mitchell, followed by five straight points by Favors, gave Utah a one-point lead and set up a frantic finish.
******Jazz come back to beat Spurs for 10th straight win