Game ID: 22301058
San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET
Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
UTA 15 33 31 32 111SAS 29 30 29 30 118
SAS @ UTA ScoutingSAS @ UTA Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
UTA availability going into 3/20 · 1 day's restOUT Clarkson missed 3 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 4 since 3/12, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 3/18 after 6, 31 min since (93% of 33)
BACK Kessler back 3/09 after 4, 26 min since (109% of 23)
BACK Hendricks back 3/15 after 3, 27 min since (125% of 21)
BACK Potter back 3/12 after 38, 13 min since (115% of 12)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/16 after 2, 18 min since (155% of 11)
BACK Preston back 3/15 after 12, 13 min since (123% of 10)
NEW George 27 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Sensabaugh 18 to 25 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/21 · back-to-backOUT Clarkson missed 4 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 5 since 3/12, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 3/18 after 6, 31 min since (93% of 33)
BACK Hendricks back 3/15 after 3, 26 min since (122% of 21)
BACK Potter back 3/12 after 38, 14 min since (119% of 12)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/16 after 2, 11 min since (96% of 11)
BACK Preston back 3/15 after 12, 10 min since (95% of 10)
NEW Sexton 27 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Dunn 19 to 25 min over the last 4
UTA availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Clarkson missed 5 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 6 since 3/12, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 3/18 after 6, 33 min since (101% of 33)
BACK Hendricks back 3/15 after 3, 27 min since (124% of 21)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/16 after 2, 14 min since (124% of 11)
BACK Preston back 3/15 after 12, 10 min since (95% of 10)
NEW Sexton 27 to 32 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Clarkson missed 6 since 3/15, returns tonight: 33 min (108% of 31)
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 7 since 3/12, out tonight
OUT Horton-Tucker missed 2 since 3/21, out tonight
OUT Preston missed 2 since 3/21, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 3/18 after 6, 33 min since (101% of 33)
BACK Yurtseven back 3/16 after 2, 14 min since (124% of 11)
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Hendricks 21 to 28 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restOUT Lofton Jr. missed 8 since 3/12, out tonight
OUT Horton-Tucker missed 3 since 3/21, returns tonight: 4 min (20% of 20)
OUT Preston missed 3 since 3/21, out tonight
BACK Markkanen back 3/18 after 6, 33 min since (101% of 33)
BACK Clarkson back 3/25 after 6, 33 min since (108% of 31)
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Hendricks 21 to 27 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Lofton Jr. missed 9 since 3/12, out tonight
OUT Dunn missed 2 since 3/25, returns tonight: 22 min (114% of 19)
OUT Preston missed 4 since 3/21, out tonight
BACK Clarkson back 3/25 after 6, 33 min since (108% of 31)
BACK Horton-Tucker back 3/27 after 3, 4 min since (20% of 20)
NEW George 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Sexton 27 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Hendricks 21 to 28 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Clarkson missed 2 since 3/27, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 10 since 3/12, out tonight
OUT Preston missed 5 since 3/21, out tonight
BACK Horton-Tucker back 3/27 after 3, 4 min since (20% of 20)
BACK Dunn back 3/29 after 2, 22 min since (114% of 19)
NEW George 27 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Sexton 27 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Hendricks 21 to 30 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Clarkson missed 3 since 3/27, out tonight
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 11 since 3/12, out tonight
OUT Horton-Tucker missed 2 since 3/29, returns tonight: 13 min (64% of 20)
OUT Preston missed 6 since 3/21, out tonight
BACK Dunn back 3/29 after 2, 24 min since (129% of 19)
NEW George 27 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Sexton 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Hendricks 21 to 30 min over the last 5
UTA availability going into 4/05 · 2 days' restOUT Clarkson missed 4 since 3/27, not on tonight's roster
OUT Collins missed 2 since 3/31, not on tonight's roster
OUT Lofton Jr. missed 12 since 3/12, returns tonight: 12 min (53% of 23)
OUT Preston missed 7 since 3/21, returns tonight: 17 min (166% of 10)
BACK Horton-Tucker back 3/27 after 3, 8 min since (42% of 20)
BACK Dunn back 3/29 after 2, 24 min since (127% of 19)
NEW George 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Sexton 27 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Hendricks 21 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Sensabaugh 18 to 24 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 3/19 · 1 day's restOUT Graham missed 2 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Gray missed 2 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 2 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 7 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Wembanyama back 3/11 after 2, 33 min since (111% of 30)
BACK Osman back 3/17 after 4, 14 min since (82% of 18)
NEW Vassell 33 to 39 min over the last 4
NEW Champagnie 20 to 27 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 3/22 · 2 days' restOUT Graham missed 3 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Gray missed 3 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 3 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 8 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Wembanyama back 3/11 after 2, 33 min since (110% of 30)
BACK Osman back 3/17 after 4, 13 min since (72% of 18)
NEW Vassell 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 28 to 33 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 3/23 · back-to-backOUT Graham missed 4 since 3/15, returns tonight: 9 min (65% of 14)
OUT Gray missed 4 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 4 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 9 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Osman back 3/17 after 4, 14 min since (80% of 18)
NEW Vassell 33 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Jones 28 to 33 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Gray missed 5 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 5 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 10 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Osman back 3/17 after 4, 15 min since (87% of 18)
BACK Graham back 3/23 after 4, 9 min since (65% of 14)
SAS availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restOUT Gray missed 6 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 6 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 11 since 3/05, out tonight
BACK Osman back 3/17 after 4, 15 min since (86% of 18)
BACK Graham back 3/23 after 4, 9 min since (65% of 14)
SAS availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Graham missed 2 since 3/25, out tonight
OUT Gray missed 7 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 7 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 12 since 3/05, out tonight
SAS availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Graham missed 3 since 3/25, returns tonight: 18 min (135% of 14)
OUT Gray missed 8 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 8 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 13 since 3/05, out tonight
SAS availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Gray missed 9 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 9 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Cissoko missed 14 since 3/05, returns tonight: 5 min (43% of 12)
BACK Graham back 3/23 after 4, 14 min since (100% of 14)
NEW Champagnie 20 to 29 min over the last 5
SAS availability going into 4/05 · 2 days' restOUT Johnson missed 2 since 3/31, out tonight
OUT Gray missed 10 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Duke Jr. missed 10 since 3/15, out tonight
OUT Bouyea missed 2 since 3/31, out tonight
BACK Graham back 3/31 after 3, 19 min since (139% of 14)
BACK Cissoko back 4/02 after 14, 5 min since (43% of 12)
NEW Vassell 33 to 39 min over the last 3
NEW Champagnie 20 to 31 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 30 from three, 21 free throws a game; Markkanen at 26 and Sexton at 22 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Lofton Jr. (8 straight), Horton-Tucker (3 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 26 from three, 21 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 22 and Vassell at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Utah wins, and the game turns on the defense, San Antonio allowing 112 a night to Utah's 122. Call it Utah 115, San Antonio 114, San Antonio keeping it close.
3/20 @ OKC 107-119 — UTA notes
UTA lost 107-119. UTA shot 44% (40 of 90) to OKC's 49%, 10 of 36 from three, and got to the line 18 times to OKC's 29. UTA turned it over 15 times to OKC's 10, and OKC turned those into 10 steals. Sexton led with 25 (12 of 19); Collins added 16, Hendricks 12. Q2 was theirs, 29-22, turning a 6-point deficit into a 1-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 97-78 against them. George's -23 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/21 @ DAL 97-113 — UTA notes
UTA lost 97-113. UTA shot 46% (38 of 83) to DAL's 50%, 4 of 30 from three, and got to the line 19 times to DAL's 28. UTA turned it over 18 times to DAL's 13, and DAL turned those into 12 steals. Markkanen led with 21 (6 of 20, 1 of 9 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Sexton added 20, George 18. Q1 was theirs, 27-26, but the other 3 periods went 87-70 against them. Sexton's -21 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/23 @ HOU 119-147 — UTA notes
UTA lost 119-147. UTA shot 45% (40 of 89) to HOU's 56%, 11 of 37 from three, and went to the line 33 times to HOU's 14 — 28 points from the stripe to their 12. Collins led with 25 (7 of 9, 9 of 10 at the line); Sexton added 20, Sensabaugh 16. Q4 was theirs, 28-25, the deficit cut from 31 to 28, but the other 3 periods went 122-91 against them. George's -30 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/25 vs DAL 105-115 — UTA notes
UTA lost 105-115. UTA shot 43% (37 of 87) to DAL's 48%, 13 of 39 from three. UTA turned it over 12 times to DAL's 6, and DAL turned those into 9 steals. Markkanen led with 34 (10 of 19, 6 of 9 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Collins added 21, Sexton 20. Q1 was theirs, 41-37, but the other 3 periods went 78-64 against them. Sexton's -15 in 29 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/27 vs SAS 111-118 — UTA notes
UTA lost 111-118. UTA shot 47% (39 of 83) to SAS's 51%, 13 of 35 from three. Sexton led with 26 (11 of 20, 2 of 6 from three); Markkanen added 25, J. Collins 18. Q2 was theirs, 33-30, the deficit cut from 14 to 11, but the other 3 periods went 88-78 against them. Sensabaugh's -8 in 13 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/29 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 29 from three, 23 free throws a game; Markkanen at 27 and Sexton at 22 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Lofton Jr. (9 straight), Dunn (2 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 131 a night and allowing 114, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Ja. Green at 35 and Thompson at 16 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Whitmore (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 39 percent from three to Utah's 29 and the defense, Houston allowing 114 a night to Utah's 122. Call it Houston 121, Utah 114.
3/31 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 110, shooting 43 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Fox at 24 and Murray at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Lyles (9 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 119, shooting 45 percent and 28 from three, 23 free throws a game; Markkanen at 27 and Collins at 24 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Clarkson (2 straight), Lofton Jr. (10 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Utah giving it away 16 times a game to Sacramento's 10 and the arc, Sacramento at 35 percent from three to Utah's 28. Call it Sacramento 116, Utah 111.
4/02 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 122, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; Collins at 24 and Sexton at 23 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Clarkson (3 straight), Lofton Jr. (11 straight), Horton-Tucker (2 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 115, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 16 free throws a game; Eva. Mobley at 17 and Allen at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Wade (12 straight). One day's rest.
So: Utah wins, and the game turns on the line, where Utah takes 25 free throws a game to Cleveland's 16 and the arc, Cleveland at 39 percent from three to Utah's 33. Call it Utah 114, Cleveland 113, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/05 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 106, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; George at 24 and Leonard at 23 a game. Without Leonard (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Utah comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Sexton at 23 and Collins at 23 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Clarkson (4 straight), Collins (2 straight), Lofton Jr. (12 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the turnovers, Utah giving it away 17 times a game to the Clippers' 10 and the defense, the Clippers allowing 106 a night to Utah's 118. Call it the Clippers 116, Utah 110.
3/19 vs DAL 107-113 — SAS notes
SAS lost 107-113. SAS shot 44% (39 of 89) to DAL's 48%, 14 of 39 from three. SAS turned it over 15 times to DAL's 9. Jones led with 22 (8 of 11, 4 of 5 from three); Vassell added 19, Johnson 14. Q3 was theirs, 28-26, the deficit cut from 9 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 87-79 against them. Vassell's -18 in 36 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/22 vs MEM 97-99 — SAS notes
SAS lost 97-99. SAS took 13 more shots (95 to 82), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 39% to MEM's 40%, 7 of 38 from three, and got to the line 23 times to MEM's 31. Wembanyama led with 31 (11 of 24, 3 of 12 from three, 6 of 10 at the line); Vassell added 27, Jones 16. Q1 was theirs, 30-18, but the other 3 periods went 81-67 against them. They led by as many as 17. Collins's -17 in 15 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/23 vs PHX 106-131 — SAS notes
SAS lost 106-131. SAS shot 47% (40 of 85) to PHX's 60%, 9 of 33 from three, and went to the line 21 times to PHX's 10 — 17 points from the stripe to their 8. SAS turned it over 15 times to PHX's 8, and PHX turned those into 11 steals. Johnson led with 14 (5 of 11, 0 of 5 from three); Wembanyama added 13, Wesley 12. Q4 was theirs, 35-28, the deficit cut from 32 to 25, but the other 3 periods went 103-71 against them. Vassell's -27 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/25 vs PHX 104-102 — SAS notes
SAS won 104-102. SAS shot 44% (40 of 91) to PHX's 51%, 8 of 31 from three. SAS turned it over 7 times to PHX's 14. Sochan led with 26 (10 of 19, 1 of 7 from three); Vassell added 26, Collins 18. The hinge was Q1, 29-22: from level to 7 ahead. SAS trailed 47-50 at the half and won the second half 57-52. Wesley was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
3/27 @ UTA 118-111 — SAS notes
SAS won 118-111. SAS shot 51% (44 of 86) to UTA's 47%, 16 of 33 from three. Vassell led with 31 (12 of 20, 4 of 8 from three); Wembanyama added 19, Sochan 17. The hinge was Q1, 29-15: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 19. Wembanyama was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
3/29 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 21 free throws a game; Vassell at 21 and Wembanyama at 19 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 104, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and DiVincenzo at 23 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Anunoby (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 41 percent from three to San Antonio's 31 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 15 times a game to New York's 10. Call it New York 114, San Antonio 109.
3/31 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 23 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Vassell at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Golden State comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 104, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 15 free throws a game; Curry at 23 and Thompson at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Kuminga (2 straight), Šarić (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Golden State wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Golden State has been plus-7 a night and San Antonio minus-1 and the line, where San Antonio takes 23 free throws a game to Golden State's 15. Call it Golden State 114, San Antonio 112, San Antonio keeping it close.
4/02 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 106, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Jackson at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Murray (5 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 117, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Vassell at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 106 a night to San Antonio's 117 and the glass, where Denver has been plus-6 a night and San Antonio minus-1. Call it Denver 117, San Antonio 110.
4/05 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 25 free throws a game; Williamson at 25 and McCollum at 25 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Ingram (7 straight), Alvarado (4 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 28 and Vassell at 27 a game. Without Johnson (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the glass, where San Antonio has been plus-1 a night and New Orleans minus-6 and the turnovers, San Antonio giving it away 14 times a game to New Orleans's 9. Call it New Orleans 115, San Antonio 111, San Antonio keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
SASBW B. Wesley
CO C. Osman
DB D. Barlow
DV D. Vassell
JC J. Champagnie
JS J. Sochan
MB M. Branham
TJ T. Jones
VW V. Wembanyama
ZC Z. Collins
UTABS B. Sensabaugh
CS C. Sexton
JC J. Collins
KG K. George
KL K. Lewis Jr.
LM L. Markkanen
LS L. Samanic
MP M. Potter
OY O. Yurtseven
TH T. Hendricks
TH T. Horton-Tucker
WK W. Kessler
SAS/UTA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Vassell scores 31 and Wembanyama has 19 points and 5 blocks to lead Spurs past Jazz 118-111
SALT LAKE CITY -- — Devin Vassell scored 31 points, Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and five blocks and the San Antonio Spurs ran past the Utah Jazz 118-111 on Wednesday night.
“He’s becoming a real problem for defenses," Wembanyama said of Vassell. "It’s beautiful to see him evolve like this throughout the year.”
The Spurs, second in the league in assists behind Indiana, had a season-high 40 on 44 field goals. San Antonio also shot 51.8% from the field and were well above .500 from 3-point range until missing their final four attempts and finishing 16 of 33.
“That’s Spurs basketball … and Pop preaches it all the time," Vassell said of coach Gregg Popovich. "We were knocking down shots today and everybody was sharing it.”
Jeremy Sochan , Julian Champagnie and Malaki Branham all scored 17 points for San Antonio. But it was Vassell who was the catalyst.
“Get downhill, get to my spots, pick them apart. If they’re trapping me, I can hit the short roll or skip or whatever the pass is, and they’ve been knocking down shots,” said Vassell, who had his sixth 30-point game of the season along with six assists.
Popovich was just as happy about Vassell’s defense.
“He was a monster at both ends for us,” Popovich said.
Collin Sexton had 26 points and nine assists, while Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points for the Jazz, who lost their seventh in a row.
The Jazz led just once and trailed by double-digits most of the game.
“I feel like we were a step slow on everything. We weren’t physical enough on offense or defense,” said Markkanen, who played the entire second half. “Once you make a mistake, they can punish you. Every mistake just adds up, so that’s how they get on a run.”
Utah got as close as 115-111 with 23.2 seconds remaining before Tre Jones sealed the win for San Antonio with two free throws and Wembanyama swatted Utah’s next attempt.
“It was a bad choice,” Wembanyama said about Taylor Hendricks trying to dunk on him at the end of the game.
The Spurs are playing some of their best basketball of the season, beating Phoenix 104-102 on Monday without Wembanyama and running their offense at its most efficient against the Jazz.
“Just goes to show you, we’re getting better each day,” Vassell said. “Obviously, we don’t have that many games left but for us to show improvement especially like this is great. Since the All-Star break, we’ve been an almost totally different team.”
Meanwhile, the Jazz (29-44) have the worst record in the league since the All-Star break, when they traded away three rotation regulars. Utah used 12 players in the first quarter, the most this season.
“Just not enough intensity, physicality, and focus to start the game and we dig ourselves a big hole," Utah coach Will Hardy said. “We had nine turnovers in the first quarter. It’s a combination of sloppiness and some stubbornness at times.”
San Antonio and Wembanyama dominated early, leading by as many as 19 in the first half. And one sequence typified the rookie’s impact.
Wembanyama blocked Markkanen’s layup and then used his long stride to glide downcourt for an alley-oop dunk on the other end. That gave San Antonio a 38-20 lead.
Capped by Markkanen’s 3-pointer, the Jazz used a 17-3 run to get within four points, but the Spurs still led 59-48 at the half.