With several stars out with injuries, the talented young Jazzmen like Darryn Peterson and Keyonte George with 31 points had a chance to shine against a lethargic Spurs squad, and they took advantage of their bigger roles to make a outsized impact on the game. The Spurs acted entitled, and they were outworked in the first half as the Jazz took a double digit lead in the second quarter and led 55-51 at the half. The Spurs awoke from the slumber in the second half, but the Jazz young’uns were unlocked
and they made the Silver and Black have to earn their way to a win. The Spurs couldn’t get any separation in the second half, but they had just enough to take the game into overtime, and a defensive surge in the last two minutes was just enough for the visitors to escape with a 117-11 win. Devin Vassell was a key performer as the Spurs came back in the fourth, while Victor Wembanyama led the team on both offense and defense as they pulled out a close overtime win.
Observations:
- This counts as the Spurs’ second road game of the season, and with three home games. But one of those ‘home’ games was in Austin, where the Rockets fans were almost as loud as the Spurs, and the Austin locals were too cool for school, as usual, with a lot of them rooting for former Longhorn Kevin Durant. Let’s call that a neutral site game because there was little to none home court advantage. Hopefully the Paris games will work out better for the San Antonio, who will really only have something like 36 true home games this season.
- This is my first final score article of the season, and hopefully, you’ll like it. I never know how these are going to turn out, but the fun of it is that I don’t have a lot of time to overthink it, I just write whatever comes into my head and press publish a few minutes after the final buzzer. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s just kind of okay. It’s always fun for me.
- Darryn Peterson got off to a hot start as the Jazz got off to an early 7 point lead, but he got hit on the face by a Wembanyama elbow on a dunk attempt and had to go to the locker room. It could have been called a foul, but it wasn’t called, perhaps because it looked like Peterson ran right into Victor’s outstretched arm.
- The Jazz played with a lot more intensity than the Silver and Black for the rest of the first quarter, and led 32-22 after their first 12 minutes, with poor shooting being a big problem for the visitors.
- The Spurs offense was sputtering, but they were able to draw fouls, and missed free throws were costly for the Silver and Black as the Jazz stretched the lead to double digits. Finally, Champagnie got into the game and made an impact as they cut the lead to 5 with a little over 4 minutes left in the first half.
- The hustle of the Jazz showed as they got to loose balls first and led 55-51 at the half, despite the Spurs getting a few clutch shots from Victor to keep it close. The Jazz weren’t the Kings, and the Spurs were not being given an easy win, they were going to have take it away from the scrappy home team.
- The Spurs opened the third on a 8-2 run and retook the lead in the first two minutes of the third quarter on a ferocious Wembanyama putback dunk. The Spurs kept up their intensity in the quarter, but the game Jazz also responded and maintained a lead for most of the quarter. The Spurs kept pulling even and even took a few small leads, the Jazz pulled away with a Mykhailiuk triple to take a late 7 point lead in the quarter. The Spurs ended the quarter on an 11-4 run to tie the score at 85 each with 12 minutes to play on a slick drive from Steph Castle.
- Mo Bamba has been in the league a long time, and I think he’s finally found a place where they appreciate him. He’s always had a ton of talent, and he’s finally putting it to good use.
- One thing about DAZN is that they don’t bleep the audio from the players. I definitely heard some bad words tonight.
- The Spurs woke up a bit in the fourth quarter and decided to take the ball to the hoop. Both teams were playing their best basketball, and the San Antonio had a tough contest on their hands.
- Mitch Johnson called a quick timeout team halfway through the fourth quarter after a 10-3 Jazz run, taking a 98-97 lead to yell at his team. The game remained tight as Mitch had to use another timeout just a few minutes later as the Spurs held onto a 101-100 lead with 3:27 left.
- Devin was clutch down the stretch for the Silver and Black, as he scored 8 in the fourth, but the Jazz tied up the game at 105 with 41 seconds left. Neither team could take advantage and regulation time ended with a 105-105 tie.
- The Spurs looked tired to start the overtime period and couldn’t hit anything. Sensabaugh hit a prayer triple and the Jazz led 108-105. The Spurs scored the next 10 to take a 115-108 lead with a minute left in OT. The Spurs held on for a 117-111 lead. The way they got there was a little ugly, but getting a win was beautiful.
- Tarris Reed never entered the game, since it was close throughout. I really hope he gets more time soon, as Luke Kornet hasn’t looked very good in limited minutes so far this season.
For the opponent’s perspective, visit SLCDunk, which is one of the more hilarious and thoughtful SBNation basketball sites.
The Spurs have a few days off before they face the Timberwolves at home on Halloween night. Anthony Edwards is out for a few months, but Minnesota is the best team that the Silver and Black have seen since the Rockets in the second game of the season. It should be a spooOoOky night for the Spurs, and a win would go a long way in bringing back their confidence in returning as a contender after last June’s Finals loss. It’s still early in the season, but winning is good medicine for both the fans and the players.
