Faced with one of the best middle-range offenses in the league, the Utah Jazz prevented the San Antonio Spurs from creating scoring opportunities from anywhere except from that position for most of the four quarters.
Utah beat San Antonio 110-99 Monday night due in large part to not allowing it scoring opportunities at the rim and perimeter. San Antonio got their first layup until the final minute of the second quarter and missed all seven of their 3-point attempts before halftime.
“We tried to make it all work for them,” said Jazz pivot Rudy Gobert.
Gobert, who had 24 points and 15 rebounds, was key on defense so that Utah was always up on the scoreboard. The Jazz scored their second straight win with an efficient offense and a tough defense. Utah converted 13 San Antonio turnovers to 22 points and made 50% of his field shots.
“It’s very important that we get off to a good start,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder. “If that means making plays with our defense and landing easy opportunities, that’s better.”
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz offense with 25 points, and teammate Jordan Clarkson had 16 points. Joe Ingles had 13 points and eight assists.
DeMar DeRozan was the Spurs’ best scorer with 22 points followed by Rudy Gay with 17. The Spurs suffered their fourth consecutive setback.
–
