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Spurs 122, Jazz 104
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SAN ANTONIO — Guard Manu Ginobili scored 21 points and the San Antonio Spurs won their 10th straight game, beating the Utah Jazz 122-104 on Sunday night.
Ginobili, twisting and turning like a basketball contortionist, made his usual array of driving shots as well as two 3-point baskets.
Spurs guard Tony Parker scored 18 points, forward Tim Duncan had 16 and center Tiago Splitter contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.
San Antonio shot a season-best 62.8 percent from the field and improved to 50-16, the best record in the NBA.
Utah, which has the worst record in the NBA Western Conference at 22-45, did not go down easily. The Jazz scored 23 second-chance points.
Utah forward Derrick Favors had a career-best 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Swingman Gordon Hayward added 17 points.
The Jazz trailed by five points with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter. But during the final two minutes of the quarter, Ginobili made a driving layup, guard Patty Mills knocked down a 3-point shot and forward Boris Diaw added a mid-range jump shot. The baskets by Mills and Diaw came during the final eight seconds, giving the Spurs a 91-76 lead.
The Spurs led 61-53 at halftime, thanks to a 3-pointer by Ginobili with 2.8 seconds remaining.
San Antonio shot a smoking 60.5 percent from the field in the first half — Ginobili and Duncan combined to hit 9 of 11 — but the Spurs failed to open a bigger lead because they struggled to stop Favors and Hayward.
Favors, a 6-foot-10 forward, torched the Spurs for 17 points in the opening half. He converted 7 of 10 shots from the field. Hayward scored 12 points in the first 24 minutes.
NOTES: The Spurs’ eight-point halftime lead marked the first time in four games they did not hold a huge edge at the break. In the previous three games, they led Chicago by 28, Portland by 16 and the Los Angeles Lakers by 27. … Utah arrived with a 1-7 record in March. The Jazz had a chance for a victory at home on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers, leading by 10 points with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. But Utah committed five turnovers in the final 2:38 of the quarter and the Clippers took advantage to win their 10th consecutive game, 96-87. … The Spurs’ 34-point win over the Lakers on Friday broke a team record for victory margin against the Lakers that stood since 1977. The previous mark was 32 points. … Jazz F Marvin Williams returned after missing the game against the Clippers with a lower back strain. But he did not resume his usual role as a starter.
