Utah Jazz Stamp Out Spurs in San Antonio

For the first time in nearly seven years, the Utah Jazz captured a road win over Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs.

In life and in Utah Jazz basketball, things are rarely as good or as bad as they seem in the moment. This has never been more evident than in Utah’s Tuesday night road bout with the San Antonio Spurs, the first game in what many would call one of their most difficult stretches of the entire season.

Fandom is fickle, and with a 13-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers still fresh in their memories and a difficult schedule looming, many among Jazz Nation were seemingly up on the ledge entering the game against the Spurs.

So how did the Jazz band respond? By crushing Kawhi Leonard and crew in the clutch to capture a 15-point win. Naturally.

Utah got off to a blistering start, hitting 72 percent of their field goal attempts and making it rain from behind the arc en route to a 38-point first quarter. The second period was a different story, as the Spurs second unit picked it up on the defensive end and San Antonio continued to run their offense.

Thanks to a 15-0 run, a double-digit Jazz lead was shrunk to just four by halftime. The game, as they say, was on.

In the third quarter, the game slowed down significantly. Both teams ramped up the pressure and were scuffling to put the ball into the basket at times. Following multiple lead changes, this set up a scenario in which the Jazz have struggled to perform in recent years.

To capture the win, they’d have to do it in the clutch.

Surprisingly, and despite the absence of their star in Gordon Hayward, the Jazz did just that. Quin Snyder’s club outscored the Spurs by 13 in the period, hitting timely shots and playing solid defense. Former Spur George Hill was particularly strong, scoring 10 of his team high 22 points in the final seven minutes.

Speaking about Hill, Leonard said “He did a great job getting to his shot and getting his teammates involved as well.”

The Jazz also got 19 points and five rebounds from Rodney Hood. Meanwhile, Shelvin Mack and Trey Lyles combined for 29 points off the bench.

San Antonio was led by Leonard’s 30-point night.

As a team, the Jazz made a season high 15 three-pointers in the game and posted a defensive rating of just under 87 in the second half. They also took care of the basketball, committing just 10 turnovers.

In the end, they stole their first win in San Antonio in nearly seven years and dealt the Spurs their first loss of the 2016-17 season.

Not bad for a squad that was apparently ready for the scrap heap after three games.

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Up next for the Jazz is the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.