SALT LAKE CITY — The San Antonio Spurs continued to trend in the right direction on Tuesday night as they earned a 128-115 victory over the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in NBA Cup play.
The victory is the fourth straight for San Antonio — who has won seven of their last nine games overall — and puts them in a three-way tie with the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers at 2-1 in NBA Cup group play.
In case you missed it, here are three key points from the Spurs’ win over Utah:
Second half surge
After several seasons of struggling in the second half, the Spurs have finally demonstrated a newfound confidence to perform effectively after halftime. They began the third quarter with a strong defensive performance, which ignited their offensive firepower, allowing San Antonio to establish a 13-point advantage.
“We didn’t have the first half we wanted, even though the score was tied,” Spurs rookie guard Stephon Castle said. “So coming out in the second half, we really picked it up and it showed.”
Castle finished the game by matching his season-high with 23 points. He weaved in and out of the paint, pulled up from the mid-range, and used his skills, as well as the advice from Chris Paul, to leave his mark on the game.
“He’s a mature young man that continues to show us, in a variety of ways, that he is ready for this,” Spurs Acting Head coach Mitch Johnson said of Castle. “He’s going to continue to grow and play through some of these young mistakes, but his confidence in his approach is unwavering.”
Suffocating D
San Antonio’s improved defense is one of the major highlights of the young season and can be credited for their improvement at this point. Last season, the Spurs did not win their tenth game until January 27 but have now hit that mark two months earlier.
The Spurs’ defense Tuesday forced the Jazz into 21 turnovers, which turned into 33 points for San Antonio.
Defense as well as attention to the glass helped San Antonio on Tuesday. The Spurs outrebounded Utah 25-15 in the second half and limited them to 4-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc.
“We always say we want to hang our hats on defense,” Spurs forward Julian Champagnie of the Spurs’ defense.
Wemby stays hot
Victor Wembanyama maintained his impressive performance in the month of November, scoring 34 points in Tuesday’s victory, leading all scorers. Wemby made six 3-pointers and shot 13 of 23 from the field.
He scored 17 points in the second quarter as he and Castle combined to score 57 of San Antonio’s 128 points.
In November, Wemby has averaged 26.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks.
Up next:
The Spurs are now 10-8 on the season and will return to the court on Wednesday night for a Thanksgiving Eve clash with LeBron James and the LA Lakers (10-7) at the Frost Bank Center.
