NBA: Jazz come from behind to beat Spurs
FILE–Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz. Alex Goodlett/Getty Images/AFP
Lauri Markkanen scored 27 points and the Utah Jazz dug out of a 14-point deficit en route to a 118-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
The new-look Jazz got another nice contribution off the bench from Kris Dunn, who totaled 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in his second game after signing a 10-day contract.
Jeremy Sochan led the Spurs with 22 points and Keldon Johnson contributed 18 points and seven rebounds, but San Antonio dropped its 16th straight game overall and 18th in a row on the road.
Ochai Agbaji added 14 points for the Jazz, while Talen Horton-Tucker scored 12 with six rebounds and Simone Fontecchio had 11 points in a reserve role.
Walker Kessler scored nine points with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots for Utah, which won its second straight after the All-Star break.
The Spurs held a 10-point halftime lead and were up by a dozen in the second half before the Jazz took over, holding San Antonio to 14 points in the third quarter.
Utah trailed 71-59 in the third quarter when it began to mount a comeback.
Jordan Clarkson kicked off a 9-0 run with a floater followed by five straight points from Horton-Tucker.
Utah used an 8-0 spurt a moment later and took its first lead of the game, 76-75, on a Kessler free throw.
Malaki Branham, who had 13 points and six rebounds, gave San Antonio its last lead, 79-78, with 2:47 left in the third.
The Jazz then closed out the quarter with the final seven points.
Zach Collins scored 15 points and brought the Spurs within five with a 3-point bucket at the 6:54 mark, but Utah limited the visitors to only eight more points the rest of the way.
The two teams play again in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night, which will bring to a close the Spurs’ nine-game Rodeo Road Trip.
