Lonnie Walker IV banked in a jumper with 14.9 seconds left and the San Antonio Spurs snapped the Utah Jazz’s eight-game winning streak with a 128-126 victory Friday night.
Keldon Johnson scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead San Antonio. Derrick White added 22 points and Walker chipped in 19.
“This is obviously a learning season, but I feel like we’ve got the talent and the group to be able to win games,” San Antonio guard Dejounte Murray said. “And we’ve proven that even with the games we lost.”
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points for the Jazz. Jordan Clarkson added 21 and Mike Conley had 18. Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Mitchell scored back-to-back baskets to give the Jazz a 126-125 lead with 33 seconds left. Walker answered with the go-ahead jumper. He drove to the rim and floated his shot past Gobert.
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Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley (11) drives the basket as San Antonio Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV (1) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Friday, Dec. 17 2021, in Salt Lake City.
(AP Photo/Kim Raff)
“The play was for Dejounte coming off a triple screen,” Walker said. “I kind of identified it early that they were hard on him. They knew he was going to get the shot. It was just my time to do what I do.”
Mitchell had two cracks at a go-ahead basket in the final seconds but missed both shots.
“That’s the basketball gods,” Mitchell said. “When you don’t defend all game, you don’t deserve to have that shot to go in.”
Utah’s efficient shooting kept San Antonio from building much of a lead. The Jazz shot 26 of 46 from the field in the first half and made eight 3-pointers.
Utah never trailed in the second quarter after Conley and Clarkson scored back-to-back baskets to break a 39-39 tie. The Jazz eventually built a 17-point lead before halftime, going up 73-56 on Mitchell’s second-chance 3-pointer that capped a 10-1 run.
San Antonio rallied in the third…
Source : foxnews
