The Spurs let a winnable game slip away in Devin Vassell’s season debut. The visiting Jazz managed to escape San Antonio with a 111-110 victory in part because the Silver and Black went cold from outside at the wrong time and in part because there were too many little mistakes that added up to a sloppy overall performance for the home team.
The Jazz came in with a plan and executed it early on. They seemed determined to not let the Spurs beat them inside, as they packed the paint and threw extra defenders at Victor Wembanyama even when he didn’t have the ball. This time, San Antonio found a solution to an issue that has disrupted the offense all season: they just made threes. The home team’s first five field goals were from beyond the arc, with Stephon Castle accounting for three of those. On the other end, the defense was doing a solid job on a limited Utah squad on the half-court. Unfortunately, live ball turnovers plagued the Spurs. Wembanyama was the main culprit in the opening frame but others coughed up the ball as well, leading to easy buckets for the visitors. Failing to take advantage of good outside shooting came to haunt San Antonio, as Utah’s second unit outplayed a rusty Devin Vassell and the rest of the bench.
The Spurs trailed by only three points heading into the second quarter but quickly retook the lead thanks to a good stretch from Wemby and some solid performances from Blake Wesley and Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Jazz were keeping pace thanks to Lauri Markkannen and a tepid San Antonio offense but Devin Vassell shook off the rust in time to hit some jumpers that provided hope for a big run that would help create separation. Alas, it didn’t happen. Chris Paul and Wembanyama returned to a tied game but the Silver and Black didn’t close strong. The Castle threes that were falling earlier stopped going in and the defensive discipline the team had shown earlier disappeared in the second quarter, as unnecessary fouls on jump shooters allowed Utah to get points on the board and carry an eight-point lead to the locker room.
With the outside shots not going in, the Spurs tried to force their way inside and were successful enough not to go into a big drought. It wasn’t pretty, but the drives kept San Antonio’s starting unit alive and the team within striking distance. As the bench checked in, the concern was that the subs, which were outplayed in the first half, might get the Silver and Black into a hole too deep to climb up from in only a few minutes. At times it seemed like the worries were warranted, as the defensive miscommunications piled up and the lack of shot creation was obvious, but Vassell steadied the unit with a bucket and then the ball movement of the small unit hurt the Jazz’s defense. The tradeoff from playing three guards and Keldon Johnson at power forward was allowing buckets inside but it was a price Mitch Johnson seemed willing to pay. Going into the final frame, the game was tied.
