Lauri Markkanen Victor Wembanyama
Today at 12:32 AM
SALT LAKE CITY — Victor Wembanyama scored 34 points, rookie Stephon Castle matched a season high with 23 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 128-115 in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night.
The 7-foot-3 Wembanyama made six three-pointers and shot 13 of 23 from the field. Julian Champagnie scored 15 points and made three three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs pull away.
Utah’s Lauri Markkanen had to be helped from the court after banging knees with Wembanyama in the fourth quarter.
Keyonte George led Utah with 26 points and shot 6 of 12 from three. Collin Sexton and John Collins each scored 20 for the Jazz, who were eliminated from the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Takeaways
Jazz: Shot 51 per cent from the field but had 21 turnovers. Utah leads the league in turnovers per game.
Spurs: Finished with 30 assists after entering with an average of 27.9 per game. The Spurs outrebounded Utah 25-15 in the second half.
Key moment
Chris Paul hit a three-pointer to beat the shot clock with 1:43 left to give the Spurs a 121-109 lead. San Antonio held Utah to 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Key stat
Markkanen was 0 for 6 from three before he was injured. After shooting 45 per cent from three in the first half, Utah made 4 of 14 from long range in the second half.
Up next
The Spurs host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday and the Jazz host Denver on Wednesday.