National Basketball Association
Utah 106, San Antonio 91
When: 8:30 PM ET, Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Officials: #19 James Capers, #38 Michael Smith, #40 Leon Wood
Attendance: 18418

SAN ANTONIO -- Utah scorched the nets for seven 3-pointers in the first quarter Tuesday and that successful beginning from the perimeter led to opportunities for drives to the basket in the final minutes of the Jazz's surprising 106-91 victory over the previously undefeated San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center.

George Hill scored 22 points, including eight straight in a pivotal one-minute span of the fourth quarter, as the Jazz made the plays they needed and won going away.

The Jazz, playing without starting forward Boris Diaw and for their fourth game of the season without forward/guard Gordon Hayward, led 88-86 with 5:24 to play but got a 3-pointer, a basket and another basket and free throw by Hill to push the advantage to 96-88 with 4:05 remaining.

"I was just trying to make plays and do what I needed to take over and be aggressive," Hill said. "My teammates did a great job of knocking down shots late and taking care of the ball. When you come out of the gate like we did, the defense works to close out harder and that opens up driving lanes. The end was set up by the shot-making early."

San Antonio missed six of its final seven shots and had a pair of turnovers in the final two minutes. The Spurs didn't lose at home last season until their 79th game and went 40-1 at the AT&T Center in 2015-16.

"The biggest thing for our guys is that they don't get discouraged when they miss and they keep shooting," Utah coach Quin Snyder said after his team snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Spurs in San Antonio. "We were able to get in the lane more tonight and as a result some of those shots were a little closer."

Rodney Hood added 19 points for Utah, while Trey Lyles had 15 and Shelvin Mack scored 14 for the Jazz.

The Spurs were led in scoring for the fifth straight game by Kawhi Leonard, who had 30 points. LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and was the only other San Antonio player in double figures.

"We started out pretty unaggressive for whatever reason and Utah shot several uncontested shots," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Every time it was a one-play or two-play deal, it seemed like we'd miss a shot and they'd make one or we'd turn it over. They were aggressive the entire 48 minutes and we were in and out in that regard and it cost us."

Utah (2-2) roared to a 38-28 lead after the first quarter on the strength of 13-of-18 shooting, including 7 for 8 from beyond the 3-point arc. Hood had 11 points in the period to lead the Jazz and made two of his three 3-point attempts, but Mack and Hill joined him with two threes apiece. Utah averaged seven made 3-pointers in its first three games.

San Antonio (4-1) also shot well in the opening period, sinking 11 of 21 shots, and it needed every one to try to keep pace with red-hot Jazz.

Eight straight points from Leonard followed by an empathic defensive rebound and outlet pass to Tony Parker for a jumper allowed the Spurs to cut the Utah lead to 47-44 late in the second quarter. Another Leonard jump shot the next time down the floor punctuated a 14-0 San Antonio run and an Aldridge jumper tied the game at 48. Utah scored six of the quarter's final eight points to take a 54-50 lead into intermission.

Hood led the Jazz with 14 points in the first half while Mack had 10. Leonard led all scorers in the first 24 minutes with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and Aldridge added 10.

The Spurs took the lead for the first time since the opening minutes on a three-point play by Aldridge at the 10:51 mark of the third quarter. Back-to-back buckets and a free throw by Lyles over a 30-second span allowed Utah to move back in front at 70-63 with 3:21 to play in the quarter. The Jazz led 73-71 heading into the fourth quarter.

An 8-2 Jazz run to start the fourth quarter pushed their lead to 81-73, but the Spurs fought back to within 88-86 on a putback dunk by Pau Gasol with 5:24 to play. Hill then torched his former team with eight straight points, and Utah held on.

"We allowed them to play too comfortable and get into a rhythm early on," Gasol said. "Utah executed well -- give them credit -- but we didn't put enough pressure on their offense. We needed to make them take tougher shots. Maybe in the fourth quarter, late, we ran out of gas trying to battle into the game, and they continued to make plays."

NOTES: With its win Sunday in Miami, San Antonio tied the best start in franchise history at 4-0. ... The Spurs led the league in 3-point shooting percentage and free-throw percentage through Monday. ... Jazz coach Quin Snyder spent three seasons (2007-10) as the Austin Spurs coach, earning D-League Coach of the Year honors in 2008-09. ... Utah assistant Brad Jones led the Austin Spurs from 2010-12, guiding the team to the 2012 D-League Championship ... In Sunday's victory versus New Orleans, San Antonio F Kawhi Leonard logged his 300th career start and 235th win, earning him more wins than any other player in NBA history through 300 starts. ... The teams play again Friday in Salt Lake City. The Jazz host Dallas on Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
 
Utah   San Antonio
George Hill 22 Scoring Kawhi Leonard 30
George Hill 7 Assists Tony Parker 6
Rudy Gobert 12 Rebounds Pau Gasol 8
Rudy Gobert 4 Free Throws Made LaMarcus Aldridge 5
George Hill 1 Steals Kawhi Leonard 2
Dante Exum 4 Blocks Pau Gasol 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Utah 106 50.0 15-31 15-18 22 39 8 5 11
San Antonio 91 43.4 6-20 19-21 19 34 5 6 10
Upcoming Games
  • San Antonio will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Spurs have a W/L % of .800 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Utah will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Jazz have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .667 after a loss.