Victor Wembanyama posted 36 points and 14 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the injury-plagued Utah Jazz 117-111 in overtime in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
Devin Vassell scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the extra period for the Spurs, who won their third straight game.
Keyonte George scored 31 for Utah, which has lost three in a row. Ace Bailey added 19 points, and Darryn Peterson contributed 18.
George leveled the score at 105 on a left-handed drive with 41.4 seconds remaining. Wembanyama missed a turnaround jumper with 31.9 ticks left, and then George and De’Aaron Fox traded long-range misses, forcing OT.
Utah’s Brice Sensabaugh hit a pair of threes to start and finish the extra session, but San Antonio scored 12 straight points in-between to take control as the Jazz’s resistance broke down at both ends.
The short-handed hosts went in without Lauri Markkanen (wrist) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) — two of their three leading scorers this season — who joined Jusuf Nurkic (toe) on the sideline.
Utah had another injury scare when Peterson came off with 7:31 remaining in the first quarter after taking a shot to the head on a dunk attempt.
The rookie guard went to the locker room with his nose bleeding after being caught by a Wembanyama elbow, but he was back to start the second period.
George had 13 first-quarter points and the Jazz led the rebound count 19-10 to finish the opening frame up 32-22.
Utah’s advantage was 46-35 on a Bailey putback, but Wembanyama then led a San Antonio rally.
Wembanyama had 12 points in the second period, for a 21-point half, as the Spurs closed the gap to 55-51 entering intermission.
San Antonio’s Dylan Harper and Fox started the third frame with treys before Wembanyama put the Spurs in front when he followed up his own 3-point miss with a reverse slam.
The quarter featured seven ties and four lead changes, and it ended with the score 85-85 after Castle’s last-second layup.
–Field Level Media
