Harrison Barnes scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Chris Paul made important plays at the end, helping the San Antonio Spurs come back in the fourth quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 126-118 on Thursday.
The Jazz had a 20-point lead late in the first half and led by four going into the final quarter. However, the Spurs took charge in the fourth, with Barnes scoring a breakaway dunk to give San Antonio a 106-103 lead with 6:26 left.
The Spurs continued to extend their lead. Paul hit a 3-pointer, Stephon Castle made a three-point play, and Paul scored a jumper to push the Spurs ahead 117-110 with 2:42 remaining. Barnes hit a 3-pointer with 50.2 seconds left to make it a 10-point lead, helping the Spurs secure their second straight win.
Zach Collins and Castle both scored 18 points for the Spurs. Julian Champagnie added 14 points, and Paul finished with 13 points and 11 assists, marking his third double-double in the last four games. Keldon Johnson scored 12 points, while Tre Jones and Charles Bassey each had 11 points.
San Antonio was without injured star center Victor Wembanyama (bruised right knee) and guard Devin Vassell (sore left knee) for the third game in a row.
For the Jazz, Lauri Markkanen led all scorers with 27 points. Keyonte George added 19 points, and Brice Sensabaugh and John Collins each had 18 points. Utah has now lost four straight games and went winless on its road trip, which ended Thursday.
Utah led 32-17 after the first quarter. San Antonio opened the second quarter with an 11-5 run, closing the gap to nine points. The Jazz then pushed their lead back to 13 points after Markkanen’s layup with 6:54 to play in the quarter.
The Jazz stretched their lead to 20 points with back-to-back 3-pointers from Markkanen, including one with 1:09 left in the quarter, and went into halftime with a 67-51 lead.
Markkanen had 19 points before halftime, while Sensabaugh scored 13 and John Collins added 10 for the Jazz. Barnes led the Spurs at the break with 17 points, and Zach Collins had 13.
