NBA: Spurs handle Jazz to stay alive in NBA Cup

Victor Wembanyama poured in 34 points, 24 of them in the first half, as the San Antonio Spurs won their season-best fourth straight game, 128-115 over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday in a West Group B game in the NBA Cup in Salt Lake City.

San Antonio improved to 2-1 in Group B play, staying alive for a chance to advance to the West quarterfinals. Both the Spurs and Utah have one group game to play.

Stephon Castle added 23 points for the Spurs to tie his career high, with Julian Champagnie scoring 15, Chris Paul contributing 14, Blake Wesley hitting for 11 and Keldon Johnson tallying 10 points.

Keyonte George led the Jazz with 26 points. John Collins and Collin Sexton added 20 apiece, Brice Sensabaugh scored 16 and Lauri Markkanen racked up 14. Collins led all players with 13 rebounds.

Utah has lost five of its past six games, including all three in NBA Cup play, and has been eliminated from advancing to the quarterfinals.

The Spurs led 96-93 after three quarters and used their defense early in the final period to take charge for good. San Antonio was up just 103-100 after Sexton's 3-pointer but then reeled off a 13-3 run, capped by Champagnie's basket from beyond the arc to build a 13-point advantage.

After the Jazz cut the deficit to single digits, Paul's pull-up 3-pointer with 2:08 left gave San Antonio a 12-point edge and all but iced the game.

The Jazz led 35-32 after the initial 12 minutes of play. The Spurs gained the lead early in the second period and were up 48-43 after Wembanyama's cutting layup at the 8:06 mark. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Sensabaugh culled Utah's deficit to a point and keyed an 11-2 run that granted the Jazz a 54-50 advantage.

Wembanyama and Castle combined to score the final 16 points for San Antonio, with Castle's alley-oop layup off an assist from Wembanyama with 21 seconds left pulling the Spurs into a 66-66 tie at the break.

Wembanyama poured in 24 points before halftime, with Castle adding 16. Sensabaugh's 16 points (keyed by four 3-pointers) paced the Jazz while George had 15 and Collins hit for 12.

--Field Level Media/Reuters