Spurs-Jazz Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Dec 11 2012 10:30PM

Nearly two weeks ago, the San Antonio Spurs were fined by the NBA for resting their stars.

Now, they own the best record in the league behind a red-hot Tony Parker.

Parker looks to build on his first career triple-double as the visiting Spurs try for a season-high sixth straight win and to continue their dominance of the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

San Antonio (18-4) has won 10 of 11 with the lone loss the infamous Nov. 29 visit to Miami in which coach Gregg Popovich wound up being fined $250,000 for sending four key players home.

The Spurs haven't lost since, largely thanks to their point guard. Parker has averaged 23.6 points, 8.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 61.4 percent from the floor since his night off against the Heat.

The All-Star kept San Antonio rolling Monday, recording his first triple-double by scoring 27 points with 12 assists and 12 boards in a 134-126 overtime victory at Houston.

"I was like: 'Man if we lose, nobody is going to care,'" Parker said of his milestone stat line. "That we won the game it makes it even better, because at the end of the day people only care about wins."

The Spurs have the most road victories in the league, compiling an 11-2 record after winning the first two of this four-game trip, which ends in Portland on Thursday.

No other team has won more than eight away from home.

San Antonio has averaged 133.0 points on 51.6 percent shooting from behind the arc on the first half of the trip, and Gary Neal hit 7 of 10 3-point attempts for a career-high 29 points Monday.

He's scoring 17.1 per game over the past seven.

The Spurs have won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Jazz (12-10), including a sweep in the opening round of the playoffs last season.

In the first meeting since, Parker had 24 points and 10 assists in a 110-100 home win Nov. 3. He's averaged 22.1 points over his last 17 meetings with the Jazz, including the postseason.

"He is who he is in this league and he does it every night," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We have to be aggressive with him. We have to give him different looks at different times, have different bodies on him. You have to continue to figure out what's working for him that night."

Containing Parker could give Utah a season-high four game winning streak, and being at home should help.

The Jazz are 8-1 as hosts, though they've dropped five of six there to the Spurs while shooting just 21.6 percent (16 of 74) from beyond the arc.

"We're always comfortable playing at home," guard Mo Williams said. "So it's good to have them on our home floor. There's a comfort level there, but at the end of the day we respect those guys, but we want to win."

Williams had 29 points and nine assists against the Spurs last month after being held to 9.5 points per game off the bench for the Clippers as they, too, were swept out of the playoffs by San Antonio.

The Jazz have managed at least 50 points in the paint in four of their last five games despite being without reserve Derrick Favors.

Favors, who has been battling plantar fasciitis, practiced Tuesday and is considered a game-time decision Wednesday.

Williams' 3 at buzzer lifts Jazz over Spurs 99-96

By LYNN DeBRUIN
Posted Dec 13 2012 2:38AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Mo Williams had just missed from 3-point range with 9.9 seconds left and the game tied against Western Conference nemesis San Antonio.

Instead of getting grief from his coach, Williams got another green light.

"Coach told me don't worry about it. You'll make the next one," Williams said.

He did.

Williams hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Utah Jazz to a 99-96 victory Wednesday night that snapped the Spurs' five-game winning streak.

"It showed how much my teammates believe in me, showed how much the coaches believe in me," Williams said.

Now Utah players believe in their team, having knocked off the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday and a Spurs team that swept them out of the playoffs last season. It was the first time since 1997 that the Jazz beat both in back-to-back games.

"We're on a mission," Williams said. "We want to be good. We don't know our ceiling yet."

Paul Millsap led Utah with 24 points and 12 rebounds, Al Jefferson scored 21 and reserve Gordon Hayward added 19.

The Jazz trailed by eight with a little more than 4 minutes remaining. Williams' winning shot was his only 3-pointer of the night and he finished with eight points on 3-for-9 shooting.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Williams was able to get off the final shot because of a "huge" defensive error by Danny Green when the Jazz inbounded the ball with 6.7 seconds left.

"You got to make him drive with that amount of time," Popovich said. "That's why we put a bigger guy on Mo at the end so he couldn't get a shot off. You don't step off Mo Williams. What do you think he's going to do with two seconds on the clock? Instead of getting into him, he backed off. Huge defensive error."

After draining the shot, Williams looked up to make sure there was no time left then took off running toward the other end of the court only to be mobbed by teammates.

"It was amazing," said Millsap, who grabbed the key offensive rebound after Williams' first miss. "It was a big win for us, a big win for our fans, a big win for our whole organization."

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 22 points to lead the Spurs, who swept the Jazz out of the playoffs in the first round and had won 11 of the last 12 meetings.

Green's 19-footer gave the Spurs a 96-94 lead and Millsap tied it with 40 seconds left.

While Duncan and Parker have been key for the Spurs, who entered Wednesday with an 11-2 road record, neither could make the shot at the end. Both missed long outside shots in the final 75 seconds as the Jazz improved to 9-1 at home.

"It was disappointing down the stretch," said Duncan, who also had 21 rebounds and six blocks. "Individually I made too many mistakes. I missed a jumper on the baseline I thought was down. Al (Jefferson) made a great play on the steal and layup. Just too many mistakes down the stretch that we couldn't recover from."

Williams hit the last shot but gave his teammates plenty of credit, especially Hayward, who took on guarding Parker the last four minutes.

"That was huge. That helped me," Williams said.

Before the game, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin was excited for the matchup, especially after losing the first meeting 110-100 in San Antonio on Nov. 3.

Utah has had time to learn Corbin's system since then and time for its new acquisitions - Mo Williams (trade), Marvin Williams (trade) and Randy Foye (free agent) - to settle in.

Now they want more.

"We wanted to show everybody what we're capable of doing and if we continue to play like that, we're going to shock the world. The sky's the limit for us," said Millsap.

Early on, it was the Spurs looking like the Spurs. They led by 10 twice in the first quarter as Duncan started strong inside and Green couldn't miss from outside.

The Jazz fought back behind a pair of 3-pointers from Foye then got a spark from the energizing second unit. The highlight was a block from behind by Hayward as Gary Neal attempted to jam on the fast break.

The Jazz went on a 14-7 run to open the second quarter and took the lead on Millsap's 19-footer with 6:29 left in the half. Jefferson's three-point play on a fast break gave Utah a seven-point lead, and Millsap's layup capped a 7-0 run to put the Jazz up 53-44 at the break.

Millsap made his first five shots and was 6 of 7 at halftime with 13 points

The Spurs trailed by nine entering the second half, a stark contrast to the first game in which Utah was down 19 at halftime but outscored the Spurs 35-17 in the third to get even before losing by 10.

On Wednesday night, the Spurs opened the second half with a 20-11 run and Parker's fast-break layup tied it at 64 with 3:18 left in the quarter.

The teams were tied at 71 entering the fourth, but this time the Jazz made the big plays.

"We're headed in the right direction. We're starting to figure out how to win," Millsap said.

NOTES: The Jazz social media site proclaimed Wednesday "John Stockton Day" because of the number worn by the Jazz great. "It was fun watching him. If he was playing I'd just be staring at him, and Karl (Malone)," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game. Stockton holds the Spurs' opponent record for most assists in a game, with 28 at Salt Lake City on Jan. 15, 1991. Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said Stockton was one of the "toughest competitors I played against and with as a teammate." Jazz CEO Greg Miller tweeted that he had a "nice visit with Stockton on this 12-12-12" and thanked him for all he's done. ... Jazz F Derrick Favors was back after missing the previous five games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He was averaging 9.3 points and 7.5 rebounds and had a team-leading 32 blocks. He played (6 minutes in first half) and finished with six points and four rebounds.

Notebook: Jazz 99, Spurs 96

Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:12 AM - Updated Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:12 AM

THE FACTS: All Mo Williams needed was a shot at redemption. At the buzzer against San Antonio, he got it and delivered.

Williams sank a 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Utah Jazz to a 99-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. Williams had missed a 3-point attempt with 9.9 seconds left, but a hustling Paul Millsap collected the loose ball rebound to give Williams another chance.

After a timeout, Williams hit a 26-footer to give Utah just its second win in its last 13 games against San Antonio.

Millsap had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Jazz, while Al Jefferson had 21 points. Gordon Hayward had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists off the bench.

Tim Duncan was spectacular for San Antonio with 22 points and 21 rebounds. Tony Parker added 22 points and seven assists.

QUOTABLE: "My look was watching the clock and watching Mo, and watching the clock and watching Mo, and then watched that ball go through the basket as the clock went off and watching him run down the floor with his hands in the air was just tremendous. It was great not only for him but for everybody. This team has worked extremely hard to get better and we're showing some growth together as a group and it's great to get a reward like this tonight."
-- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin

THE STAT: The Spurs were much better in the half court than the Jazz, so Utah had to get out and run and get easy baskets. Utah outscored San Antonio 29-12 in fast-break points and it made up for the Jazz's deficiencies when the game wasn't played at the pace they desired.

TURNING POINT: The Spurs looked to be well on their way to a sixth win in their last seven visits to Utah when Boris Diaw hit a 3-pointer with 4:09 left to give them a 93-85 lead. The Jazz, however, kept fighting and chipping away at San Antonio's lead. Utah tied the game with a 9-1 run as Hayward had two assists and a 3-pointer during the spurt. Jefferson capped the run with a steal and breakaway dunk to tie the game at 94-94.

HOT: The Jazz closed both halves brilliantly, shooting 60.9 percent in the second quarter and 52.6 percent in the fourth. Millsap continued his hot shooting of late, going 10-for-15 from the field. He made six of his first seven shots.

NOT: DeJuan Blair started the game for San Antonio, shot 0-for-4 and sat the entire second half. Gary Neal shot 2-for-9. For the Jazz, starter Marvin Williams shot just 1-for-5 and had two points.

QUOTABLE II: "We owed them. We owed them from last year. We owed them from when we played them at the beginning of this year. It was a big-time win for us."
-- Jazz guard Gordon Hayward

GOOD MOVE: Hayward didn't start the season playing all that great, but he's coming on strong now. Corbin did two things right with him against the Spurs: He played Hayward the entire fourth quarter, and he had him guard Parker when they were in the game at the same time. Hayward made clutch plays in the fourth and had eight points, five rebounds and three assists in the period. He also made Parker uncomfortable and prevented him from making any game-changing plays.

BAD MOVE: The Spurs are the league's best fourth quarter team, but didn't look that way against the Jazz. They lost their poise, and couldn't execute efficiently in the final four minutes when they shot 1-for-4 and committed three turnovers. And perhaps their biggest gaffe was when they couldn't collect the loose ball that Millsap did with 9.9 seconds remaining, giving the Jazz the last shot in regulation. Danny Green's defense on Williams on the last play didn't help either, as he backed off him and allowed him to get a pretty clear look at his game-winning basket.

NOTABLE: The only Jazz victory in the previous 12 meetings between the two teams could come with an asterisk because Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili sat out that game last April. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was not fined for sitting his big three in that game. Duncan had the 13th 20-20 night of his career. The Jazz are on a season-high four-game winning streak, while the Spurs had their five-game winning streak snapped. Derrick Favors returned for Utah after a five-game absence with plantar fasciitis and had six points in 12 minutes.

UP NEXT: For the Spurs, Thursday @ Portland, Saturday vs. Boston, Monday @ Oklahoma City. For the Jazz, Friday @ Phoenix, Saturday vs. Memphis, Tuesday @ Brooklyn.

• Spurs: Jackson, Leonard
• Jazz: Bell, Murphy

• Spurs: --
• Jazz: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #16 David Guthrie, #74 Curtis Blair
• Attendance: 18710
• Duration: 2:19