Wembanyama, Castle lead Spurs to 128-115 win over Jazz
Bethany Baker, Associated Press
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots as Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3), center Walker Kessler (24) and guard Collin Sexton (2) defend during the second half of an NBA basketball game, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Salt Lake City.SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Victor Wembanyama scored 34 points, rookie Stephon Castle matched a season high with 23 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 128-115 in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night.
The 7-foot-3 Wembanyama made six 3-pointers and shot 13 of 23 from the field. Julian Champagnie scored 15 points and made three 3s in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs pull away.
Utah’s Lauri Markkanen had to be helped from the court after banging knees with Wembanyama in the fourth quarter.
Keyonte George led Utah with 26 points and shot 6 of 12 from 3. Collin Sexton and John Collins each scored 20 for the Jazz, who were eliminated from the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Takeaways
Jazz: Shot 51% from the field but had 21 turnovers. Utah leads the league in turnovers per game.
Spurs: Finished with 30 assists after entering with an average of 27.9 per game. The Spurs outrebounded Utah 25-15 in the second half.
Key moment
Chris Paul hit a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with 1:43 left to give the Spurs a 121-109 lead. San Antonio held Utah to 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Key stat
Markkanen was 0 for 6 from 3 before he was injured. After shooting 45% from 3 in the first half, Utah made 4 of 14 from long range in the second half.
Up next
The Spurs host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday and the Jazz host Denver on Wednesday.