This article is cross-posted at Spurs Basketball
Playing without Tiago Splitter, Manu Ginobili and T.J. Ford, the undermanned San Antonio Spurs needed a spark to help them keep their winning streak going.
Matt Bonner's 20-points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc was key to the Spurs victory over the Jazz.
Behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Al Jefferson and 16 points and 11 boards from Paul Millsap, the Utah Jazz did their best to halt the NBA’s hottest team.
They man-handled San Antonio on inside points 56-30 and 41-33 on rebounds.
But the Spurs won anyway, thanks to a 47.6 percent (10-of-21) shooting from behind the arc.
Matt Bonner made 5-of-6 three-pointers enroute to his 20 point performance, and Gary Neal added 14 points off the bench as the Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 106-102 Monday night for their 11th consecutive victory.
A non-factor on the offensive end for most of the night, Richard Jefferson’s 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left actually sealed the victory for the Spurs, who won their seven straight road win, improving their road record to 10-8.
Devin Harris scored 15 points for the Jazz (15-16), while C.J. Miles and Josh Howard added 13 points and 12 points respectively.
The loss was Utah’s fifth straight against the Spurs (23-9).
San Antonio kept the NBA’s longest win streak alive despite injuries to Ginobili and Splitter, who are both expected to miss two weeks.
San Antonio trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and 10 in the third quarter, before rallying.
Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points and 11 assists, Tim Duncan added 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes, while DeJuan Blair chipped in 15 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
James Anderson gave the Spurs some productive minutes off the bench scoring five points in just eight minutes of playing time.
Spurs’ rookie Kawhi Leonard had four points, eight rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes, while fellow rookie Cory Joseph went scoreless in four minutes but had three assists.
San Antonio will continue their road trip tomorrow night when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers.
Yay! the Red Rocket strikes again!
I must say, that RJ 3-pointer really won the game for us. Huge basket from Jefferson.
11 straight! Can the Spurs win tomorrow night in Portland? I really hope so! We must get all the wins we can get while Manu, Tiago and T.J. are still recovering! Go Spurs Go!
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Matt Bonner was awesome in this game. Great collective effort. Neal hit some big shots too plus RJ made a 3-pointer at the right time.
Robby
You already know my “motto ” as it relates to the Spurs . Just win baby , just win !
tophatal ………………..
Great game from all. Now the question is when someone goes cold I hope I hope its not the whole team. I believe we got players to make up the difference for someone elses shooting streak.