SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs snapped their two-game slide picking up the road win against the Utah Jazz, 106-88.
Victor Wembanyama had a bounce-back performance with 25 points, nine rebounds, five blocks, and five steals. Jeremy Sochan finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Keldon Johnson had 13 points off the bench, Harrison Barnes finished with eight, Malaki Branham had six, and Chris Paul had 19 points and 10 assists.
Due to injury, San Antonio was without Devin Vassell and Tre Jones, who will be out for two weeks.
The Spurs are 2-3 to start the season and will next host the Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Here's a sample of what the teams said after the game.
SPURS
Popovich:
"We're not ready to be a top-five defensive team by any stretch of the imagination. We know that's the focus and we've played good defense throughout the beginning of the season. We picked up where we left off from last year."
Wembanyama:
"It's (defense) a must-have for us because we got the opportunity to do it. We got Jeremy (Sochan) and Keldon (Johnson) can put pressure on the ball and has a high motor, and I am trying to play my role, too. It should be our first focus coming into the game."
Sandro Mamukelashvili:
"I feel like the coaching has been doing a great job with me getting my head in the right place. Telling me I am right there. Just to stay confident. Stay ready. After every shootaround I stay over on my defense. That gives me more confidence when I go out there. I just felt amazing today."
JAZZ
Keyonte George:
(video via Jazz)