All five Utah Jazz starters scored in double figures in a 119-109 preseason win over the San Antonio Spurs on October 12 at the Delta Center, moving Utah to 2-1 in exhibition play. Rookie Darryn Peterson led the Jazz with 14 points and five assists in 24 minutes. Keyonte George scored 13 and added three steals in 16 minutes. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 13 on 6-of-8 shooting with a plus-12 in 18 minutes. Lauri Markkanen and Jaxson Hayes each scored 11, Hayes on 4-of-5 shooting in 15 minutes. KSL Sports reported that four of the five played only in the first half, and that Peterson, the only starter who returned after halftime, scored 10 points in the third quarter alone.
What the first half actually measured
Coach Will Hardy went nine deep before halftime: those starters, plus Brice Sensabaugh, Ace Bailey, Isaiah Collier and Svi Mykhailiuk. In that stretch Utah forced 15 Spurs turnovers, recorded 13 steals and held San Antonio to 14 points in the paint. The same half included 11 Spurs offensive rebounds, 16 Jazz fouls and 25 San Antonio free-throw attempts. For the full game the Jazz shot 45 of 87, 52 percent, with 25 assists and 18 steals.
The Spurs who took the floor were a rest lineup. At shootaround in Salt Lake City, San Antonio ruled out nine players, including Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell and Tobias Harris. Fox (hip), Harris (calf), Carter Bryant (ankle) and Jayden Quaintance, rehabbing from knee surgery, are injured. The other absences were planned before the preseason. The San Antonio Express-News described the Spurs as the defending Western Conference champions. Among the players who did suit up, Harrison Barnes scored 19, Keldon Johnson 15, and Julian Champagnie and Jordan McLaughlin 14 each. Luke Kornet started and scored none.
The minutes still up for grabs
George, Peterson, Markkanen and Jackson Jr. have been the stable pieces of Hardy's preseason starting groups. The open job is center, created when Jusuf Nurkic was hurt in the October 4 opener. Nurkic suffered a partial plantar plate tear of the second toe in his right foot. Chris Haynes reported he will miss at least four weeks, and the Jazz said he will be re-evaluated in four weeks. That timetable covers the rest of the preseason and at least the first eight regular-season games, October 21 through November 4. Last season Nurkic averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 36 starts.
Hayes, an eight-year veteran who signed a two-year deal with Utah this summer, has started the two games since the injury. His Spurs line was short and efficient. Mo Bamba's second-half shift was the other data point: 9 points on 4-of-4 shooting, nine rebounds and a plus-14 in 12 minutes. Kyle Filipowski is still out after surgery for a herniated disc, a procedure president of basketball operations Austin Ainge disclosed at media day on September 28. On October 10, Hardy said Filipowski is "progressing well," that the team is "hopeful that he's back with us soon," and that "soon" is still an arbitrary word while Filipowski finishes a long summer of rehab.
Sensabaugh and Collier were the other Jazz players in double figures, giving Utah seven in all. Sensabaugh, back after missing the first two exhibitions with a left hip injury, scored 11 points with two assists in 15 minutes. After Friday's practice he had called the hip issue "all the way gone." Collier finished with 11 points, five assists and five steals in 22 minutes. On the postgame interview he said, "A lot of us love to be around each other… It's going to transfer to the regular season and be fun."
Bailey scored 6 points on 3-of-8 shooting and still played 24 minutes, with six rebounds, three assists, three steals and a plus-14. KSL's Chandler Holt has described him as usually the first player off the bench. Mykhailiuk had 7 points, seven rebounds and a plus-18. Josh Okogie scored 5 in 11 minutes. Blake Hinson sat with an adductor injury, alongside Nurkic and Filipowski. Holt's reading of the night was that Filipowski and Nurkic figure to play when they are healthy, and that Okogie's spot can move with how Mykhailiuk and Sensabaugh perform.
Where Peterson already sits
Peterson's 14 points were a quieter line than the 23 he scored on 10-of-18 shooting, with three rebounds and three assists, in the October 6 loss to Denver at the Delta Center. The organization has talked about him as a starter whose habits are already in place. Hardy has called him "incredibly professional for where he is in his career" and "a pretty fast learner." Ainge said Peterson "has brought an intensity, work ethic, and a maturity that is unique," and warned that "the NBA is hard on rookies" and "he's going to have some ups and downs."
The opener showed the down already. On October 4 in Boulder, Peterson started and scored 3 points on 1-of-5 shooting in 19 minutes, with six rebounds and two assists, in a 109-97 win over Denver. Markkanen had 17 points in 14 minutes that night. Against the Spurs, Peterson's five assists came with one turnover.
Utah closes the preseason October 16 against the Phoenix Suns. The regular season opens October 21. San Antonio is scheduled back at the Delta Center on October 28.
