Spurs come up big in fourth quarter to defeat Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin admitted his key players ran out of gas in the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

It showed.

So did the Spurs' experience.

Guard Tony Parker scored 22 points and forward Boris Diaw had 17 off the bench as the Spurs overcame a double-digit deficit en route to a 91-82 victory over the Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.

Utah led by as many as 15 points in the first half but only scored 36 after halftime to fall for the ninth time in 10 games this season.

"Give them a lot of credit. Their experience really showed at the end there and they knew what to do in order to take over the game," Corbin said. "We ran out of gas. All the guys played a little extra minutes tonight, and it cost us down the stretch."

Forward Derrick Favors had 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Jazz, who were coming off their only win of the season, a 111-105 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday.

Parker scored 16 of his game-high 22 in the second half to lead the Spurs (9-1) to their seventh straight win.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wasted few words when asked if the Spurs' vast experience edge over the rebuilding Jazz paid off in the pivotal fourth quarter.

"Probably a little bit," he said.

Forward Tim Duncan didn't have a great shooting night, hitting only seven of 16 from the field, but finished with 14 points after going a career-worst 1-for-12 from the floor in a win over Washington on Wednesday night.

"I have played like crap the entire time," Duncan said of his 2013-14 start, "but the team is winning and we have a couple of days to recoup, so we are in a great position."

The Jazz (1-9) were held to 38.5 percent shooting from the field.

Momentum shifted quickly in the fourth quarter.

With the Spurs trailing 67-60, Diaw began the quarter by hitting a 3-pointer. Guard Danny Green then made two deep shots and Parker had a sensational layup and hit a layup as the Spurs surged past the Jazz with a 12-2 run.

As has happened so many times this season, Utah's offense was all but nonexistent in crunch time. The Jazz went 3 1/2 minutes without scoring at one point as the Spurs took their first double-digit lead at 85-75 after two Manu Ginobili free throws with 3:33 left.

Utah only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.

"I think we played real good basketball in the first two or three quarters," Jazz center Enes Kanter said. "They're a really experienced team and in the last quarter they just played harder."

The Jazz, perhaps sparked by their only win of the season on Wednesday, had a strong start. Utah went ahead by as many as 15 points in the first 12 minutes and led 29-16 heading into the second quarter.

Utah maintained a 46-41 halftime lead despite shooting just 41.7 percent from the field and scoring only 17 points in the second quarter.

All five Jazz starters scored in double figures, including first-time starter Alec Burks. The third-year shooting guard had 12 points and four assists in his new point guard role, stepping in for previous starter John Lucas III.

Shooting guard Gordon Hayward, who had been playing well of late, scored 15 points but missed 18 of 23 shots. He didn't use his bruised right shin as an excuse, just his aim.

"Just missed shots," he said. "They were giving me wide-open shots and I was just missing them."

Forward Marvin Williams suffered a broken nose during the game but continued to play with a face mask. He'll travel to Oakland hoping to play in the Jazz's game there Saturday but will get his nose reset early next week.

Hayward and former Spur Richard Jefferson (14 points) each played 43 minutes, Favros logged 37 minutes, Kanter was in for 32 minutes and Burks played 29 thanks to foul trouble.

NOTES: Hall of Fame PG John Stockton is visiting Utah during the weekend on a book tour for his recently released autobiography, "Assisted." Stockton said he wrote every word in the book on college-ruled paper and then typed it up to give to his junior coach/book co-author Kerry Pickett. "It doesn't surprise me that I did the book," Stockton said. "It surprised me that we published it and then therefore I have to do this (press tour). It's kind of an added benefit." ... The Spurs have four days off leading up to their next game on Nov. 20. Coach Gregg Popovich's plans? "I'm going to sleep, watch as little film as possible, go to dinner, read. Then on Sunday or Monday I'll start thinking about basketball again." ... Stockton believes it might be a good thing for Jazz rookie Trey Burke, sidelined with a broken right index finger, to sit out at the beginning of his first NBA season. "(Trey) has a great opportunity to learn where he's not forced into the action," Stockton said. "Being hurt might actually be a positive for him because it gives him a chance to sit there. I know my first years sitting on the bench largely behind Rickey Green was a great learning tool for me. (I) would recommend that for young guards, especially if teams can manage to do it."