SAN ANTONIO — The Utah Jazz were actually going to have a chance on Thursday night.
The San Antonio Spurs were playing without reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, as well as Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan, the latter of whom has not played since Nov. 4.
In the first half, it looked like the Jazz were going to take advantage of the fact that the Spurs were missing three of their starting five. The Jazz were moving the ball (16 assists on 24 made shots), they were generating good, open looks (they hit 39.3% from 3-point land) and they were taking care of the ball (they committed just three turnovers).
“We were just taking the right ones, making the right reads,” Jazz guard Keyonte George said. “The ball was popping, the energy was high ... we were smiling, high energy, showing love, just enjoying the game of basketball, enjoying competing, and then obviously you seen the drop off in the second half.”
The Jazz led by as many as 20 points and went into halftime with a 16-point lead, but that lead quickly deteriorated in the second half as they looked like a completely different team.
The ball stopped moving (just six assists through the final 24 minutes), the Jazz were taking contested shots and often bad shots that were rushed or unsettled (they went 2 of 17 from deep) and after taking such good care of the ball in the first half, the Jazz committed 11 turnovers in the second half.
“Our energy, physicality, all of those things dipped,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “We should not expect to blow anybody out ... I continue to see a lot of good play, but our ability to bounce back or right the ship when it starts to go sideways is something that we have to continue to work on.
“There’s not enough timeouts in the game to stop the game after every 6-0 run. It just doesn’t work that way. We have to be able to work in those moments as a group and find ways to steady ourselves.”
One of the more concerning aspects of the second half was the way you could see and feel the Jazz giving up on themselves as the Spurs started to take control.
There were 50-50 balls that they gave up on, loose balls they didn’t go after, rebounds they didn’t fight for. It seemed like the Jazz just kind of gave the second half to San Antonio.
“There’s too many times where the competitiveness dips,” Hardy said. “There’s going to be moments in any player’s game or career where shots aren’t going in or they mishandle the ball a few times, but you can still be an elite competitor through those moments.
“That’s what’s most important to me, because ultimately, for us to get to where we want to go — the playoffs are ugly and nasty, and nobody feels good, you’re fatigued, and I want to know that everybody in our locker room is ready to compete through those moments.”
The Jazz come away from this four-game road trip winless and fall to 3-12 on the season. On Saturday they’ll start a five-game home stand.
Kyle Filipowski rolls ankle
With less than a minute left in the third quarter, rookie Kyle Filipowski stepped back onto a Spurs player’s foot and rolled his ankle. He quickly limped off the court and went straight to the locker room, where he was ruled out for the rest of the night with a sprained right ankle.
He was getting treatment on the ankle and got it wrapped up after the game was over but was able to walk out of the training room on his own.
We don’t yet know the severity of the sprain or how long it could keep Filipowski sidelined. Add it to the list of injuries that the Jazz have had to deal with this season.
There could be good news on the horizon, however, as Walker Kessler (right hip bursitis), who remained in Utah during the Jazz’s four-game trip, is expected to make a return this week.