Spurs rout Jazz, take 2-0 series lead
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Tony Parker scored 18 points and dished out nine assists as the San Antonio Spurs earned a dominant 114-83 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 2 of this Western Conference quarterfinal.
Tim Duncan added 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard netted 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting for San Antonio, which took a 2-0 lead in the series.
"I thought we moved the ball great and our shooters were making shots," said Parker. "Defensively, I thought we did a good job controlling the boards."
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Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will be on Saturday in Utah.
Josh Howard and Al Jefferson scored 10 points apiece to lead the Jazz, who shot just 34.4 percent in the game, including a 1-for-6 mark from three-point range.
"We have been great at home and we need to continue that," Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin said. "They're going to come in a try and jump us early. We have to try and prepare for that."
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San Antonio controlled the game from the start, opening the game with a 10-2 run as Utah failed to make a shot from the floor until Jefferson's driving layup snapped the offensive drought.
The Spurs, though, responded with seven straight points to jump out to a 17-4 lead near the midpoint of the first quarter.
A late 7-2 push by the Jazz closed their deficit to seven before San Antonio closed out the first with a pair of layups by DeJuan Blair and Gary Neal to carry a 28-17 advantage into the second.
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After Neal started the second with a shot from beyond the arc to give the Spurs a 14-point cushion, Utah reeled off a 9-0 spurt to get within 31-26.
Jamaal Tinsley then stole a Danny Green pass and fed the ball to a streaking DeMarre Carroll for a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Carroll was whistled for a charge and Green connected on a three-pointer on the other end to put an end to the run.
The remainder of the half belonged to San Antonio, as they used a 22-2 swing over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the second quarter to hold a 53-28 lead at the break.
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Utah was held to just 23.4 percent shooting over the first 24 minutes while also turning the ball over nine times, resulting in 14 San Antonio points.
"In the first half they were aggressive and playing hard. They just weren't shooting the ball really good," Parker said about Utah.
The Spurs cruised through the second half as Parker netted 10 points and San Antonio pulled ahead by as much as 36 on Boris Diaw's layup late in the third quarter en route to an 87-53 lead entering the fourth.
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Both teams then emptied their benches in the fourth quarter to run out the clock as the Spurs maintained at least a 31-point lead for the remainder of the game.
"With a team like [San Antonio], obviously, you have to score as well as defend and we can't have games like this," Jazz guard Devin Harris said.
Game Notes
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Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich received his second career Coach of the Year award prior to the game...San Antonio center Tiago Splitter missed the game with a sprained left wrist he suffered in Game 1 of the series...The Spurs shot 57.3 percent in the game and made 10-of-22 shots from beyond the arc...Derrick Favors, Paul Millsap and Alec Burks each scored nine points for the Jazz...Green dropped in 13 points, while Diaw and Neal finished with 11 apiece for San Antonio.