Johnson, Vassell help Spurs to beat Jazz,126-122

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Devin Vassell had 24 points, Keldon Johnson added 21 points and the San Antonio Spurs fended off the Utah Jazz in the final minutes for a 126-122 victory Monday night.

With 2 1/2 minutes left, the Spurs were leading 121-110. The Jazz scored seven points within 33 seconds but couldn’t complete their rally.

Lauri Markkanen scored 32 points, while Jordan Clarkson had 25 points. Utah won its second straight game.

Clarkson’s 3-pointer pulled Utah within 123-120 with 30.1 seconds remaining but Tre Jones tossed in a floater 23 seconds later to seal the victory.

Jones scored 11 points while Jakob Poeltl contributed 16 points in San Antonio.

The game started 40 minutes later than scheduled due to what the Spurs termed “a potential security threat, which has impacted fans entering the AT&T Center.”

Both teams took a weekend vacation, which likely contributed to the slow start. The combined 19 points scored in the first six minutes was a result of this delay.

Although the Spurs’ season has been plagued by slow starts this season, they rallied to gain a 12-point advantage in the second half. San Antonio shot 56 per cent from the field in halftime, with Johnson scoring 17 points after going 7 for 10.

Will Hardy was a Utah coach who spent 11 seasons with San Antonio. He worked his way up from being an intern to becoming a lead assistant for Gregg Popovich. Hardy said one of the biggest lessons imparted by Popovich was “competing every single day.”

Hardy saw this firsthand when he met his mentor for the first time.

GAME DELAY

Both the stadium staff and players, along with some thousand fans, were already inside the arena when there was a security threat. No one was evacuated but fans were restricted from entering for approximately half an hour.

Fans were allowed to return after law enforcement concluded there was no threat. This led to a delay of 40 minutes.

TIP-INS

Jazz: Markkanen has scored at minimum 30 points in eight games so far this season. Kelly Olynyk missed his fourth consecutive match due to a left ankle injury. … F Rudy Gay was honored by the Spurs prior to tip-off with a video highlighting his four seasons with the team.

Spurs: San Antonio didn’t have any injuries for the first time in over a month. The Spurs’ starting lineup was together for the first time in 12 games, and only for the second time in 33 games this year. … San Antonio will complete its seventh of 14 back-to-back games this season on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. The Spurs are 0-5 in their opening and 0-5 in their closing games.

UP NEXT

Jazz: On Wednesday, at Golden State

Spurs: In Oklahoma City Tuesday.