Murray's 23 points lead Spurs past Jazz

Dejounte Murray poured in 23 points to lead six teammates in double-figure scoring as the visiting San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 113-104 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday in Salt Lake City in the first game for both teams after the All-Star break. The Spurs led by 19 points at the half and never let Utah get back in the game, heading to the fourth quarter up 93-75. The Jazz made two runs in the fourth quarter, cutting San Antonio's lead to 10 points on two Bojan Bogdanovic free throws with 4:13 to play. But a Derrick White 3-pointer at the 3:17 mark boosted the Spurs' lead back to 109-95 and San Antonio cruised to the finish line.

DeMar DeRozan hit for 18 for San Antonio while LaMarcus Aldridge and Patty Mills added 15 points, White had 14 and Bryn Forbes scored 13 for the Spurs, who have won two straight games after losing the first five on their annual Rodeo Road Trip. It's the first time Murray has had back-to-back games with 20 points or more in his three-year career.

Emmanuel Mudiay and Rudy Gobert led the Jazz with 18 points each; Gobert also grabbed 14 rebounds for his 43rd double-double this season. Jordan Clarkson and Bogdanovic added 15 points for Utah, with Donovan Mitchell scoring 12 points for the Jazz, which had a four-game win streak snapped. The first half featured runs for both teams. The Spurs led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter before Utah roared back with a 12-2 run capped by Bogdanovic's 3-pointer with 5:27 remaining to cut San Antonio's advantage to 46-42.

The Spurs then reeled off a 19-4 spurt to end the half with a 65-46 lead, with Murray reeling off nine of San Antonio's points over that stretch. Murray ended the half with 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the floor while Forbes scored 13 and Aldridge had 12 over the first 24 minutes of play. San Antonio outshot the Jazz 49 percent to 39.6 percent in the first half and went 8 of 14 from beyond the arc.

Gobert led the Jazz with 10 points and nine rebounds over the first two quarters. --Field Level Media

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