Spurs pull away late for 126-109 win despite Nurkic's 2nd straight triple-double

SALT LAKE CITY — Following a thrilling win on Tuesday, the Jazz weren't able to capture the same magic two days later in a 126-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio led for much of the game, but that didn't stop Utah's fight from start to finish. Anytime the Jazz closed the gap, the Spurs went on a run to regain control.

The pattern continued for all 48 minutes before a late push by San Antonio helped the road team pull away. De'Aaron Fox came up big for the Spurs late, pouring in 31 points and a couple of clutch 3-pointers to put the game out of reach.

"A game like that, I leave really encouraged and I hope that our team does, too," Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. "It's what I was just talking to (the team) about, is that we continue to show that we can play with anybody. We've played well and had good games against all of the top teams in the league, and it's about sustaining it for more minutes."

Jusuf Nurkic, once again, made his presence felt in all areas of the game and recorded 17 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. With the triple-double, Nurkic became the first Jazz player since Pete Maravich to record a triple-double in consecutive games.

"We've done a lot of the things you saw tonight, we've done with Nurk throughout the year," Hardy said. "We just haven't necessarily done them as much. The last two games have presented their different circumstances based on the centers on each team, Rudy and Victor are both elite rim protectors, and so we have to try to change the concept of the game a little bit."

In his first 11 seasons, Nurkic recorded just one triple-double, but he is now getting more opportunities to lead an offense.

The Spurs got out to an early lead before Utah responded, but a big second-quarter run propelled San Antonio to a double-digit lead. And yet, the Jazz never faded.

Putting together some solid stretches of play helped Utah keep it close throughout before Fox and the Spurs' deep lineup became too much to overcome.

The Spurs got a balanced scoring effort Thursday night, with five players scoring more than 15 points. Victor Wembanyama poured in 26 points and 13 rebounds, while also being a menace on defense, recording four blocks.

"Wemby is an alien; he's one of one," Ace Bailey said. "Not too many people that tall just doing what he's doing. You have to know where he is, that's the guy."

Bailey continued where he left off Tuesday and finished with a career-high 25 points on a productive 11-of-16 shooting. The 19-year-old Bailey has shown plenty of growth in his game recently and has seemed less afraid of big moments.

"I love a player like Ace with his ability to score, having a big night without just bombing jump shots," Hardy said. "Getting hot from three is amazing, I'm here for it, but it's different when he did it in such a strategic way. That stuff is what stands out to me."

Keyonte George excelled again for the Jazz, but other players stepped up to make plays in key stretches, too. George finished with 23 points, five assists and four rebounds.

"Crashing the glass and then also just his aggressiveness," George said of his rookie teammate. "In every game, he's gotten progressively better. During the season, he's been taking some matchups, really guarding, sitting down, just doing some things that he probably didn't think he was gonna have to do."

The Jazz's next opportunity to showcase that growth will come Saturday against the Miami Heat.

"I'll drive home tonight upset that we lost, but really encouraged about where we're going," Hardy said.

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