Utah Jazz preseason San Antonio Spurs Lauri Markkanen...
Utah Jazz preseason San Antonio Spurs Lauri Markkanen...
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz took care of business at home with a 119-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs in a preseason outing on Monday.
Seven Jazz players scored in double figures, with Darryn Peterson leading the way with 14 points.
JAZZ WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/7t24t1JdC4
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 13, 2026
Jazz Starters Show Out Against Spurs
The Utah Jazz rolled out a starting five of Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jaxson Hayes against San Antonio. All five scored 10 or more points, despite only playing in the first half for four of them.
Peterson was the only one who got some run after the break, and he passed the threshold by scoring 10 in the third quarter alone.
Over the first two quarters, we got a sense of the shot creation, defense, and overall adaptability of a lineup that is starting to look more and more like the starting five on opening night.
Also of note, four of the five starters made at least three free throws, four of the five attempted a three, and four of the five recorded a steal.
Highs & Lows Of Utah’s Defense
The Jazz have been a bottom-two defense in each of the last three seasons. That side of the ball was a major focus in the offseason, and the preseason has started to paint the picture of what to expect from this group on that end.
As could be expected, there are positive flashes mixed with rocky stretches.
In the first half of Monday’s game, Will Hardy only went nine deep, all of whom were rotation or borderline rotation players.
During that span, the Jazz forced 15 turnovers, had 13 steals, and only allowed 14 points in the paint on sub-37-percent shooting. All of those are good. In that same stretch, though, the Jazz conceded 11 offensive rebounds and fouled 16 times, which led to 25 free throw attempts for San Antonio.
Highs and lows for the Utah Jazz defense in the first half:
15 Spurs turnovers, with 13 (!!) Jazz steals
14 Spurs points in the paint on 7/19 shooting
11 Spurs offensive rebounds
16 Jazz fouls and 25 Spurs FTA
— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) October 13, 2026
As the season progresses, the Jazz could very well clean up some of the things mentioned above. Fouling and poor boxouts are not a death sentence. But those things can also lose you some games early in the season.
Brice Sensabaugh Debuts, Rotation Analysis
After missing the first two preseason games with a hip injury, Brice Sensabaugh made his preseason debut against the Spurs. He finished with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
As previously mentioned, Hardy only played nine players in the first half. Those were the five starters, Sensabaugh, Ace Bailey, Isaiah Collier, and Svi Mykhailiuk.
The starting lineup has featured George, Peterson, Jackson Jr., and a center (Jusuf Nurkic in game one and Hayes in the last two). Bailey is usually the first off the bench. Mykhailiuk and Collier typically follow after that. My question is: Will all of those stay the same come regular season?
I would guess that Kyle Filipowski and Nurkic would play when healthy. Josh Okogie may slide up the bench depending on the performances of Mykhailiuk and Sensabaugh. But that accounts for basically nine of the 10 players on any night.
In all likelihood, there will be some sort of shakeup, and it isn’t smart to put a lot of weight into preseason rotations.
Jazz vs. Spurs Quick Hits
San Antonio sat most of their rotation players at the Delta Center on Monday. Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox, Tobias Harris, and Devin Vassell all watched from the sideline. Utah was mostly healthy, only sitting Kyle Filipowski, Jusuf Nurkic, and Blake Hinson.
Some interesting stats: Darryn Peterson had five assists, Isaiah Collier had five steals, Keyonte George and Ace Bailey had three steals apiece, and Jaren Jackson Jr. had the best plus-minus of the starters at a +12.
The Jazz shot 60 percent from the floor over the first 15 or so minutes of action.
Utah closes out its preseason schedule on Friday, October 16, against the Phoenix Suns. The season opener will then be just around the corner on Wednesday, October 21.
New-look Utah Jazz ride early lead to preseason win over Nuggets
New-look Utah Jazz ride early lead to preseason win over Nuggets
Chandler Holt is a Utah Jazz insider forKSLSports.com and co-host of theJazz Notes podcast. FollowChandler on Xfor Jazz and NBA updates.
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