San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz: What to watch for

After rallying in the fourth quarter and winning Friday evening’s game, the San Antonio Spurs will host the Utah Jazz on Sunday evening.

There’s been plenty of chatter surrounding the DeMar DeRozan trade and the outcome for all parties involved.

It’s been a rocky road for the Spurs thus far, but DeRozan and third-year center Jakob Poeltl gave their all in a winning effort against Los Angeles.

DeRozan finished with a loaded stat line of 36 points, nine assists and eight rebounds while Poeltl added 14 points, 8 rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes off the bench. For the Spurs to string together consecutive wins for the first time since the beginning of November, this duo will need to step up to the challenge once again on Sunday night.

Overcoming the Jazz would be a major accomplishment for the uneasy Spurs, who lost by 34 points and allowed a franchise record 20-of-33 threes in their first meeting just two games ago.

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Two of the league’s most revered Australian players will meet once again coming off of great individual performances recently.

Veteran point guard Patty Mills took control of his team’s tempo and orchestrated the offense beautifully in the second half of Friday’s game. He scored 14 points and dropped 5 dimes in 29 minutes off the pine.

Meanwhile, Ingles is having a solid week of games, averaging 14 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals in that timeframe.

Down in the paint, franchise power forward LaMarcus Aldridge will go head-to-head with last season’s Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert. When considering his inconsistency and issues facing elite defensive centers thus far in the season, it would be unsurprising to see Aldridge take a backseat to his teammates tonight.

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The Spurs will need their shooters in peak form to compete against the Jazz. With a victory, San Antonio has a chance to ascend in the Western Conference playoff picture.

Tip-off is at 6:00 PM CST live from the world-famous AT&T Center.