Wembanyama’s 19 points and five blocks lead Spurs past Jazz 118-111

SALT LAKE CITY — Devin Vassell scored 31 points, Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and five blocks and the San Antonio Spurs ran past the Utah Jazz 118-111 on Wednesday night.

The Spurs, second in the league in assists behind Indiana, had a season-high 40 on 44 field goals. San Antonio also shot 51.8% from the field and were well above .500 from 3-point range until missing their final four attempts and finishing 16 of 33.

Jeremy Sochan, Julian Champagnie and Malaki Branham all scored 17 points for San Antonio.

Collin Sexton had 26 points and nine assists, while Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points for the Jazz, who lost their seventh in a row.

The Jazz led just once and trailed by double-digits most of the game.

Utah got as close as 115-111 with 23.2 seconds remaining before Tre Jones sealed the win for San Antonio with two free throws and Wembanyama swatted Utah’s next attempt.

The Spurs are playing some of their best basketball of the season, beating Phoenix 104-102 on Monday and running their offense at its most efficient against the Jazz.

The Jazz (29-44) have the worst record in the league since the All-Star break, when they traded away three rotation regulars. Utah used 12 players in the first quarter, the most this season.

San Antonio and Wembanyama dominated early, leading by as many as 19 in the first half. And one sequence typified the rookie’s impact.

Wembanyama blocked Markkanen’s layup and then used his long stride to glide downcourt for an alley-oop dunk on the other end. That gave San Antonio a 38-20 lead.

Capped by Markkanen’s 3-pointer, the Jazz used a 17-3 run to get within four points, but the Spurs still led 59-48 at the half.

Spurs: Host the New York Knicks on Friday night.

Jazz: Host the Houston Rockets on Friday night.