Lonnie Walker IV delivers in fourth quarter to help Spurs vanquish shorthanded Jazz

Lonnie Walker IV showed off his trademark athleticism in the first half of the Spurs’ much-needed 119-111 victory over shorthanded Utah on Friday with a two-handed dunk in transition.

But the play that excited his coaches and teammates came with seven minutes left. After receiving a pass from Dejounte Murray, Walker had the presence of mind to step behind the 3-point line and drill a shot that gave the Spurs some breathing room after the Jazz climbed out of a 16-point third quarter hole to pull within six.

“He looked like Steph Curry backing up to the corner for the open shot,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s starting to figure things out.”

Derrick White had 24 points, Jakob Poeltl registered a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double and Walker scored six of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs took care of business against a depleted foe to move into sole possession of 10th place in the Western Conference just ahead of surging but idle Phoenix.

“I don’t think we were as sharp as we could be or as we have been in the past,” Popovich said from Lake Buena Vista, Fla. “That’s a typical reaction when the other team doesn’t have all its guys.”

The Jazz played without four starters, including All-Stars Donovan Mitchell (injured) and Rudy Gobert (rest), and rested sixth man Joe Ingles in the second half. The Spurs entered the game determined to snap a two-game losing streak and keep alive their hopes of reaching the playoffs for an NBA-record 23rd consecutive year.

“We wanted to show we could get better results than the last couple games,” said Poeltl, who took advantage of Gobert’s absence down low to recorded his season high for points. “It didn’t matter if they were coming in with their full starting lineup or their second unit or whoever was out there.”

The Spurs never trailed after the 10:58 mark of the first quarter and enjoyed leads of 16 points in both halves. Still, the Jazz hung around with Wagner High School product Jordan Clarkson scoring 24 points off the bench, and Tony Bradley producing 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 11 rebounds.

Rudy Gay came off the bench to score 10 of his 14 points in the third quarter to help the Spurs enter the fourth quarter with a 96-84 cushion. DeMar DeRozan celebrated his 31st birthday with 13 points and five assists while Murray contributed 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Still, the Jazz, who fell a half-game behind Houston in the race for fourth place in the West, kept fighting.

“Those guys played hard,” said White, who also had six rebounds and four assists. “Everybody was going to the glass. They moved the ball the right way. They played the right way.”

On ExpressNews.com: Spurs notebook: Poeltl takes advantage of Gobert-less Jazz

In the fourth quarter, the same was true of Walker. The second-year guard answered with buckets on the two occasions the Jazz pulled with six points, including his Curry-imitation 3-pointer.

“He’s really understanding more, every three or four games,” Popovich said of the 21-year-old Miami product. “But he’s got such speed and probably feels like he can beat everybody. And that’s not a bad thing. You want him to keep his competitiveness and his confidence. It’s just learning situations and time and score and who is on the floor with him, and who are the shooters.”

Walker spoke before the restart about wanting to improve the mental aspects of his game in Orlando. After Friday’s game, he said he is becoming more aware of how all the pieces fit together on the court.

“Honestly, I’m just watching what my teammates do,” he said. “I’m not a primary ball handler. I’ve been watching a lot of film on my teammates.”

Like their coach, Walker’s teammates like what they are seeing from him.

“Lonnie has a good head for the game,” Poeltl said. “He’s getting better and better at making reads.”

White added: “Every time out there, he is learning what works and what doesn’t work. He’s still really young. He has a lot of potential. I am excited to see how he continues to grow.”

torsborn@express-news.net

Twitter: @tom_orsborn