After two blowout wins after coming from behind, the Spurs continued their momentum into Tuesday night’s NBA Cup showdown against the Jazz, extending their winning streak to four.

Both teams fired the jump. Stephon Castle hit back-to-back three-pointers to get the Spurs on the board, while Keyonte “Key” George answered for Utah. San Antonio ran sets to get clear views of the basket and Harrison Barnes continued his strong play by finding cutters for easy points. The Jazz did the same, however, as George stayed hot, scoring 15 points in the first quarter alone.

The flash floods in Utah continued into the second second, but then the gates to Area 51 opened. Wemby caught fire from distance and scored several three-pointers, while at the same time showcasing his game off the dribble rather than from the elbow To shoot, he drove to the rim and finished with acrobatic layups. Similarly, Castle showed his strength by fighting his way to the basket before finishing the game through contact, as he and Wemby combined for 40 points in the first half alone.

Of course, what makes the duo so special is their ability on both sides of the pitch. As the game drew to a close, Wemby and Castle increased the defensive intensity. Wemby registered several blocks and his presence alone stopped Jazz players from challenging him at the rim. Meanwhile, Castle helped slow down Utah’s backcourt and made a crucial last-minute tackle on Colin Sexton.

Yes, the win came against perhaps the worst team in the league, but the performances of the young talent and veterans showed that this squad may be capable of more than we initially thought. The season is still young, but this team is showing up ahead of schedule.

Game notes

• Castle got the most love, and rightly so, but I also want to give a shout out to Julian Champagnie. He finished the game with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, with all four of his field goals coming from long range, and appears to be an emerging 3&D winger. I realize Jeremy Sochan was having a breakout before his injury, but I wonder if Spurs should keep Champagnie in the starting lineup and let Sochan come off the bench. With proper staggering, the latter can still play close to 30 minutes and could serve as the primary option with the second unit.
• More importantly, what impact would this have on the team in the long term? I still think Sochan can turn into a poor man’s Aaron Gordon, but perhaps Bruce Brown is a more apt comparison. That may not be a sexy name, but Brown is a very valuable role player, capable of both starting and coming off the bench as a sixth man, which he did for the Nuggets championship team. If Sochan accepts that role, the Spurs starting group could include Castle, Vassell, Champagnie and Wemby, and the final member should be a point guard who is an elite passer and shooter. There are no flaws in this lineup and Sochan can play a Brown-like point forward role off the bench.
• Back to the present: This Spurs team will be deep when everyone gets well. If the coaching staff decides to put CP, Vassell, Barnes, Sochan and Wemby in the starting XI, that means Jones, Castle, Keldon and Champagnie would be on the bench. For others it will be difficult to get a log.
• It’s interesting to see how far ahead the Spurs are in rebuilding compared to the Jazz, even though both teams began their demolition around the same time. Of course, much of this has to do with lottery luck, but I wonder why my old buddy Danny Ainge didn’t trade Lauri Markkanen this summer when he was getting big returns on Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. Their current top three prospects include Mr. Key, a man best known as JDub’s younger brother and perhaps the only man happy about being drafted by Utah due to some questionable off-court decisions. On the bright side, they have a great young coach in Will Hardy, who is excellent at creating counterattacks against opposing teams. Still, the West is under such strain that it’s nice to have a team that stays bad for a while. So if you’re feeling depressed, you can just be happy that you’re not a jazz fan.

Game play

Castle’s offensive game progresses frighteningly…

Next game: against Lakers on Wednesday

Let’s do it for the fifth time in a row against the father of legendary streamer Bronny James.