The San Antonio Spurs (8-8) trailed the visiting Utah Jazz (3-12) by as many as 20 points in the second quarter and 18 early in the third on Thursday night. No worries. UNC basketball product Harrison Barnes, suddenly surging in his debut season with the franchise, put the injury-laden Spurs on his back to power a 126-118 comeback victory.
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Barnes finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, marking the first double-double of the former No. 7 overall draft pick’s 13th NBA season. The 32-year Iowa native, a full-time starter throughout his career spanning four teams, added one assist and did not commit a single turnover in the contest.
He shot a highly efficient 8-for-13 from the field, 4-for-5 beyond the arc, and 5-for-6 at the charity stripe across his game-high 36 minutes of action.
Through 16 appearances for the Spurs — consider that Barnes hasn’t sat out of a regular season contest this go-round after playing every game between his last two seasons with the Sacramento Kings — the 2010-12 UNC basketball forward is averaging 10.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting a career-best 42.6 percent from downtown on 3.9 attempts per outing.
Harrison Barnes and the San Antonio Spurs, winners of two straight and four of their past six games, next host one of the NBA Tar Heel’s former teams when they square off against the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors (11-3) at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
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