The Salt Lake City Stars fell to the Austin Spurs 118-113 on Tuesday night in the first game of the doubleheader series. The matchup marked the first meeting between the teams this season, giving Austin a 1-0 edge in the season series. The loss moved Salt Lake City to 4-5 on the year.

Austin opened the game firing offensively, jumping out to an 11-2 lead at the 8:38 mark of the first quarter. The Stars responded in the second quarter, rallying to regain the lead midway through the period before the Spurs answered back. Salt Lake City made multiple runs and briefly reclaimed the lead in the third quarter, but Austin held on down the stretch to secure the five-point win.

Jazz two-way guard John Tonje led the Stars with 27 points and 11 rebounds (1 OR, 10 DR), recording his second career double-double. Oscar Tshiebwe continued his dominance on the glass, pulling down a game-high 20 rebounds (9 OR, 11 DR) while adding 13 points (5-9 FGM) to notch his 11th double-double of the season.

Off the bench, Matthew Murrell led the reserves with 18 points and six rebounds, while Max Klesmit posted a career-high 14 points (4-6 FGM, 3-5 3PM).

Austin was led by two-way guard David Jones Garcia, who scored 34 points, followed by Kyle Mangas with 25.