SAN ANTONIO — Stephon Castle knew what the San Antonio Spurs needed to do in order to secure their fifth straight win on Monday night. The challenge was doing it for 48 minutes.

After building an early advantage over the Utah Jazz, San Antonio had every opportunity to become complacent. Instead, the Spurs continued to execute, turning a strong start into a convincing 119-97 victory at Frost Bank Center, marking their second win over the Jazz.

"(It was about) not getting bored with what was working," Castle said. "Just playing the whole clock out, our whole shot clock, trying to find the best shot and then forcing them into quick, bad shots and everybody coming back, rebounding and running the floor."

San Antonio led for 98 percent of the contest, building an lead that reached as many as 26 points and never dropped below 10 in the second half. The Spurs won all four quarters, beginning with a 27-16 first period that established control before Utah could settle in.

It was the kind of sustained performance Mitch Johnson has been asking for.

"I thought when we moved the basketball tonight," the Spurs' coach began postgame, "you see the byproduct of it, which is a balanced score against high quality shots."

Five Spurs scored in double figures, led by Dylan Harper's 17 points and eight assists. Castle added 16 points, while Keldon Johnson contributed 15 off the bench. Harrison Barnes finished with 13, and Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox scored 12 apiece.

San Antonio finished with 27 assists on 42 made field goals, shooting 46 percent from the floor. More importantly, the Spurs found opportunities without forcing the issue, generating 52 points in the paint and another 26 in transition. Their defense helped make both possible.

Utah shot just 35 percent from the field, including a 2-for-11 outing from Ace Bailey and a 3-for-12 performance from Keyonte George. The Jazz finished with 16 assists, struggling to generate the same quality of looks San Antonio found throughout the night.

"Victor and Luke did a good job," Johnson said of Wembanyama and Luke Kornet. "Our perimeter players around them did a better job tonight of ... trying to take away the rim."

There were still imperfections. Utah grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, including eight from Lauri Markkanen and Mo Bamba combined. The Jazz also matched San Antonio's 53 total rebounds despite shooting considerably worse from the field.

"The offensive rebounds got away from us at times," Johnson acknowledged, "but we did a good job of being on the same page. We have a pretty talented group defensively with our personnel. When they execute like that together, they can make it tough on teams."

That connectivity has been a point of emphasis for San Antonio since its uneven start to the season. It's shown flashes of its potential, but Johnson has consistently challenged them to sustain their execution rather than rely on individual stretches of brilliance.

Keldon Johnson echoed that message after the win.

"(We were) just playing to our strengths," he said before explaining what the Spurs' mission will be as they look to build on their momentum. "Continue to play together, move the ball and try to be solid on defense. Not try to make home run plays. Just stack plays."

For Castle, the performance also reflected a group becoming comfortable with one another. Despite early-season adjustments, the Spurs have begun finding their rhythm.

"We've been figuring it out a lot faster," Castle said, comparing this season's early stretch to last year, when Fox missed the first eight games. "especially having the same kind of guys."

The result was encouraging, but San Antonio isn't treating one convincing victory as proof that its work is finished. For Keldon Johnson, the standard remains higher than what the Spurs have shown through six games, even if they're the team with the most five-plus-game win streaks in the NBA across the last two seasons. It can always be more.

"Do I feel as though we're playing to our standards?" Johnson asked rhetorically. "At times, yes. But do I feel like we could do better? Yes. I feel like we have a lot of room for improvement. I feel like we have not yet played our best brand of basketball."