GAMEDAY AT A GLANCE
Spurs (35-22) vs. Utah Jazz (28-28)
When, where:Monday, 8 p.m., Salt Lake City
Season series: Jazz lead 2-0
Last meeting: Jazz 120, Spurs 111, Feb. 3, AT&T Center
Spurs’ last game: Lost to Warriors 122-105, Saturday, Oakland, Calif.
Jazz’s last game: Beat Trail Blazers 115-96, Sunday, Portland, Ore.
Spurs’ last 10 games, streak: 5-5, lost one
Jazz’s last 10 games, streak: 9-1, won nine
Spurs’ injury report: Point guards Dejounte Murray (sprained left ankle) and Tony Parker (sore back) are questionable for Monday’s game. Forwards LaMarcus Aldridge (sore right knee), Rudy Gay (right heel bursitis) and Kawhi Leonard (rehabbing quad injury) are out.
Notable: Kyle Anderson’s scoring total of 20 points in Saturday night’s loss to the Warriors was a career high . . . Tony Parker and Pau Gasol have each played in 1,173 career NBA games, which ranks No. 46 in league history.
GAMEDAY PREVIEW
Already missing All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs will play the hottest team in the NBA without their leading scorer and rebounder Monday night.
LaMarcus Aldridge, the Silver and Black's other All-Star forward, will sit out the team's road game against the Utah Jazz with a sore right knee. Aldridge has averaged 22.4 and 8.4 rebounds in 54 games this season. He has been the Spurs' top scorer in 41 of their 57 games, the most of any other player in the league.
The Jazz will be without one of their key players, too, point guard Ricky Rubio, who is sidelined with a sore hip. Rubio scored a career-high 34 points in a 120-111 victory over the Spurs in the teams' last meeting nine days ago at the AT&T Center.
Aldridge and Kyle Anderson, who has started in Leonard's spot at small forward for most of the season, each scored 20 points in Saturday night's 122-105 road loss to defending league champion Golden State. San Antonio played without Leonard, point guards Dejounte Murray and Tony Parker, and key reserve forward Rudy Gay – all out with injuries.
Leonard and Gay are still out, but Murray and Parker have been upgraded to questionable. But even if Murray and Parker return Monday night, the Spurs will be in dire straits without Aldridge, who has carried the team on both ends of the court this season.
Worse, Aldridge's absence comes at a bad time for the Silver and Black, The Jazz are 2-0 against San Antonio this season and have won nine consecutive games, including a 19-point road victory in Portland on Sunday night.
Led by Rubio, Utah did quite well the last time they played the Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back, winning by nine on Feb. 3 at the AT&T Center. The Jazz looked razor sharp despite arriving in San Antonio from Phoenix at 5:30 a.m. on the day of the game.
Rubio set the tone for Utah early, scoring 14 of his career-high 34 points in the first quarter, hitting 6 of 6 shots, including 2 of 2 from the three-point line. Rubio went on to nail 11 of 14 shots, 3 of 4 from long distance, and 9 of 10 free throws.
Rubio sparked an offense that shot 57 percent and finished with 26 assists. The Jazz won despite playing without rookie guard Donovan Mitchell, who sat out the game with flu-like symptoms. Mitchell scored 40 points the previous night against the Suns.
The game against Utah was the Spurs' last at home before they started their annual Rodeo Road Trip, so called because the team vacates the AT&T Center each February to make way for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
The Silver and Black opened the trip with a 48-point blowout of the Suns last Wednesday. Considering the Spurs' injury problems, Saturday's outcome against Golden State was predictable. San Antonio jumped out to a strong start, leading 37-27 after one quarter. But the Warriors led 58-55 at the half and took control in the third period, outscoring the Spurs 33-20 to take a 91-75 lead into the final quarter.
The loss dropped the Spurs to 35-22, but they're still third in the Western Conference standings, one game ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Aldridge led the Spurs' scoring with 31 points in their loss to the Jazz on Feb. 3. He hit 12 of 19 shots, including one from beyond the arc. Manu Ginobili finished with 13 points and Patty Mills and Parker had 11 apiece.
Murray rounded out the double-figure scoring for San Antonio with 10 points. Parker also dished out nine assists. Pau Gasol led the Silver and Black under on the boards with 11 rebounds.
With Aldridge sidelined, the Silver and Black could have a tough go of it under the boards Monday night. The Jazz have outscored their last two opponents 102-60 in the paint and outrebounded them 107-70.
Up next for the Spurs after Monday's game: vs. Nuggets, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m., Denver
Next Spurs home game: vs. Pelicans, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.
