UPDATE: The Utah Jazz just announced that rookie guard Donovan Mitchell, who scored 40 points in a 40-point victory Friday night, will miss the game against the Spurs with flu-like symptoms.
GAMEDAY AT A GLANCE
Utah Jazz (23-28) vs. Spurs (34-20)
When, where:Saturday, 8 p.m., AT&T Center
TV: KENS 5, 8 p.m.
Season series: Jazz lead 1-0
Last meeting: Jazz 100, Spurs 89, Dec. 21, Salt Lake City
Jazz’s last game: Beat Suns 129-97, Friday, Phoenix
Spurs’ last game: Lost to Rockets 102-91, Thursday, AT&T Center
Jazz’s last 10 games, streak: 6-4, won four
Spurs’ last 10 games, streak: 5-5, lost one
Jazz injury report: Rodney Hood (lower leg), Dante Exum (shoulder), Donovan Mitchell (flu-like symptoms, Thabo Sefolosha (knee) are out for Saturday's game.
Spurs’ injury report: Brandon Paul (back spasms) is questionable for Saturday’s game, and Rudy Gay (right heel bursitis) and Kawhi Leonard (rehabbing quad injury) are out.
Notable: Dejounte Murray has nine games with 10+ rebounds this season, the most double-digit rebounding games by a point guard in a single campaign in Spurs history . . . The Silver and Black haven’t had 20 defeats this early in a season since Feb. 4, 2010, when they dropped to 28-20 with a road loss to Portland.
GAMEDAY PREVIEW
Given their spate of injuries this season, the Spurs have no gimmes on their schedule. That was evident last month when they lost road games to the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks,
The Lakers were 13-27 and the Hawks were 11-31, the worst record in the NBA, before facing the Silver and Black.
So how will the Spurs fare when they close their five-game homestand against the surging Utah Jazz (23-38) at 8 p.m. Saturday?
Utah is better than the Lakers and Hawks, but it's still 3.5 games behind Denver for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Still, Utah packs a powerful punch and won't be easy to take down. Led by rookie guard Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz routed the Suns 129-97 in Phoenix on Friday night for their fourth consecutive victory. Three nights earlier, Utah rolled to a 122-99 blowout of defending league champion Golden State in Salt Lake City.
Mitchell fell one point shy of matching his career high Friday night, hitting 14 of 19 shots, including 7 of 9 from the three-point line.
Meanwhile, the Spurs rested after a 102-91 loss to Houston on Thursday night. After playing the Jazz, the Silver and Black will play six consecutive road games during the Rodeo Road Trip. They won't play at home until Feb. 28, when they meet the New Orleans Pelicans.
Saturday night's game will be the seventh of nine contests televised this season on KENS 5, the official station of the Spurs. There will be no pregame show, but a postgame game show will air on KENS 5.
Center Pau Gasol said it's "very important" that the Spurs win their last game at home before on the road for an extended period.
"We have four games on the road before the (All-Star) break," he said. "Tough road trip. We've got to make sure we get this one against Utah. They're a tough team. They play hard.
"We know they're going to compete and we're going to have to play well and know who we're playing against. It will be important for us to make sure we come out on Saturday hard, sharp, and ready to get that win so we can go on the road with some type of momentum and confidence.
Danny Green, who is coming off a 22-point game, also talked about the importance of Saturday night's game.
"For sure," he said. "We've got to protect home, especially with how we've been playing this year on the road. We've got to rack up as many as we can get at home."
The Silver and Black are 22-5 at home, but 12-15 away from the AT&T Center. They haven't finished below .500 on the road since 1996-97, an NBA record of 20 consecutive seasons.
The Spurs will play again without Leonard and key reserve Rudy Gay, who has missed the team's last 18 games with a heel injury. Utah also has been hit by injuries. Jazz guard Rodney Hood (lower leg), forward Thabo Sefolosha (knee surgery) and Dante Exum (shoulder) are out.
Next Spurs game after Saturday: vs. Suns, Wednesday, 9:30 p.m., Phoenix
Next Spurs home game after Saturday: vs. Pelicans, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.
