Jazz at Spurs
THE STORY: The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a lackluster loss to the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz are seeking their second consecutive victory when the two teams meet Saturday in San Antonio. The Spurs won their first two games before playing poor basketball in the 105-85 loss to the Rockets on Thursday. San Antonio shot just 37.6 percent and were 2-for-17 from 3-point range in a truly forgettable performance. “We just mentally were not here,” veteran guard Manu Ginobili said afterwards. “They just killed us. You got to be smart sometimes and just let it go.” Utah ended a two-game losing skid with a 102-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. The Jazz were without center Al Jefferson, so second-year pro Derrick Favors moved to the middle and had 20 points and 11 rebounds. The effort was encouraging after Utah lost its first two games by an average of 21 points.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), Fox Sports Southwest (San Antonio), NBATV
ABOUT THE JAZZ (1-2): Favors had his first career 20-point game after losing his starting power forward job earlier in the day and then starting in place of the injured Jefferson. “Derrick is learning,” coach Ty Corbin said after the contest. “He has some outside-inside stuff and he has to learn that when he goes inside, he needs to play big.” Corbin re-inserted Paul Millsap as the starting power forward earlier Friday. The double-double was the fifth of Favors’ career.
ABOUT THE SPURS (2-1): It has been a rough start for future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan. The 15-year veteran is averaging just eight points and five rebounds and shooting just 35.7 percent from the field. Duncan hasn’t scored more than 10 points in any of San Antonio’s three games and had just four points on 1-of-8 shooting against the Rockets. The 35-year-old’s endurance will be tested by the condensed season that will feature more back-to-back games than usual.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. San Antonio won all three meetings last season and is 13-2 against the Jazz since moving into the AT&T Center in 2002.
2. Jefferson (ankle) was a late-game scratch Friday and is a game-time decision to play against the Spurs.
3. San Antonio center DeJuan Blair has scored 20 in back-to-back games – 20 against the Los Angeles Clippers and 22 against Houston.