Jazz at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs attempt to continue their long-standing home dominance of Utah when the Jazz visit for Friday’s matchup. San Antonio has won 24 of its last 26 regular-season home games against Utah and the Jazz arrive having lost seven consecutive road games. The Spurs are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot in the Western Conference. Utah is 1 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff berth.
The Jazz have been fading with 10 losses in their last 13 games. Utah’s 10-25 road mark is a prime reason why the team is sliding in the wrong direction. The Spurs have won three consecutive games and seven of nine after downing the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. San Antonio is 29-4 at home and has gone 6-2 without star point guard Tony Parker, who is on the verge of returning from an ankle injury and participated in Thursday’s practice. The teams split their first two meetings of the season.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), Fox Sports Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (34-34): Utah lost to the Houston Rockets in Wednesday’s opener of a three-game road trip that will conclude with Sunday’s visit to Dallas. The Jazz then play eight of their next 10 games at home as they try to make a run at getting back into playoff position. The loss to Houston leaves Utah three games behind the seventh-place Rockets in the Western Conference. “We’re still alive,” Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said afterward. “We’ve slid and this is a tough loss for us, but we’re still in the fight and we’ll approach every game trying to contain and compete.”
ABOUT THE SPURS (52-16): Power forward Tim Duncan continues to perform like a much younger player and had 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots in the victory over Golden State. The 36-year-old Duncan has 13 20-point, 10-rebound outings this season and is averaging 27.7 points, 14.7 rebounds and shooting 64.3 percent from the field over the last three games. “He’s just unbelievable,” Spurs center Tiago Splitter said afterward. “He’s just figuring out how to play great at his age. It’s not easy; he’s not the same guy like 10 years ago. He doesn’t have the same quickness but he still knows how to play this game.” Duncan is averaging 20.5 points and 16 rebounds against Utah this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. San Antonio’s next victory will make Gregg Popovich the 11th coach in NBA history to win 900 regular-season games.
2. The Jazz are trying to avoid losing eight straight road games for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign.
3. Splitter is 9-for-15 from the field over the last two games after going 4-of-19 over the previous two.