Spurs at Jazz
The Utah Jazz had enough trouble finding their first win, the last thing they need when going for two straight is a visit from the team with the best record in the Western Conference. The Jazz will get just that when the San Antonio Spurs make the trip to Utah on Friday. The Spurs are winners of six straight and are barely being challenged in their last few while Tony Parker headlines a remarkably efficient offense.
San Antonio is shooting 51.2 percent while winning its last three games by an average of 22.7 points, and Parker is taking things to another level by shooting 62.7 percent during the entire six-game winning streak. One of the big problems the Jazz are facing is the lack of a point guard to go up against the likes of Parker. Top draft pick Trey Burke has yet to suit up after suffering a broken finger in the preseason and swingman Gordon Hayward is doing the bulk of the ball handling in place of journeyman backup John Lucas III.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE SPURS (8-1): San Antonio had little trouble in its last road trip, putting up an average of 114.5 points in wins at New York and Philadelphia on Sunday and Monday. The Spurs followed that up with a 92-79 triumph at home over Washington on Wednesday, overcoming a 1-for-12 effort from Tim Duncan by getting Parker, Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw to combine for 24-of-31 from the field. San Antonio is spreading out the production and giving the bench plenty of run during the winning streak, with Marco Belinelli stepping up as an important contributor.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (1-8): Utah enjoyed an offensive explosion and avoided continuing towards the worst start in franchise history with a 111-105 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. Hayward handed out 10 assists and scored 27 points as the Jazz eclipsed the century mark for the first time this season. “I feel great for these guys,” coach Tyrone Corbin said after the win. “They’ve been through a lot of struggles, but there’s no quit in them and you saw it again tonight.” Hayward is one of the few consistent bright spots for Utah and is averaging 23.2 points over the last five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Spurs F Matt Bonner (calf) has missed five straight games.
2. The Jazz waived PG Jamaal Tinsley on Wednesday and picked up G Diante Garrett, who played 22 minutes off the bench in the win over New Orleans.
3. San Antonio has taken six of the last seven in the series but fell in its last trip to Utah - 99-96 on Dec. 12, 2012.