Spurs at Jazz
Excuse the Utah Jazz if they need directions to the arena when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Jazz have played 10 of their past 12 games on the road and two thirds (16) of their first 24 games have been contested in away venues.
San Antonio dropped back-to-back games by an average of 35 points before getting things back together with a 131-118 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers. "It had to be better than the last two games, right?" Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "Everybody's got to participate. Good individual defense matters and good team defense (matters), but there is no team defense without talking or trust. We're trying to get there with this new group." Utah finished up a three-game road swing by falling 102-100 to the Miami Heat on Sunday. The Jazz host the Houston Rockets on Thursday and the back-to-back home games will be their first since Nov. 7 and 9.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Southwest (San Antonio), AT&T Sportsnet (Utah)
ABOUT THE SPURS (11-12): Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan was on the mark with a season-high 36 points against Portland after averaging just 14 in the two blowout setbacks. "That's why he has been an All-Star for so long," Popovich told reporters. "You just keep going. If you have a bad stretch, you know the percentages are probably with you. He's been around a long time. He's very confident, and he knows what he can do. That's not going to bother him if he misses a few shots. Scorers shouldn't have a conscience." DeRozan has six 30-point outings this season and is teaming well with power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 29 points and eight rebounds against the Trail Blazers.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (11-13): Point guard Ricky Rubio scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting against Miami after averaging 8.3 points on 7-of-28 shooting over a three-game span. "Ricky was really good," Utah coach Quin Snyder told reporters after the win. "I thought he was poised with the ball and controlled the game for us on the offensive end, and he defended really well, too. That's the kind of play we need from him, and that's what he's capable of doing." Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell was just 8-of-24 shooting while scoring 18 points after being 50 percent or better the previous two games when he averaged 29.5 points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz have won four of the past five meetings.
2. Utah C Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 18 rebounds against Miami for his 21st double-double of the campaign.
3. San Antonio G Marco Belinelli (neck) will likely return after a one-game absence.