The San Antonio Spurs will hit the road for two games
starting with Thursday's tilt with the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.
San Antonio will also visit the Portland Trail Blazers and lost its only road
game of the season to the Chicago Bulls on October 29. The well-rested Spurs
improved to 2-1 on the season with Saturday's 113-94 triumph versus the
Sacramento Kings at the AT&T Center, as Tony Parker registered 24 points and
seven assists to lead the charge.
Richard Jefferson scored 21 points and George Hill contributed 15 points and
five rebounds for the Spurs, who suffered a 92-85 loss at Chicago last
Thursday following a season-opening win against New Orleans. Sixth man Manu
Ginobili notched 13 points and had an unusual run-in with a bat flying around
the floor. Ginobili tracked it down and grabbed the bat with his hand before
it was disposed of.
"It was good to see the group continue to execute defensively in the fourth
quarter," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "That was the best part of the
game, for me, besides Manu's catch."
Spurs forward Antonio McDyess is probable for Thursday's game with flu-like
symptoms. He did not play in the win over Sacramento.
The Jazz are off to a rough start at 1-3 and have dropped back-to-back
contests, including Tuesday's 96-85 setback at Dallas.
Deron Williams tallied 22 points and Mehmet Okur contributed 14 points and 14
rebounds to pace Utah, which blew a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter and
was burned by Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki scored a Dallas-record 29
points during the fourth quarter en route to a 40-point night.
"It just seemed like either he made his shot or he was shooting free throws,"
Jazz forward Carlos Boozer said of Nowitzki. "I thought we couldn't be
physical with him, couldn't touch him too much without them calling a foul on
us. Obviously he was aggressive, he's a great player."
Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko each had 12 points in a losing effort. Utah is
hoping to avoid its worst start since kicking off the 2002-03 campaign with a
1-4 record.
San Antonio took all three matchups with Utah last season and has won four in
a row and 10 of the last 14 contests in this series. The Spurs, though, have
lost six of their last nine trips to Salt Lake City.
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