Two teams handicapped by the schedule will get an opportunity to exchange miseries Monday night when the Utah Jazz face the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
The Jazz flew into California late Sunday after suffering a 108-106 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Utah had two opportunities to take a lead in the final seconds but came up empty.
Lauri Markkanen misfired on a 17-footer with 11.4 seconds left and the Jazz trailing by one point. Keyonte George then couldn’t connect on a 3-pointer with the Lakers clinging to a two-point advantage with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Four Jazz starters played at least 30 minutes in the opener of the back-to-back, which produced Utah’s third consecutive defeat.
Earlier in the day, the Warriors held their first practice in almost two weeks, hopeful that a return home and a light workout could help them shake a three-game skid of their own.
But Friday’s 127-123 setback to the Portland Trail Blazers in the club’s first home contest following a grueling, six-game trip did more harm than just a notch in the loss column. Al Horford suffered a sciatic nerve irritation that is expected to keep him out at least a week, and Draymond Green had an MRI over the weekend on a foot he sprained in the defeat.
Green is considered questionable for the Utah game.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was hoping to at least partially balance the injury scale by getting Jonathan Kuminga back on the court for Sunday’s workout. But Kuminga wasn’t moving well, according to Kerr, who pulled his young prospect from the drills and now considers him out indefinitely.
“I have no idea when he’s going to play. It’s obviously worse than we thought,” Kerr told reporters about Kuminga, who last played against the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 12.
“He needs to feel better and be able to move better before we put him out there.”
The Jazz and Warriors will meet for the first of four times this season, meaning Golden State and its fans will get their first look at Utah rookie Ace Bailey, the fifth pick in the June draft.
The 19-year-old has started Utah’s last six games, scoring in double figures five times. He had 20 and 21 points in consecutive home games against the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks in his second and third starts.
“He keeps getting better,” Markkanen told reporters. “He keeps asking questions in the locker room. He wants to get better. Works on his game a lot.”
The matchup also will be the first between Bailey and the Warriors’ top rookie, Will Richard, who was selected 51 slots later.
A national champion last season at Florida, Richard has played his way into the starting lineup, taking advantage of injuries and nights off to join the first unit for the last six games.
His season-best performance came in his first start — on Nov. 5 at Sacramento – when he scored 30 points in a 121-116 loss.
Richard and Bailey, a one-and-done last season at Rutgers, never went head-to-head in college.
