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Jazz look to overcome futility streak in San Antonio

Nov 21, 2008 - 11:27 AM Utah (8-4) at San Antonio (5-6), 8:30pm EST

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- The last time the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs on the road, Bill Clinton was President, Tim Duncan was a second-year player without a championship ring, and Karl Malone scored 30 points to lead Utah to a pivotal victory in the now-defunct Midwest Division.

Nearly 10 years later, the Jazz haven't won in San Antonio since. They will try to bring their 18-game streak of futility in this series to an end on Friday at the Alamodome.

They couldn't have found a better time. The Spurs are without two of their top three players, as Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are both recovering from ankle injuries. The team that has been Utah's nemesis for the better part of a decade suddenly looks vulnerable, stumbling to a 5-6 start.

Whether age is finally catching up to the Spurs, or they're just too banged-up to be accurately judged, remains to be conclusively proven. However, just because they're shorthanded doesn't mean it's going to be easy for the first-place Jazz. After all, they've got injury troubles, too.

Aside from the absence of point guard Deron Williams - who has missed most of the last month with a sprained left ankle - the Jazz lost leading scorer Carlos Boozer late in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's victory over Milwaukee. He suffered a strained left quadriceps tendon, though it has yet to be determined if he will miss any playing time.

Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur, Matt Harpring and Brevin Knight have each battled nagging injuries as well.

Still, the Jazz have survived - so far. They are doing it thanks to a balanced scoring effort that features six players averaging at least 9.5 points per game.