The Utah Jazz play the San Antonio Spurs on Friday at Orlando.

The Jazz (43-25) are coming off a 124-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies the last time out, and that result snapped a two-game losing streak. It's all about load management for the Jazz now, as they have already ticketed their playoff berth and do not want to risk any potential injury to their key players. The Jazz have a 0.5-game lead in the race for the fourth seed of the Western Conference, however, so they can't take this game for granted. They have the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder breathing down their neck.

Utah will be without Royce O'Neale (calf) for Friday's game, but he won't be the lone absentee in this matchup -- Rudy Gobert (rest), Mike Conley (knee), Donovan Mitchell (leg) and Nigel Williams-Goss (ankle) will also miss this contest, while Bojan Bogdanovic (wrist) is out for the remainder of the season.

The Spurs (29-38) got off to a strong start in Orlando, winning against the Sacramento Kings and the Memphis Grizzlies, but they enter this matchup on a two-game losing run following defeats against the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets, two teams that have already ticketed their spots in the postseason. Judging by that, the Spurs couldn't have wished for a better chance to get back to the win column as Utah will rest several key players in this contest. San Antonio is 2.0 games behind the Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference, so the equation is simple -- they must win every remaining games and wait for other results to go their way if they want to have a final shot at extending their streak of 22 straight season reaching the playoffs.

San Antonio will be without LaMarcus Aldridge (shoulder) and Trey Lyles (side), and both interior players are out for the remainder of the season. Bryn Forbes has also been ruled out for Friday's contest with a quadriceps injury.

This will be the third meeting between both franchises this season, and the Spurs have won the two previous contests.