Chris Paul out for Warriors vs. Jazz

The Golden State Warriors suffered another heartbreaking defeat on Wednesday, blowing yet another double-digit fourth quarter lead en route to a 130-125 loss to the LA Clippers. It was the type of performance that, despite featuring the Dubs looking fantastic for three quarters, prompted Steph Curry to publicly berate the team for being “very average” at home.

Yet despite the discouraging fourth quarter, the Dubs are still in position to enter the All-Star break with momentum when they take on the Utah Jazz tonight. It’s Golden State’s second game in Salt Lake City this week, after defeating the Jazz by 22 points on Monday night. If they can repeat that performance and earn another victory, they’ll have won eight of their final 10 contests before the All-Star Game, with the only two losses being a late-game collapse and an overtime thriller (and even going further back, their three prior games were a blowout win and pair of one-point losses).

Plus, they’d be back above .500. So it’s a big game, and it’s one where both teams are fairly healthy. Here’s the complete injury report.

Warriors

Out — Chris Paul (left hand fracture)

There’s a decent chance that this is the last game Paul misses before returning from surgery on his fractured hand. He was always pegged for a mid-late February return, and the Dubs don’t play again for a week due to the All-Star break. This will be his 18th consecutive game missed, and after Wednesday’s composure-lacking loss, we’re all hoping he’s back again soon.

Jazz

Nobody! Utah technically is listing three players — Johnny Juzang, Micah Potter, and Jason Preston — as out, but that’s due to G League assignments, not injuries (all three of those youngsters are on two-way contracts). Utah is fully healthy, but there’s still no excuse for the Warriors to not win this game.

Enjoy the action, Dub Nation.