The NBA consolation games continue for the Utah Jazz (5-19). The participation prize? The Jazz are about to play their second game in 8 days, as they travel to the City of Angels to take on the Los Angeles Clippers (14-12).
The Jazz were ran out of the building in the last matchup between these two teams, but now they return with some firepower. The Jazz and Suns tied the NBA record for a combined 44 three-pointers in the loss at the Delta Center — 22 of them coming from Utah’s end. NBA teams were 78-5 all-time when making at least 20 threes and shooting at least 56% from deep. Utah’s latest loss has now made it 78-6.
It’s been a rough spot for the LA Clippers. They’ve lost their last 3 games at the hands of the Wolves, Rockets and Nuggets. They’ve been shorthanded throughout this stretch and will continue to be tonight without Terance Mann or Derrick Jones Jr. The Clippers are shooting just 41.5% from the field and just 31.3% from beyond the arc. With their struggles on the offensive side of the court, this game could decided by just a few lucky or unlucky possessions.
Injury Report
Jazz:
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QUESTIONABLE– Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis)
OUT– Svi Mykhailiuk (left groin strain), Taylor Hendricks (right fibula fracture)
Clippers:
OUT – Kawhi Leonard (right knee injury recovery), Terance Mann (left middle finger fracture), Derrick Jones Jr (right hamstring injury), Kobe Brown (back injury management), P.J. Tucker (not with team), Cam Christie (G League), Trentyn Flowers (G-League)
How to Watch:
Who: Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers
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When: December 16th, 8:30PM Mountain Time
Where: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles
Watch: Jazz+, KJZZ
Cody Williams has a chance at redemption
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Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
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Spending the last seven games with the Salt Lake City Stars, Cody Williams is back with the team after being recalled.
The 10th overall pick averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals on 30/22/68 shooting splits in his time in the G League. These aren’t the most glamorous numbers, but Williams likely played his best game as a pro the last time he was against the Clippers.
He recorded 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 stocks on 60% from the field while making the correct defensive rotations and converting his open shots. 1 game later, Williams was sent down to the G League team so he could have a chance to put up more shots. If Williams could be somewhat productive after this new wave of confidence, the Colorado alumni might be able to work himself right back into the Jazz rotation.
What can Keyonte learn from the league’s former premier scorer?
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Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images
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Jazz fans know this man all too well. He’s kicked this franchise in the backside for two consecutive playoff runs during the Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert era. James Harden may not be the glory that he was back in 2018-19, but he’s managed to command the Clippers to a 14-12 record without Kawhi Leonard.
This season he’s averaged 21.4 points, 8.4 assists and 6.7 boards, shooting 38.0% from the field and 33.8% from deep. Poetically, he also became second on the all-time threes list the last time these two teams faced at Intuit Dome.
Keyonte George is setting himself up to be a Harden disciple. Well — not in the sense of dropping 40+ points on a nightly basis, but for how he accounts for the team’s scoring load. When Markkanen struggles, Keyonte has set himself up to be second-in-command for putting the ball in the basket. His combination of drives and three-point looks give him a delightful combo that results in unassisted buckets.
There’s still room for improvement — improving his shot selection could elevate his efficiency, and lowering his assist/turnover ratio. As he continues to refine his skills and find his rhythm, Jazz fans optimistic about George’s contributions to games in the future.
Utah Mammoth (6-2, in the Central Division) vs. Minnesota Wild (3-4-1, in the Central Division)
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Saint Paul, Minnesota; Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Mammoth visit the Minnesota Wild after Logan Cooley’s hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Mammoth’s 7-4 win.
Minnesota has gone 3-4-1 overall with a 1-1-0 record against the Central Division. The Wild have scored 10 power-play goals, which ranks first in the Western Conference.
Utah is 6-2 overall and 3-2-0 against the Central Division. The Mammoth are fourth in league play serving 11.5 penalty minutes per game.
The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season.
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INJURIES: Wild: None listed.
Mammoth: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Despite coming off a bye, a massive list of Colorado Buffaloes players are expected to miss Saturday’s matchup against the Utah Utes due to injury.
Seventeen Buffs were listed as out on Wednesday’s player availability report, one is doubtful, three are questionable and six probable. Meanwhile, Utah listed only three players as questionable, including starting quarterback Devon Dampier. If Dampier can’t go, coach Kyle Whittingham is expected to give freshman Byrd Ficklin the starting nod under center.
Below is the first of four daily injury reports heading into Saturday’s Big 12 football matchup between Colorado and Utah:
Sep 12, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes running back Simeon Price (26) scores a touchdown during the second quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
OUT
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DOUBTFUL
QUESTIONABLE
Apr 19, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes defensive tackle Tawfiq Thomas (95) during the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
PROBABLE
Fortunately for Colorado, the vast majority of the 27 players listed above aren’t starters for coach Deion Sanders. Still, the Buffs are lacking some depth on the interior defensive line with Coleman, Lightfoot, Barnes and Thomas all either out or questionable.
Offensively, Colorado will notably be without five reserve linemen and the running back duo of Price and Taylor.
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Sep 20, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Arden Walker (53) dances after his sack for a safety on Wyoming Cowboys quarterback Kaden Anderson (12) in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Those expected to return after missing Colorado’s last game against the Iowa State Cyclones include defensive end Arden Walker, wide receiver Dre’lon Miller and safety Carter Stoutmire (probable).
“One thing that I really love about our guys, you don’t see our guys laying around on the field,” Sanders said. “They get up and they get off the darn field regardless of how hurt they are. That’s something that us coaches implemented. We don’t want to see you laying on the field because we have a rule: If you lay down there, we come out there to get you. You ain’t going back in.”
MORE: Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes Poised for Injury Comeback Week vs. Utah
MORE: Shedeur Sanders Proves Leadership Still Strong With Sideline Support for Dillon Gabriel
MORE: Utah Announces Major Injury News Before Playing Colorado Buffaloes
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Oct 11, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) scores a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the third quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images
QUESTIONABLE
According to Whittingham, Dampier was “beat up” during Utah’s loss to the BYU Cougars on Saturday.
“When Devon’s hobbled, that obviously causes you to rethink some of the QB run game,” Whittingham said Monday, per Utah. “You don’t completely go away from it, but when it’s a could go either way situation, you might opt to not do it because of his mobility. He got beat up in this game (BYU) pretty good.”
Kickoff between the Buffs and Utes is set for 8:15 p.m. MT on ESPN.
The Utah football team returns to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday for a Big 12 matchup against Colorado.
The third all-time meeting between Kyle Whittingham and Deion Sanders comes a week after the Utes fell to BYU in a physical and tightly-contested affair between in-state rivals.
Following its second loss of the season, Utah will look to get back on track against a Colorado squad that’s entering the matchup with some momentum following its first Big 12 win over Iowa State two weeks ago.
“We got to be at our best and be ready,” Whittingham said regarding Saturday’s contest. “I know they’re 3-4, but the combined record of those four losses of the teams they played is 25-3. They played some really good teams, and so they are much better football team than their record indicates.”
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As prognosticators send in their picks for Saturday’s matchup, let’s see how a few experts foresee the next installment of the Rumble in the Rockies rivalry game playing out.
Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic predicts the Utes will “get revenge” for the Buffaloes’ trouncing them at Folsom Field last season in a 49-24 win for Sanders and company with a double-digit win of their own on Saturday.
Of course, both sides look much different than when they last met. Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter has taken the helm under center for Colorado and is surrounded by Tulsa product Joseph Williams and third-year wideout Omarion Miller on the outside. Those two account for nearly 50% of the Buffaloes’ production through the air and rank in the top 20 in the Big 12 in receiving yards. Miller paces with 371, while Williams has 370.
Utah, meanwhile, has turned to junior quarterback Devon Dampier to lead one of the most potent rushing attacks in the country. Utah averages 245 yards on the ground per game — good enough for sixth-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision — with its dual-threat quarterback pacing the team with 442 rush yards through seven games (63.1 per contest).
Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon has Utah picking up its seventh consecutive home win over Colorado by a margin of 14 points. All five of the Utes’ victories this season have come in double-digit fashion.
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ESPN’s matchup predictor has been more favorable to the Utes since the start of the season, and that trend continues heading into their Week 9 matchup against the Buffaloes. Utah has a win probability rate of 83.3% according to ESPN’s advanced algorithm.
Utah, which was only favored in five of its 12 regular-season games heading into the 2025 campaign, according to ESPN analytics, is the favorite to win in all five of its remaining regular season games.
Bill Connelly’s SP+ model, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measurement of college football efficiency, predicts Utah will win comfortably over Colorado when they meet on the field Saturday.
Connelly’s metrics-based formulas have accurately predicted the winner in five of Utah’s seven games so far this season, with the exception being its losses to Texas Tech and BYU.
Odds Shark’s computer projections have Utah cruising to a 21-point win over Colorado on Saturday. That would be the Utes’ widest margin of victory over the Buffaloes since coming away with a 63-21 win in their 2022 matchup in Boulder, Colorado. If that prediction holds true, it would also be Utah’s sixth win of 20 or more points this season.
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