Markkanen leaves early as Jazz fall to Kings for 4th straight loss

SALT LAKE CITY — Lauri Markkanen clutched his back in pain at the end of the first half and went to the locker room.

He never came back to court.

A day after Taylor Hendricks suffered a season-ending injury, the Jazz got more bad news: Markkanen missed the second half Tuesday with a lower back spasm.

Not surprisingly, any fleeting hope for Utah’s chances went with him. The Sacramento Kings made light work of the depleted Jazz with a 113-96 victory.

Utah has now opened the season by dropping its first four games. While Markkanen’s injury may or may not be serious, the Jazz face the challenge of filling Hendricks’ minutes.

So where do they turn?

“There’s going to be a couple guys,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.

On Tuesday, rookie Cody Williams got his first start in place of Hendricks. He finished with 9 points and two assists in 28 minutes. Kyle Filipowski will also now be part of the rotation; the rookie big man had 12 points and eight rebounds – and even started the second half after Markkanen’s injury.

“It’s going to be a little bit night-to-night over the next few weeks as we try to figure out how this group now fits together,” Hardy said. “Because there are some voids with Taylor that we have to try to fill.”

This story will be updated.