Memphis (2-3) at Utah (3-2)

The Utah Jazz hope Matt Harpring’s return can help them bounce back from a tough loss as they host the Memphis Grizzlies at the Delta Center.

Despite a late run, the Jazz could not overcome a sluggish start Friday as they lost 95-89 to the Golden State Warriors. Andrei Kirilenko scored 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter for the Jazz, and converted all 11 of his free throws to give him 26 straight from the line to start the season.

However, Utah struggled without Harpring, who missed the game due to the death of his grandmother. Harpring scored in double figures each of the first four games, including a 32-point effort in a win over Minnesota last Monday. He is expected to return for this game.

Even with the loss, the Jazz have had a much better start than expected after the loss of long-time stars John Stockton (to retirement) and Karl Malone (to the Lakers) in the offseason.

“We don’t get a lot of respect and some of us take that personally,” said guard Raja Bell, who had a career-high 20 points starting in place of Harpring.

“We expect them to work hard when they come here and they’ve done that,” said Utah coach Jerry Sloan, who is in his 16th season coaching the Jazz. “Now when you work hard then you have a chance to get better.”

Guard DeShawn Stevenson, one of four players scoring in double figures this season at 12.5 points per game, feels the team is gaining confidence.

“We’ve got a lot of people that are talented and can put the ball in the hoop and we’ve got a coach that stays on us to get better every night,” he said. “We just need to keep being disciplined and everything else will work out.”

The Grizzlies are 0-2 so far on their western road trip with losses at Phoenix and Portland. Pau Gasol scored 23 points for Memphis, which did not have a lead after the first three minutes in its 96-88 loss to Phoenix on Friday.

The Suns, who are minus-30 in rebounding this season, dominated Memphis 47-30 in that category.

“They beat us by 17 rebounds, the same problem we had with Portland,” Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown said. “The starting front line had three rebounds. That’s hard to do.”

The Grizzlies struggled from 3-point range as well, going just 4-for-27.