That number will jump again tonight, when the battered Jazz visit San Antonio.

Carlos Boozer is the latest addition to Utah's list of wounded in action. He suffered a strained quadriceps tendon with 3:55 left in Wednesday night's 105-94 win over Milwaukee.

Boozer hobbled off the court, underwent an MRI exam on Thursday morning and is listed as doubtful for the game against the Spurs.

He's not alone.

Backup center Jarron Collins (elbow) won't play. The availability of point guard Deron Williams (ankle), backup point guard Brevin Knight (abductor strain) and swingman Kyle Korver (wrist) won't be determined until game time.

The good news for Utah?

Center Memo Okur (back spasms) and forward Matt Harpring (ankle) are expected to play, but they could still be rusty after just returning to the lineup.

Coach Jerry Sloan simply shrugs his shoulders over a situation that is unprecedented for the Jazz.

"Everybody has [injuries]," Sloan said. "The only thing you can do the best you can - see if your guys are going to fight back. Our guys have played pretty hard, for the most part, here at home. We haven't played as hard on the road as we're capable of playing."

That's bad news, considering the Jazz are headed to San Antonio, where they haven't won since 1999.

According to Sloan, he has witnessed only one injury outbreak like the one that continues to plague the Jazz during his 4 1/2 decades in the NBA.

In 1979-80, Sloan coached in Chicago, where the Bulls were expected to be a contender. But All-Star center Artis Gilmore injured his knee in the fourth game and played only half a season.

The Bulls finished 30-52.

"We thought we were going to have a pretty good team," Sloan said. "But Artis got hurt and it seemed everybody else got hurt after that, too. It's just something you can't do anything about. There's not anybody out there that wants to get hurt. They just have to try and take care of themselves and get healthy."

Assuming Boozer can't play - and depending on who else is available - Sloan could start sixth-man Andrei Kirilenko at power forward against San Antonio. Or, he could keep Kirilenko as the anchor of his second unit and start 19-year-old rookie Kosta Koufos, who played well in four starts last week while Okur was visiting his critically ill father in Turkey.

"I might get some minutes out of the young kid - to see where he is [and] let him have a chance to improve," Sloan said.

Meanwhile, Williams did not seem optimistic about returning against San Antonio.

After Thursday morning's practice, he said, "I'm not ready to go. When I'm on the court and you see me playing, you'll know I'm ready to go."

With Knight also sidelined against Milwaukee, Ronnie Price played 40 minutes. He finished with 16 points, six assists and only one turnover.

"He played well," Williams said. "He took care of the ball. He struggled a little bit with his shot, but he found it in the second half and came up big for us."

Said Sloan: "Ronnie Price gave us a terrific effort to finish the game."

In the fourth quarter, when Utah finished rallying from a 10-point deficit, Price scored 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting.

"I've never really been in that position in my career," he said. "Of course, I've tried to prepare myself to handle it. [But] to actually be able to do it is another story. It's a whole different deal."

luhm@sltrib.com