Harpring was hospitalized briefly on Wednesday for dehydration, the Jazz announced a day later, but the reserve forward is back at home and recovering from his second major bout with stomach illness of the season.

That previous virus also kept him away from the team for two games just after Christmas, including Utah's last visit to San Antonio. Now the Jazz will face the Spurs without Harpring again, after the team decided to leave him behind on Thursday.

Assuming he recovers in the interim, Harpring, who missed Utah's division-clinching victory over Minnesota on Wednesday, will fly to Houston on Saturday and participate in the Jazz's light practice, senior vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor said. "We expect he will play on Sunday" against the Rockets, O'Connor said.

So will Paul Millsap, though he will do so with an injured pinkie knuckle on his right hand. The rookie forward said he believed he suffered the injury when he got his fingers tangled in another player's jersey under the basket. He iced the hand after the game and believed it was only a sprain, but X-rays revealed an avulsion fracture, or a slight tearing away of the ligament from the bone in his knuckle.

"He's going to play with it taped, because there's no chance of further injury," O'Connor said. "When he's not playing, he'll have a splint on it, and he'll play as pain dictates."

Pain has dictated that Gordan Giricek not play for five straight games, and while his condition has continued to improve, his availability for today's game remains questionable.

Giricek will practice this morning, but only play if his bruised ribs are able to take contact without pain, something that has yet to happen since Philadelphia's Samuel Dalembert knocked him to the ground two weeks ago.

Defensive standing

Here's a quiz sure to stump even the most devout Jazz fan: What five NBA teams are the best at defending three-pointers (by percentage of successful shots)?

The answer: The Spurs, Cavaliers, Pistons, Clippers and . . .

Yep, the Jazz.

Only 34.6 percent of three-pointers are successful against Utah's defense, a considerable improvement on, say, Memphis' 39 percent. And the Jazz's defense has gotten better as the season has gone on. Only 28.2 percent have fallen in March. Take away the Warriors' hot shooting night last week, and the percentage falls to 24.2 percent in 12 games.

The reason? Derek Fisher suggests the credit for the good perimeter defense belongs with the interior defenders.

"Our big guys deserve the thanks for that. [Carlos] Boozer, Paul [Millsap], Jarron [Collins], and Hoffa [Rafael Araujo] have come in and given us a lot of defensive intensity," Fisher said.

pmiller@sltrib.com