Markkanen is out early as the Jazz lose to the Kings for the fourth straight year

SALT LAKE CITY — Lauri Markkanen grabbed his back in pain late in the first half and headed to the locker room.

He never returned to court.

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

Not surprisingly, any fleeting hope for Utah's chances disappeared with him. The Sacramento Kings made light work of the exhausted Jazz with a 113-96 win.

Utah has now opened the season and lost 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 will be a few guys there,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.

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

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

This story will be updated.