LOS ANGELES -- For the second straight game,
Los Angeles Lakers guard
Steve Nashstarted but could not finish, exiting at halftime Tuesday of a 96-79 loss to the
Utah Jazzbecause of an ongoing nerve-root irritation in his left leg.
Nash registered two points on 1-for-4 shooting, two assists and one rebound in 17 minutes against the Jazz.
The 40-year-old Nash's left leg made contact with Chicago's
Kirk Hinrich on Sunday near the same spot where he suffered a fracture in the leg last season.
The loss was the Lakers' sixth straight at home, which tied a franchise worst.
Tuesday was also a significant night for Nash, though he played sparingly.
It was Nash's 10th game of the season, an important milestone because it ruled out the option of a medical retirement and having his entire $9.7 million salary for 2014-15 come off the Lakers' books.
If a veteran player participates in fewer than 10 games in a season and is found physically unable to play by team and league doctors, he can become eligible for the medical retirement route.