by Alma Bean
Feature Image: Photo by Bryan Woolston of the Associated Press.
The Utah Jazz (28-29) takes on the New York Knicks (30-27) on the second night of a back-to-back after a win for Utah on Friday.
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The start of this game looked like it was going to be the battle of the guards. Jalen Brunson (38/3/5) and Collin Sexton (15/2/5) started off the game hot with Brunson leading all scorers with 15 points and Sexton with seven points. The game seemed to be a call and response till New York went on an 11-2 run starting around the three-minute mark. Though a run like that can kill a team’s confidence, two unlikely heroes for Utah brought them back. Rudy Gay (9/2/1) made a clutch three with six seconds left in the quarter. New York’s Immanuel Quickley (16/5/1) tried to take the ball up the court but, Talen Horton-Tucker (23/2/7) was able to steal the ball and hit a buzzer-beating three and recognition from Spike Lee to end the quarter. With that three, Utah finished the quarter trailing 33-28.
Though the game was tight going into the second quarter, things felt off for Utah. All-Star Lauri Markkanen (29/5/3) struggled for the entire first half. Markkanen made his first field goal at the 7:56 mark in the first quarter and didn’t make another till the 5:41 mark in the second quarter, excluding free throws. Thankfully for Utah, they matched New York in shooting from the field. Both made 11 field goals, two from the perimeter and nine from within, but the minimal separation came from the free throw line. New York shot 5/8 (62.5%) and Utah went 4/5 (80%). That one-point difference gave New York a 62-56 lead going into the half.
Utah Jazz on Twitter: “Dok try that again 🙅 #TakeNote | @udoka35 https://t.co/qDLZM5pM1P” / Twitter
4 Pennsylvania Plaza
Coming back from the half, felt like both teams were trying to force a high-scoring quarter, but did the opposite. Both teams combined 3/19 (15.8%) from the perimeter for the quarter. Julius Randle (31/6/2) continued to create space for New York. Randle shot 4/8 (50%) for the quarter including 3/4 (75%) within the arc. Even with Randle accounting for 10 of New York’s 25 points, Utah began to crawl back into the game trailing 87-84.
The fourth quarter was a quarter of scoring. Both teams scored a total of 75 points in the final quarter. New York was able to put their trust in newly acquired guard Josh Hart (11/7/4) who scored eight points in the fourth on 2/3 (66.7%) shooting from the perimeter. Markkanen was able to end his game-long drought of a perimeter shot in the fourth continuing his streak for at least one three made over the last 44 games. With Utah’s inability to knock down the three-ball was their downfall as they lost to New York 126-120.
What’s Next
Utah will travel to face the Indiana Pacers in their third game of their four-game road trip on Monday.