Utah Jazz vs New York Knicks Recap, Highlights, Final Score, More

The New York Knicks sent the sellout crowd unhappy as they lost a Sunday matinee to the Utah Jazz.

The New York Knicks suffered a bad loss to the Utah Jazz Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks built an early lead but were unable to hang on as the Jazz took advantage of a Knicks bench still trying to figure things out.

The Knicks were up by as many as 13 points in the first half but couldn’t hang on as the game went on. New York took a 10 point lead into the second quarter but were outscored in each quarter after that. After the first quarter, the Knicks were outscored 94-79 as their defense fell apart as well.

The Jazz shot nearly 70 percent in the second half as the Knicks had no answer on that side of the court. Utah took full advantage of the Knicks bench, as every player in the second unit had a negative plus/minus ratio for the Knicks. The Jazz staggered their rotation so their starts would face the Knicks bench to start the fourth quarter and it worked.

Joe Johnson, Rodney Hood, and Shelvin Mack got the Jazz off to a hot 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter. It was the deciding factor in the game as the Jazz went up by as many as nine and the Knicks couldn’t climb back into the game.

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Hood scored 12 points in the fourth quarter with two three-pointers. The Knicks struggled mightily defensively, especially in the pick-and-roll. The Jazz feasted in their pick-and-roll offense as George Hill and Mack got whatever they wanted in those sets.

The defensive side of the ball continues to be a big problem for the Knicks. You are not going to beat teams when you allow them to shoot nearly 70 percent in a half and foul. The Knicks fouled a lot at the end of the game to try and get back into the game, but even before that there was a huge discrepancy in attempts.

Utah took 35 free throws in the game, making 30, compared to only 17-of-19 for the Knicks. That all falls into the defensive effort for the Knicks, as they need to get things figured out on that end of the court.

Three Stars

SF Gordon Hayward, Jazz — Hayward made his season debut this afternoon and was visibly rusty. He didn’t get his shot going, as he was 6-for-17 from the field and 2-for-8 from deep. But, he made a living at the free-throw line, going 14-for-14 en route to a game-high tying 28 points. He also added five rebounds.

PG Derrick Rose, Knicks — Rose looks to be finding his groove a little bit offensively. He had only 10 assists the first four games of the season but has piled up 19 in the last two, eight coming against the Jazz. He also added 18 points tonight and continues to give the Knicks an element offensively they have lacked for years.

PF Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks — Porzingis had his hands full today with Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert. But, they also have their hands full trying to stop him as he had a big afternoon. He started off hot, scoring 14 of his 28 points in the first quarter. He nailed three three-pointers and the Knicks have to make a more concerted effort to get him the ball throughout the game.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/795323354026823681

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Next Game

The Knicks will have a couple days to try and figure things out as they do not play until Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets. The Jazz will continue their road trip with a visit to the Philadelphia 76ers.