Tag: Utah Jazz

[Video] More 4th Quarter Failings: Jazz 108, Knicks 101

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We’ve come to the point in the season where most Knick fans have accepted we’re a bad team. You either continue to watch games out of habit, to see if our younger players further develop, or hope we’ll continue to lose to gain better draft position. You can put me in all categories as we limp to the end of the season having dropped six of our last seven.

KP GETS CLUTCH MINUTES: Porzingis got in foul trouble AGAIN (5), but managed to stay on the court and get to be the offensive focal point in the fourth. We desperately need him to get confidence and use his length to space the floor for others. While he had a strong offensive night (24 points), he struggled defensively dealing with the strength of Rudy Gobert, who posted a career-high 35 points and grabbed 13 boards (11 on the offensive glass).

ROSE STOPPED BY INJURY: D-Rose was having a good night (17 points, 6 points) until a right foot injury took him out in the third. He would not return, and luckily x-rays came back negative.

The rest of the team seemed to be just going through the motions. There wasn’t any flow to the offense late in the fourth, and that allowed Utah to outscore New York 36-26 in the fourth.

The tank…er…season continues on tonight with the Knicks visiting the Trailblazers.

 

[Video] Melo the Facilitator: Knicks 104, Jazz 81

Chandler

Phil Jackson hasn’t even got here yet and the team is already playing better. In all seriousness, the Knicks vowed to build on their Timberwolves win and did just that in completely dominating the Utah Jazz for a 108-81 blowout victory. There were several key contributions, namely Melo’s season-high 8 assists, that made this game an easy one almost from the opening tip.

CAREER-HIGH START: The Knick burst out the gate with 39 points in the first quarter (season-high) on 70%shooting. As usual, Carmelo Anthony lead the barrage with 18 points, including a nifty four-point play. More impressive than his scoring, Melo made sure to move the ball quickly out of double teams and fed the hot hand (JR Smith). This lead to everyone being more active on defense as the Jazz were held to 22 points.

NO LET UP: The second unit of Prigioni, Hardaway Jr., Tyler, Clark, and Shumpert gave up an 11-4 run to start the second. Luckily, the Knicks had built a decent cushion. Once Melo, Stat and Chandler returned, the domination resumed. Stoudemire showed defensive competency in drawing a charge on Richard Jefferson and blocking Derrick Favors at the rim. Felton was finding Chandler at will for alley oops. And Melo had a constant smirk on his face over the fact Jefferson was trying to guard him. When the halftime buzzer sounded, the Knicks had a 60-41 score lead by Melo’s 22 points and 5 assists.

EXTENDED GARBAGE TIME: The Jazz hung around for the early part of the third but never got it to single digits. Melo continued torching Jefferson, and Chandler ran amuck with dunks and controlled the boards (16 points, 11 rebounds). Outside of Felton, every starter hit double figures. They were allowed to rest all of the fourth with the bench holding the lead and young guys like Aldrich and Tyler getting much-needed burn.

FAVORABLE RESULTS: The Knicks are going to need some help to make the playoffs and they got it from everyone last night. The teams in front of them (Pistons, Cavaliers, Hawks) all lost, and New York can jump in front of the Cavs with a win tonight.

We’re not dead yet, people.

[youtube http://youtu.be/UX5L_ey6n7E]

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[youtube http://youtu.be/z_4CwuxJj1s]