Knicks Score 11 First Quarter Points… Lose to Jazz 106-85

Wednesday night the New York Knicks took on the Utah Jazz, and the Jazz was playing some sweet music.

Four minutes from tip-off New York found themselves down double figures… Utah started the game with three consecutive three-pointers. Gordon Hayward started the game with back-to-back three-pointers and finished the first quarter with 13 points. Hayward went a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter. By the time Hayward hit his third triple, the Jazz were up 23-8 midway through the period.

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New York is the best team at defending the three, forcing opponents to shoot a league low 30.8% from beyond the arc, allowing the second least amount of opponent three-pointers per game; at 6.5 per NBA.com. Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks knocked down 13 three-pointers at a 41.9% conversion rate. The Knicks were actually fortunate more three-pointers were not converted as the Mavericks missed a good amount of wide open three-pointers.

The Knicks only scored 11 points in the first quarter! 11! Utah held New York to 21.7% shooting from the field, as the Jazz led by as many as 32 points in the first half, going into halftime with a 60-35 lead. Derrick Favors added 16 points of his total 20 points in the first half to add to Hayward’s three-point onslaught.

Utah got whatever they wanted, shooting 50% from the field. The Jazz also shared the ball well, with everyone touching the ball and scoring. Utah collected 17 assists on 25 first half made field goals.

Hayward and Favors continued right where they left off in the second half. The duo combined to to score ten points coming out of intermission to ignite a 10-2 run to give Utah a 70-37 lead with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter.

Feed up with the starter’s effort, coach Derek Fisher substituted in the bench unit and they played with a lot more heart. With the bench in the game, New York went on a 18-2 run to cut the deficit down to 72-55 with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter.

Utah though… responded with a run of their own to end the period. In particular Trey Burke, who personally led the Jazz on a 10-1 run to essentially put the game away for good. Burke scored eight points and dished it off for a Trevor Booker slam dunk in the run to give the Jazz a 85-59 lead after three quarters of play.

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Fisher waved the white flag early with another game against the Sacramento Kings the next night, as the starters never got back into the game. The starters were awful on Wednesday night anyways… Superstar Carmelo Anthony went 3/11 from the field to score 12 points, while rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis had his worst game of the year… going 2/8 to score four points.

This was one game to forget… as the Knicks went on to lose 106-85.

New York saw why the Jazz are a top four defensive team in the league, allowing only 96.8 points per game per NBA.com. Although the Jazz mostly force opponents to score so little by controlling pace of the game (slowest in the league per ESPN), but tonight Utah looked like a high octane offensive team… The Jazz made sweet music from behind the arc in the first half, connecting on six three-pointers!

Hayward finished the game with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and went a perfect 4/4 from downtown. Burke destroyed the Knicks off the bench, by scoring 15 points and collecting 5 assists. Burke also did damage from beyond the arc as well, knocking down three triples.

Next: Carmelo Anthony Expresses Frustration with Inconsistency

At least the starters should be well rested for the Kings… that is a plus… I guess…