JAZZ HOLD ON TO BEAT KNICKS AT HOME

The Utah Jazz have won their past two games, but it’s the way they’ve won that is giving cause for concern.  On Monday night, Utah blew a 24 point lead before another late game flurry allowed them to beat the New York Knicks 112-104 at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.  This came after the Jazz blew a 21 point lead to the Phoenix Suns at home on Saturday night before winning in overtime.

Deron Williams led the Jazz with 24 points and 13 assists, with Carlos Boozer also posting a ‘double/double’ with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  Utah’s shooting guard tandem of Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver contributed 17 and 16 respectively, while Paul Milsap had 12 points and 7 boards off the bench.  The Knicks were led by 24 from Al Harrington, along with David Lee’s ‘double/double’ effort comprised of 21 points and 10 rebounds.  Wilson Chandler added 14 for New York in a losing cause.

After the game, the Jazz locker room was more concerned about another blown lead than pleased with the victory.  Coach Jerry Sloan shared these thoughts:

"We just kind of stood around and didn't execute our offense. There's a difference between moving on it and just kind of flopping around."

Deron Williams said that the team’s inability to hold big leads meant more minutes for the starters:

"It's tough when you get up 20 against a team at home. You kind of relax a little bit and I think that's the case of the last two games. It's unfortunate that we couldn't get more rest like we wanted to and finished those games out early."

The Knicks’ head coach Mike D’Antoni, conversely, was pleased at his team’s effort despite the loss:

"The players really came out focused and did a great job the second half. The first half, we were just running in the mud and just didn't play well.”

Al Harrington suggested that the second have comeback was indicative of the team’s tough character:

"We had a terrific half, showed a lot of character and played extremely well in the second half. We played as hard as we could and when you play that hard you usually make good plays."

Utah won their fifteenth straight home game to improve their mark at the Energy Solutions Arena to 32-6, a marked contrast to their woeful 14-21 road record.  The Jazz will play an important game against the Blazers at Portland on Tuesday night before heading to Denver to face the Nuggets on Thursday.  They’ll return home to meet the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.  The Knicks will travel to Denver on Tuesday night before a ‘home and home’ series against the Toronto Raptors.  New York will host Toronto at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, with the return match on the Raptors’ home court Sunday afternoon.