Jazz Can Avenge Last Loss Against Knicks

Jan 25, 2021, 3:42 PM | Updated: 3:51 pm

Alec Burks, Immanuel Quickley, and Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It seemed unlikely after blowing an 18 point first half lead to the New York Knicks that the Utah Jazz were on the verge of becoming the NBA’s most dominant team. And yet, since the January 6 112-100 loss, the Jazz have been unbeatable.

The team is a perfect 8-0 over the last three weeks and will have a chance to avenge their last loss when they host the Knicks on Tuesday night at Vivint Arena.

The game marks the fourth contest in the Jazz six-game homestand which has seen the home team dominate their opponents.

Jazz Win Streak By The Numbers

Since dropping their game to the Knicks, the Jazz have been juggernauts on both ends of the floor. The team is 117.9 points per game while allowing just 102 by their opponents.

The Jazz are shooting a staggering 43.8 threes per game during the streak, and hitting an improbable 43 percent of their attempts. According to ESPN Stats and Info, it’s the best eight-game stretch of shooting by any team in NBA history.

https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW's Power Rankings, Week 6

See where all 30 teams rank after the first five weeks of the 2020-21 season. (via @johnschuhmann)https://t.co/CaFJyjRs6e pic.twitter.com/bdIe2NUeoP

— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2021

The team has the second-best offensive rating during the stretch at 118.8, trailing only the Los Angeles Clippers, and the third-best defensive rating at 103.3, trailing the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Jazz 15.5 net rating during the stretch is the best in the NBA.

Donovan Mitchell has led the Jazz in scoring over the last eight games, averaging 27.3 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three, and 89 percent from the free-throw line. The guard is also adding 5.0 assists per game and 4.6 rebounds.

Mike Conley leads the NBA in plus-minus over the last eight games at +19.4. All-NBA center Rudy Gobert ranks second in the league over the same stretch at +17.9.

There's a lot of talk about Mike Conley's +/- over the last eight games, in which he leads the league at +19.4.

Lost in that is that Rudy Gobert is second in the NBA at 17.9.

Those two together this year have been incredibly tough on opponents.

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 25, 2021

It should come as no surprise that the two share similar results as coach Quin Snyder has largely tied the two players’ substitution patterns together within the rotation.

The Jazz are coming off a 127-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in which they held a 40 point lead before the team’s reserves allowed the lead to be halved.

Knicks Have Declined Since Jazz Win

As the Jazz have climbed near the top of the Western Conference standings, the Knicks have been in sharp decline. After the January 6 win, New York dropped five consecutive games before winning three straight, followed by two losses heading into Tuesday night’s game.

The Knicks are shooting just 42 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three which is third-worst in the NBA and scoring 100 points per game, the lowest average by any team during the stretch.

Showed our grit. Road trip continues in Utah on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/wpUDReb5U4

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 25, 2021

New York is led in scoring by forward Julius Randle at 22.7 points per game, while second-year guard RJ Barrett contributes 17.4 points on average. Randle led the Knicks with 30 points and 16 rebounds in the two teams’ last meeting.

Former Jazzman Alec Burks returned to the Knicks last week after a 12 game absence due to an ankle injury. The guard is averaging 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists over the last three games while shooting 35 percent from the floor but a promising 43 percent from three.

The Knicks lost Sunday night to the Portland Trail Blazers 116-113.

Key Matchup

The key matchup between the Jazz and Knicks features New York rookie Immanuel Quickley and Jazzman Jordan Clarkson in a battle of high-scoring sixth men.

Clarkson is the front-runner for the NBA’s Sixth Man Of The Year Award as the league’s leading scorer off the bench. The guard is averaging a career-high 17.4 points per game this season while shooting 48 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three, and 96 percent from the free-throw line.

21 in the 4th.

The rook battled tonight in Portland notching a career-high 31 points. pic.twitter.com/vGNHsSglIW

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 25, 2021

Quickley meanwhile has been of the league’s best rookies despite being drafted with the 25th overall pick towards the end of the first round.

The Kentucky product is averaging 11 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the floor and 37 percent from the free-throw line. Quickley scored a career-high 31 points in 24 minutes off the bench in the Knicks’ loss to the Trail Blazers.