The Knicks played even with the Jazz into the 4th quarter, and held an 89-88 lead with 9 minutes left — but Utah and especially Donovan Mitchell hit their shots at the end and the Knicks didn’t, resulting in the disappointing 113-104 loss — made worse by the game ending around 1am in the morning for Knick fans watching at home on a Monday night into Tuesday morning.
1. Knicks 17-0 3rd Quarter Run
This was the game of the Knicks’s 3rd quarter run. Utah was up by 4 points at the half but started to pull away at the start of the 3rd quarter — taking a 10-point lead, 68-58 with 9:53 left in the quarter.
The Knicks then went on a 17-0 run to take a 75-68 lead, and upped the lead to 12 points with 3 minutes left in the quarter.
The run was driven by Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Mitchell Robinson — Barrett driving to the hoop for buckets or drawing fouls, Randle scoring inside and out, and Mitchell Robinson feasting on alley oops or offensive rebounds and put backs. There was also a 3 by Evan Fournier in the middle of the run.
But Utah got the last 4 points of the quarter, the last on a Jordan Clarkson tip shot after Knicks had played excellent defense for most of the 24-second clock — a back breaker that put Utah 4 points down entering the 4th.
2. Robinson = The Incredible Hulk
Rudy Gobert was out,and Mitchell Robinson took advantage with a beast game. Robinson finished with 19 points on 8-11 shooting, 21 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks and had a +7.
Mitch bringing the energy early 🔋 pic.twitter.com/RBeMS4alaO
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 8, 2022
By late in the 4th quarter Robinson looked gassed however — especially when Donavan Mitchell snuck in behind him and grabbed a key offensive rebound over him with 4:04 left that led to a Udoka Azubuike score and Utah 100-97 lead.
Afterwards it was revealed that Robinson hurt his back and would be out a game, which explained the 4th quarter play.
3. Randle and Barrett = Batman & Robin
Julius Randle had 30 points on 10-20 shooting (2-5 from 3, 8-12 in free throws), 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
.@J30_RANDLE too strong 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/ufbXuXUfzN
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 8, 2022
RJ Barrett had 23 pts on 8-25 shooting (1-7 from 3, 6-8 in free throws), 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Mid-range (R)J pic.twitter.com/5HaIsOXvSx
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 8, 2022
Donavan Mitchell had 32 points, Bojan Bogdanovic had 20, and Knick killer Jordan Clarkson 20 points off the bench. Michael Conley had 18 points, made key plays in the 4th, and finished with a +18 — but shot poorly: 5-17 (2-10 from 3).
Be the first to comment