At the end of a long road trip, the Utah Jazz were again in the Big Apple, looking to do something better than their last outing, a blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets - a game where they looked shell-shocked most of the night.
Would they have a respite from the same old tune they have been hearing lately - get behind early, then fight back for a while before getting blown away by the other team?
Sadly, there was no happy ending for the Jazz in Madison Square Garden tonight. Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo made sure of that, scoring from outside early and often to keep the Jazz on the ropes all night long.
The best that the Jazz could do was the first half, where they kept things close. They even led early in the first quarter, before the Knicks stormed back and started to figure out the Jazz defense.
And the Knicks weren't whole - they were missing two key players - OG Anunoby and Julius Randle, and went small with 3 guards and picked up the tempo to avoid getting in a slow down, dragged-out game with the Jazz.
The Knicks blew things open in the 3rd quarter after the Jazz closed within 1 point early. They lit up the Jazz with a 27-2 run that really broke the game and set the tone the rest of the way. There were a lot of questionable calls and a Will Hardy technical during this time.
Ultimately the Jazz fell behind by 25 points, before fighting back to lose by 15.
Brunson and DiVincenzo combined for 62 points on the night, and their teammates chipped in enough to keep the Jazz guessing on defense.
Turnovers hurt the Jazz tonight, with 14, compared to only 5 by the Knicks. They just struggled to keep the ball under control and tried to race with the Knicks' pace, which was a mistake.
One of the harder things to watch tonight was Jordan Clarkson's struggles. He played 31 minutes and had 11 points, but was a -19 by the end of the night. He was burned continuously by the Knicks' bigger, more physical players.
Lauri Markkanen had another rough night, going 5-14 from the field for 14 points.
Thankfully the Jazz are done with their 2-4 road trip and come home for a Thursday matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, who will likely have Joel Embiid this time, but without Tyrese Maxey. Let's hope the Jazz can get back on track soon.