Jazz 131 – Knicks 125

Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

—

It was nice of the Knicks to agree to play church ball with the Jazz on Wednesday night. New York shot 29 threes (hitting 14 for a 48% clip) while the Jazz launched 22 of their own (hitting 10 for 45%). The hot shooting combined with strange officiating, technical fouls and no commitment to defense made the entire game feel like the ESA was a local stake center.

Anonymous Knicks Bill Walker and Shawne Williams combined for 48 points and 10 threes while eating popcorn and hanging out alone in the corners. On the other end, Raja Bell and CJ Miles went 4-8 and 4-9 and scored 18 and 24 points, respectively.

It was the last night of a long road trip for the Knicks, who also played late last night in Portland. The Jazz looked sharp after three days off.

From a lineup standpoint, it was interesting that Paul Millsap never re-entered the game after leaving with 1:44 left in the 3rd quarter. There was no word about any injury, and Mehmet Okur, CJ Miles, new U.S. citizen Andrei Kirilenko, Deron Williams and Raja Bell played the fourth quarter as the pesky Knicks wouldn’t go away. Jerry Sloan mentioned that Okur was playing well after missing six games with a lower back injury. Sloan also seems much more likely to let a player ride a hot streak than I’ve seen in the past.

Up next for the Jazz is re-visit to SLC from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. It will be a sparse reunion with most of the key players from last year’s Sundiata Game missing. No LeBron, no Shaq, no Korver, no Booz, and of course, no Sundiata Gaines. Still, it will be an important getaway game for the Jazz before they hit the road for a big East Coast swing. Next week the Jazz play four games on the road at the Wizards, Nets, Celtics, and 76ers before coming home to take on the Lakers. It will be interesting to see how the Cavs respond after being annihilated by the Lakers on Tuesday in a 112-57 loss.

—

ESPN AP Recap | Boxscore | ESPN New York Rapid Reaction

Next Game: Cavs at Jazz
Friday, January 14, 2011
7:00 PM MST | Energy Solutions Arena