Jazz hope to snap skid vs. Knicks
SALT LAKE CITY -- Snapping a three-game slump is critical for the Utah Jazz in a tightening race for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Utah returns home to face the New York Knicks on Wednesday night after dropping three games to close out a four-game Midwestern road trip. The Jazz averaged just 89.7 points per contest in losses to Cleveland, Chicago and Indiana and shot under 30 percent from the perimeter each time.
"You're only as good as your last game, and our last game is a loss," Utah coach Quin Snyder said after Monday's 107-100 loss to the Pacers. "A couple of games ago in Detroit, we felt pretty good about ourselves. We have to find a way to keep grinding and winning. We've got to get home and get back to it."
Utah (43-28) is currently enjoying a three-game winning streak at home, most recently beating the Los Angeles Clippers 114-108 on March 13. Gordon Hayward averaged 20.7 points over those three games while George Hill averaged 26.5 points in wins over the Clippers and Nets.
Hayward is coming off a season-high 38 points on 16-of-24 shooting against the Pacers. It represented a bounce-back performance for the all-star forward after he averaged just 15.3 points in his previous four road games and shot under 35 percent from the field in three of the four contests.
Scoring outbursts -- like the one he enjoyed against the Pacers -- mean little to Hayward when they don't accompany wins.
"I would rather have zero points and win the game," Hayward said.
Victories have become equally scarce for the Knicks in March. New York chalked up its fifth loss in six games after falling to the Clippers 114-105 on Monday night.
Kristaps Porzingis returned from a one-game absence due to a thigh bruise to score 18 points and pull down 11 rebounds. It wasn't nearly enough for the Knicks, who trailed by 25 points after three quarters.
New York (27-43) has lost three straight road games heading into Utah. Finishing the season strong is a priority for the Knicks, who are 7 1/2 games outside of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 12 games remaining.
"We want to finish the season and not give up," Porzingis said. "Obviously, we're not where we want to be at this point in the season, but we just got to keep fighting. Individually, keep working and keep growing. That's it. Game by game."
Bench play has provided a highlight for the Knicks over the last two games. New York has gotten 41.0 points per game in those contests from its second unit -- highlighted by a 23-point outburst on 10-of-15 shooting from center Kyle O' Quinn.
"That second team does it all the time in practice," Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. "They just play hard. They're willing to hit the open guy and they move. There's back cuts. We had two or three back cuts (against the Clippers). We just have guys who are willing to make those moves and the ball gets moved around a little bit."
