Jazz at Knicks
THE STORY: The New York Knicks have spent the season trying to
find a point guard capable of running coach Mike D’Antoni’s system. They
may have finally found their answer. Seldom-used reserve Jeremy Lin
stepped up Saturday and recorded 25 points, seven assists and one
turnover in a team-high 36 minutes. An afterthought who was claimed off
waivers on Dec. 27, Lin will get a chance to prove that performance was
no fluke when the Knicks host the Utah Jazz on Monday. The Jazz are
coming off their best defensive performance in weeks but are drawing
more headlines because of a “feud” between owner Greg Miller and former
star Karl Malone, who have traded bards on the radio and internet over
the last few days. That has taken the focus off an inconsistent on-court
product that has dropped four of its last seven games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Utah), MSG (New York), NBATV
ABOUT THE JAZZ (13-9):
Utah has lucked out with a home-heavy early schedule but will now begin
to pay the price with 13 of the next 18 on the road. The Jazz have
allowed an average of 113.3 points in their last four losses and sit
23rd in the league in scoring defense, surrendering 96.8. They showed a
stronger effort on that end Saturday, dictating the pace against the Los
Angeles Lakers in a 96-87 victory.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (9-15):
Baron Davis is still the point guard-in-waiting, but the longer it
takes him to get in shape, the longer Lin will have to prove he belongs
in the rotation over Iman Shumpert and Mike Bibby. New York needs all
the help it can get on offense and Lin showed an ability to work the
pick-and-roll, regularly feeding lobs to Tyson Chandler and Amare
Stoudemire. Still, the Knicks have won only three of their last 14 games
and questions continue to linger about D’Antoni’s job security.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. New York snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a 131-109 victory at Madison Square Garden last March.
2.
Lin saw little playing time as a rookie with Golden State in 2010-11
but did get into two games against Utah, averaging 2.5 points in just
under four minutes.
3. Jazz guard Raja Bell (adductor) returned
to the lineup Saturday after a four-game absence and scored five points
in 23 minutes.