Knicks at Jazz
The New York Knicks showed some life in pulling out a win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday and may have just enough left to make the playoffs. The Knicks will attempt to cut into their one-game deficit in the Eastern Conference when they close out a five-game road trip at the Utah Jazz on Monday. New York is chasing the fading Atlanta Hawks, who left the door open with a six-game slide and host the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
The Knicks continued their up-and-down road trip with a strong performance at Golden State, stepping up defensively over the final three quarters to pull out a win despite Carmelo Anthony not performing at his best. New York lost at the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns by a combined 55 points while knocking off the Warriors and Sacramento Kings on the trip. The Jazz look like an easy target with a four-game losing streak and setbacks in 15 of their last 17 games. Utah is on the second night of a back-to-back as well after falling at Oklahoma City on Sunday.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), Root Sports (Utah)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (31-43): New York will get a chance to make or break its season against its direct competition when it heads home to begin a stretch of seven straight against East playoff contenders closing out the regular season. The Knicks looked like a team that might be able to run that gauntlet on Sunday, when they closed out the game with an 8-3 burst to overtake the Warriors 89-84. Anthony struggled to 19 points on 7-of-21 shooting but scored twice in the final 83 seconds to help put it away.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (23-51): Utah finished up an unsuccessful two-game road trip with the Thunder but will play five of its final eight games at home as it attempts to avoid the bottom spot in the West. The Jazz are searching for small things to cheer about, and the continued maturation of Enes Kanter has been a bright spot. The 21-year-old collected his fourth double-double in the last six games with 18 points and 12 boards in the 116-96 loss to Oklahoma City and forms a frontcourt along with Derrick Favors that could provide the team with a building block for the future.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Knicks have taken five straight in the series, including a 108-81 home win on Mar. 7.
2. New York F Amar’e Stoudemire has scored in double figures in 14 straight games.
3. Utah G Trey Burke is shooting 33.9 percent from the field in the last five games.