Jazz at Knicks
The New York Knicks got themselves up for a revenge game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday and hope to carry some of that momentum forward when they host the Utah Jazz on Sunday. Knicks center Joakim Noah delivered his best performance of the young season against his former team while fellow former Bull Derrick Rose finally began to look comfortable running a new offense.
Noah totaled eight points in the first four games but doubled that mark with 16 in the 117-104 win at Chicago while Rose, a Chicago native who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Bulls in 2008 and won an MVP award with his hometown team, added 15 points and season highs of 11 assists and seven rebounds. “All this takes time,” Rose told reporters of adjusting to the Knicks. “Us moving the ball, us spreading the floor, the spacing of everyone, me having the patience to wait until everyone gets in the spots before we actually run the offense ... it takes time." The Jazz need some time to figure things out on the offensive end as well after shooting 37.5 percent from the floor in a 100-86 home loss to San Antonio on Friday. Utah, which won at the Spurs last week, is beginning a five-game road trip and will play seven of the next nine away from home.
TV: Noon ET, ROOT (Utah), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (3-3): Small forward and last season's leading scorer Gordon Hayward warmed up before the game on Friday but there is still no timetable for his return as he heals a broken finger on his non-shooting hand. Utah could use more on the offensive end from power forward Derrick Favors, who averaged 16.4 points on 51.5 percent shooting last season but is down to eight points on 33.3 percent in five games in 2016-17. Favors, who missed the season opener with a knee injury and came off the bench in his first two games back, logged a season-high 27 minutes on Friday and went 3-of-13 from the field.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (2-3): Rose and Noah absorbed the bulk of the spotlight in their return to Chicago but two other players enjoyed their best games of the season as well in power forward Kristaps Porzingis and shooting guard Courtney Lee. Porzingis managed three points on 0-of-4 shooting in a 118-99 home loss to Houston on Wednesday but scored a season-best 27 points on 10-of-15 from the field on Friday. Lee, who was brought in along with Noah and Rose as part of New York's offseason overhaul, added a season-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and buried his only 3-point attempt.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Utah PG George Hill is 12-of-21 from 3-point range in the last four games.
2. Knicks SF Lance Thomas (ankle) sat out Friday and is questionable.
3. New York snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with a 118-111 overtime win at home in the most recent meeting on Jan. 20.