Jazz at Knicks
The Western Conference is packed so tight from third place to eighth that any team can make a run at homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason with a hot stretch. The Utah Jazz are on such a run right now and will try to push their winning streak to five in a row when they visit the NBA-worst New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Utah won its last four games by an average of 18.5 points and began a four-game road trip with a 115-96 drubbing of the Washington Wizards on Monday. "We moved the ball," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters after watching his team shoot 53.8 percent from the floor against the Wizards. "We're an unselfish team and we get sloppy at certain points, but for the most part we did a good job. If we can generate open jump shots, that's great. Particularly, if we're attacking the rim and guys are making the extra pass, it gives you confidence when you shoot the ball." The Knicks snapped an eight-game losing streak with a rousing, late-second win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday but dropped right back down to earth with a 128-92 loss at Toronto the next night. New York shot 32.9 percent from the floor in the loss and went 8-of-36 from 3-point range.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (41-29): Utah handed out 35 assists on 49 field goals Monday and did not have any player score more than Donovan Mitchell's 19 points in a well-rounded effort. "It's just driving the ball, moving the ball. We are an unselfish team," Mitchell told reporters. "There are times we moved it too many times, too much, got shot clock violations, got turnovers, but we prefer to have that mindset. I think guys love making the right plays and finding the right guys when they are open." Center Rudy Gobert went 6-of-6 from the floor and finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds in his fifth straight double-double.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (14-57): New York coach David Fizdale was so frustrated by breakdowns defensively among his starters early in the third quarter on Monday that he called a timeout and replaced all five players. "Not getting it done," Fizdale told reporters. "Not playing at the level I want to see the game played at. Everyone out there owned it. I can't waste a minute to let them wallow." Allonzo Trier led the reserves with a team-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the setback.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Jazz PF Derrick Favors (hamstring) left Monday's game and is day-to-day.
2. Knicks rookie C Mitchell Robinson blocked three shots on Monday to tie Patrick Ewing's franchise rookie record with at least one block in 28 straight games.
3. Utah crushed New York 129-97 at home on Dec. 29 behind 25 points and 16 rebounds from Gobert.