Collin Sexton scored 26 points and Lauri Markkanen returned strong from an eight-game absence to lead the host Utah Jazz to a 117-113 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.
Markkanen scored 23 points with four 3-pointers on 7-of-13 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in his first action in three weeks since straining his left hamstring.
Horton-Tucker scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer that gave the Jazz a 110-96 lead with 3:52 to go as Utah snapped a three-game losing streak.
Julius Randle led all players with 32 points and 12 rebounds, and added six assists, but New York gave up an early double-digit lead and couldn’t quite overcome a late 14-point deficit.
Jalen Brunson contributed 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Donte DiVincenzo totaled 21 points, seven boards and four steals.
New York began a late comeback attempt with a 7-0 streak that cut the Jazz’s 14-point lead in half with three minutes left. Utah still held a seven-point edge after Sexton hit two free throws with 1:55 remaining.
The Knicks, playing their first game of a five-game Western road trip, trimmed the deficit to three with little less than a minute to play after Randle and Brunson each made two foul shots. New York then squandered an opportunity to tie the game when Josh Hart and Brunson missed 3-pointers in one possession with less than 30 seconds to go.
Kelly Olynyk, who hit two key free throws to seal the win, finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Utah rookie Keyonte George didn’t return after limping off the court following a foot injury in the first quarter.
Brunson gave New York a 10-point lead late in the first quarter, but the Jazz responded with a 13-0 run in the second quarter. Utah led 52-50 at the half.
The Knicks regained a one-point lead in the third quarter after an Immanuel Quickley 3-pointer with 36.5 seconds left in the frame. The Jazz then scored six straight points in the final 30 seconds and 10 in a row to begin the fourth for a 99-84 lead.
Quentin Grimes scored the Knicks’ first points of the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer at the 8:06 mark that ended a four-plus-minute scoreless skid.
–Field Level Media