State Game 67 Notes
The New York Knicks beat the Utah Jazz 134-117. Mitchell Robinson was the Player of the Game with 6 points on 3/4 shooting, 13 rebounds (5 offensive), and a +16 plus-minus.
The New York Knicks overcame a large early deficit to rally past the Utah Jazz 134-117 on Wednesday night, ending a two-game losing streak. Down 47–29 in the second quarter, a floater from Karl-Anthony Towns ignited momentum, and Jordan Clarkson along with Mitchell Robinson created multiple offensive rebound opportunities that helped New York chip away at the lead. Utah had stormed out to an early advantage, hitting 11 of their first 13 three-pointers, with Sensabaugh, Bailey, and Kevin Love combining for seven triples in the first 14 minutes. The Jazz finished the night 18 of 36 from deep, but the Knicks cut the deficit to single digits before halftime and then seized control with a 20-4 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. Clarkson fueled the surge with back-to-back baskets, putting the Knicks ahead 101-94 just under a minute into the fourth, while also contributing to four additional baskets through scoring or assists and adding two free throws.
Player of the Game: Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson led the Knicks in their win over the Utah Jazz, finishing with 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including 3-of-4 from two-point range, posting a 75% true shooting and effective field goal percentage. He dominated the glass with 13 rebounds, including 5 offensive boards, and added 3 assists with no turnovers. Robinson also recorded 1 steal, drew no fouls, and played 22.3 minutes while posting a +16 plus-minus for New York.
Knicks vs Jazz Game Notes
1st Quarter:
Utah came out firing early. Poliskaki scored to make it 5-3 before Karl-Anthony Towns attacked the rim and tied it with free throws, 5-5. Brice Sensabaugh knocked down a three to give Utah the lead again, and on the same play Mikal Bridges lost focus defensively. Landry Shamet answered with a midrange jumper, 7-8, but Sensabaugh drilled another three to push it to 11-7. Jalen Brunson responded with a three for New York, 11-10, but Keonte George converted an and-one over Shamet to extend the Jazz lead to 14-10. Sensabaugh added a free throw and Ace Bailey kept the barrage going with another three as Utah opened 4/5 from deep. Kyle Filipowski then hit a three to make it 21-14 before Utah added a dunk to extend it to 23-14. Bailey stayed hot, knocking down another three as the Jazz started 6/7 from beyond the arc, 26-16. Isaiah Collier found Kevin Love for a three, then scored a step-in midrange jumper to make it 31-18. Cody Williams hit another three to push the lead to 34-20. Mohamed Diawara answered with a jumper, 22-34, but Bailey scored again and a steal by Garcia led to another Jazz bucket, stretching the lead to 38-22. Brunson hit free throws, OG Anunoby added a strong drive, but Collier finished the quarter with a floater to give Utah a 40-26 lead.
2nd Quarter:
The Jazz kept hitting threes early in the second, including one right in Shamet’s face to make it 44-26, meaning seven different Jazz players had already hit a three. Jordan Clarkson started to respond for New York with a midrange jumper, 29-44. Towns turned the ball over which led to a Kevin Love three, pushing it to 47-29. That deficit sparked momentum when Towns answered with a floater, 31-47. Collier delivered a dime for another Jazz basket, 49-31, but Towns kept attacking with another bucket, 33-49. Towns then hit a three while Clarkson started heating up, cutting it to 49-40. Mohamed Diawara followed with a strong euro-step finish, 44-50. Sensabaugh responded with another three to make it 53-44 before Utah scored again in the pick-and-roll to push it to 55-44. Diawara then found Mitchell Robinson for a dunk while Robinson dominated the glass with 8 rebounds including 4 offensive boards. Diawara knocked down a three to cut the deficit to 49-55. Sensabaugh answered again from deep to make it 58-49 as he reached 16 points in just 8 minutes. Brunson turned it over and George hit a three to extend the lead to 61-49. At that point Utah was an incredible 14/18 from three (78%). Towns hit another three to reach 15 points while Brunson struggled at 1/8 from the field and Bridges sat at 1/4 with only 2 points. Bailey added another bucket to make it 65-56 and Sensabaugh was already 5/7 from three.
3rd Quarter:
Keonte George opened the half with a layup to push the lead to 67-56. Towns responded by finding Bridges for a basket, 58-67, and Brunson added a midrange jumper, 60-68. Sensabaugh attacked and was fouled by OG. Brunson then knocked down a three to make it 70-63 despite being just 3/10 from the field. Sensabaugh flashed playmaking with a behind-the-back assist that led to another Jazz bucket. Towns scored but Filipowski answered right away to keep Utah ahead, 74-65. OG hit a three to bring it to 74-68 before George scored again and Bailey drilled another three to extend the lead to 79-68. Bailey added another bucket after OG free throws to make it 81-70. Brunson drew a foul and scored to make it 80-72 but George answered again, 83-72. Brunson kept attacking with a midrange shot and another three to cut it to 83-77. George answered with another bucket, 85-77. The Knicks had only 2 fast break points at that stage. Towns slammed home a dunk, 85-79, but Bailey answered with a step-in three over Diawara, 88-79. Clarkson missed a shot but Robinson grabbed another offensive rebound which led to a Clarkson floater, 81-88. Collier answered with a floater, 90-81. Clarkson then scored again and Diawara drilled a three to make it 90-86. Harklass added a layup for Utah, 92-86, but OG responded with a catch-and-shoot three to cut it to 92-89. Clarkson returned to the game and got fouled while Robinson continued dominating the glass with another rebound. Collier hit a floater over Brunson to make it 94-93, but Brunson responded with an and-one to give the Knicks the lead 96-94.
4th Quarter:
Clarkson continued the momentum with an offensive rebound bucket to make it 98-94, then knocked down a catch-and-shoot three to extend the lead to 101-94. OG Anunoby added a dunk as the Knicks kept building the lead, 105-96. Sensabaugh answered with another basket, 105-99, but Jose Alvarado hit a floater to push the lead to 107-98. Clarkson drilled another three before Robinson found Towns for a basket to make it 114-101. Jose added a layup right after to extend the run, 116-101. Shamet knocked down a three to make it 119-103 and Clarkson kept the scoring going with another bucket, 122-105. Towns later found Sochan for a basket to make it 132-113 before Tyler Kolek delivered a pass to Pacôme Dadiet for the final bucket, sealing the 134-117 comeback victory for New York.
Reasons Why the Knicks Won
Jalen Brunson helped spark the comeback early in the third quarter, knocking down back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to 70–63 and shift momentum toward New York during the rally. The Knicks’ offense was sharp overall, hitting 17 threes on 42.5% shooting from deep while moving the ball extremely well with 37 assists. Four Knicks scored 20+ points in the win: OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jordan Clarkson, and Jalen Brunson.
Jordan Clarkson dominated his former team, shooting 10/15 from the field and finishing with 27 points, 5 rebounds including 4 offensive boards, and 3 assists while posting a +19 plus-minus. Brunson also recovered from a rough start where he went 1/8 in the first half, finishing with 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists to help lead the comeback.
Mitchell Robinson continued to be a major second-chance weapon. He now ranks 4th in the NBA in offensive rebounds with 207 in 926 minutes, and his rebounding helped create key extra possessions during the rally.
Defensively, the Knicks had mixed results. Karl-Anthony Towns allowed 5/13 shooting with 0 threes, Mitchell Robinson allowed 2/6 with 0 threes, and Jordan Clarkson allowed 5/15 with 2 threes. Landry Shamet allowed 7/11 with 2 threes, Jalen Brunson allowed 7/9 with 2 threes, Mikal Bridges allowed 6/11 with 4 threes, and OG Anunoby allowed 3/6 with 2 threes.
Utah targeted Brunson throughout the game offensively and no player shot under 50% when defended by him. Landry Shamet held Brice Sensabaugh to 1/4 shooting but allowed Keyonte George to go 3/4 in just 3:58 of matchup time. Karl-Anthony Towns held Keyonte George to 1/4 shooting with 0 threes despite Utah trying to involve him in actions. Mikal Bridges struggled defending the perimeter as Brice Sensabaugh shot 3/4 from three and Ace Bailey went 2/2 from deep when guarded by him. OG Anunoby also allowed Sensabaugh to go 2/2 from three.
After a rough weekend in Los Angeles, the Knicks responded the right way with a strong comeback win and snapped their two-game losing streak. New York showed resilience battling back from an 18-point deficit and finding their rhythm offensively when it mattered most. If they continue to move the ball and control the glass the way they did in this one, they’ll be in a good position moving forward. Peace and blessings, and thank you for supporting another State article.