The Knicks have been rolling lately, winning five of their last six games to push their record to 14-7, good enough for third place in the East. And with the Utah Jazz (8-13) traveling to the Garden tonight, New York should be in a good position to keep the good times going.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the man of the hour for the Knicks on Wednesday, posting an eye-popping stat line of 35/18/5 in a (mostly) comfortable win versus the Charlotte Hornets.
When KAT gets it going like this, the Knicks are nearly impossible to stop. Despite getting off to a slightly slower shooting year than last season, some positive regression is to be expected in terms of his three-point shooting.
Brunson chimed in 26 and 5. Hart continued his stellar play with 15/8/8. Deuce McBride and Mikal Bridges scored 16 and 15, respectively.
The Jazz aren’t quite a play-in team yet, but they have some fun young players across the roster. Leading them is Lauri Markkanen, the 7’1” forward, posting yet another career year on the offensive side of the floor. 28.1 points on 48/36/90 just isn’t supposed to happen for a guy that size. And yet it is.
Despite that, Utah lost its young big man, Walker Kessler, for the remainder of the year. Fifth overall pick Ace Bailey got off to a slow start. But the pieces are still meshing together, and something nice is taking shape for the Jazz. For the first time in ages, the team has an identity.
That being said, there will be a glaring talent difference between the two squads on the MSG floor tonight.
Prediction
This could be a quintessential 30-points-from-an-opposing-role-player-off-the-bench kind of night for the Knicks, but barring something drastic, Utah just doesn’t have the firepower to trade blows with New York. Plus, we’re at home? Forget it.
Knicks win this one comfortably. Let’s call it by 15-20.
Game Details
Date: Friday, December 5, 2025
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
TV: MSG Network
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
