The Jazz couldn’t get it done tonight against the New York Knicks, falling 146-112 in what was basically a disaster from the opening tip. Utah started this game like they were still in the locker room, going down 23-0 before Keyonte George finally got the first points of the night at the 5:27 mark. By the end of the first quarter, the Knicks had hung 41 on them, and it honestly felt worse than the score showed.
Defensively, it was the same pattern we’ve seen all season: blown coverages, slow rotations,
ball-watching, and zero resistance at the point of attack. Combine that with the Jazz leading the entire NBA in turnovers, and you get a team that constantly fuels opponent transition runs. The Knicks feasted on it. Jalen Brunson ripped the Jazz apart with 33 points, and he got a ton of clean looks simply because the Jazz couldn’t stay attached to anything.
Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 18 points, and Keyonte George matched him with 18 of his own, but nothing ever felt steady. The lineup of George, Bailey, Markkanen, Svi, and Nurkic couldn’t get stops, and the frontcourt issues showed again — nobody out there can dribble or create for others from the forward spots. Jordan Clarkson’s first game against Utah since leaving was a decent one, tallying 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.
The youth finally got some run late in the fourth, and Walter Clayton Jr. gave the only real spark with 11 in that quarter alone, but by then the game was long gone. The frustration around minutes is justified, too — former top 10 picks Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams didn’t see the floor again, while vets like Svi kept soaking up possessions. Clarkson, Brunson, and the Knicks bench outscored Utah’s completely, and the Jazz never recovered from the early avalanche.
Another loss isn’t the worst outcome for a team desperately trying to stay in the 2026 draft race, but games like this show exactly why the fanbase wants the organization to lean into development and stop scraping out empty wins. Tonight was a reminder that they’re nowhere close to competitive without a top-tier cornerstone joining the roster next summer.
