NBA: Knicks focus on 48-minute effort ahead of meeting with Jazz

After seeing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead shrink to single digits Wednesday night, the New York Knicks were reminded of the importance of playing a complete game. The Utah Jazz provided another lesson Thursday night.

Utah will aim to build on an impressive comeback as it completes a New York City back-to-back by visiting the Knicks on Friday. The Jazz surged in the fourth quarter Thursday to beat the Brooklyn Nets 123-110.

The Knicks opened their three-game homestand Wednesday with a 119-104 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, leading wire-to-wire. Meanwhile, Utah outscored the Nets 42-20 in the final period, erasing a 15-point first-half deficit and securing back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The Jazz had previously defeated the Houston Rockets 133-125 on Monday.

Seven Jazz players scored in the fourth quarter, with the team shooting 63.6% from the field (14-for-22) and 75% from beyond the arc (6-for-8). The 42-point fourth quarter marked Utah’s most prolific period of the season, just two points shy of their highest-scoring stretch, which they achieved against the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this season.

"In the fourth quarter, we started making shots and having energy," said Keyonte George, who scored eight of his 29 points in the final period. "To be a good team, you have to be able to win on the road."

Winning at home has not been a problem for the Knicks, who hold an Eastern Conference-best 11-1 record at Madison Square Garden. None of their home victories have come by fewer than eight points.

Still, the Knicks saw room for improvement Wednesday. Jalen Brunson’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the second quarter sparked a 47-28 run that extended New York’s lead to 97-75 with 9:29 remaining. Charlotte responded with a 21-7 run, forcing the Knicks to keep their starters on the floor until the final minute.

The Hornets’ rally echoed New York’s 123-117 loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, when the Knicks squandered a 14-point lead by being outscored 73-44 in the middle two quarters.

"We’ve got to do a better job of slowing down their runs and limiting them," Brunson said. "But we can’t let them get all the way back like we’ve been doing. How we respond to that is how we get better as a team. As long as we’re making strides in that direction, we’re improving." -Field Level Media/Reuters Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images