UTAH – The Utah Jazz play host to the New York Knicks at the Vivint Arena on Tuesday night.
The New York Knicks have been in rough shape as they’ve lost seven of their past 10 games and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after falling short against the Trailblazers in a 116-113 road loss on Sunday. Immanuel Quickley led the team in scoring with 31 points and four assists in just 24 minutes off the bench, Julius Randle added 25 points with seven rebounds and five assists, while Alec Burks chipped in with 18 points but no other player finished in double figures. As a team, the Knicks shot 45 percent from the field and 12 of 29 from the 3-point line as they struggled to get going early, falling behind by 25 points in the first half, before flipping the game on its head in the second half to make it a close finish in the end.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have been on a tear lately as they will be gunning for a season-high ninth straight victory after blowing past the Warriors in a 127-108 home win on Saturday. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Mike Conley drained five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson each scored 14 points while Rudy Gobert chipped in with 11 points, 14 rebounds and two assists. As a team, the Jazz shot 47 percent from the field and 20 of 50 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 39 points in the first quarter, before outscoring the Warriors by 38-17 in the second quarter to lead by as many as 40 points before resting their starters in the fourth quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Knicks are 5-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a winning record, 4-1 ATS in their last five games as an underdog and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Jazz are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games, 5-0 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 8-0 ATS in their last eight games overall.
Head to head, the over is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings overall, the Knicks are 12-3 ATS in the last 15 meetings in Utah and the Knicks are 25-6 ATS in the last 31 meetings overall.
Frank Ntilikina is expected to return, while Reggie Bullock has been ruled out, so the Knicks will once again be a little shorthanded in this one. The Jazz have been the hottest team in the league and they certainly looked good in their dominant win over the Warriors on Saturday. The Knicks’ last seven games have resulted in three wins and four losses by single digits, so I’m tempted to take them with the points here, but I’m not brave enough to stand in the way of the Jazz when they’re playing this well.