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New York » How much of a graveyard has Madison Square Garden been for the Jazz in recent seasons? Consider that they started Andrei Kirilenko, Sasha Pavlovic, Jarron Collins, Carlos Arroyo and Michael Ruffin the last time they won at the world's most famous arena.
Maybe it should come as no surprise then that as they finally escaped from New York with a victory, the Jazz nearly took a fall off the Empire State Building in the process, giving back all of a 21-point second-half cushion and 14-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
In the end, though, they were able to avert what would have been a catastrophic loss against the 1-7 Knicks, holding on for a 95-93 victory Monday night as rookie Toney Douglas missed a 9-foot runner with 2.1 seconds left.
"It feels real good to get a win," Deron Williams said. "We were in dire need of one. A win is a win. Good, bad, ugly, it doesn't matter, as long as you win."
The victory was the Jazz's first in New York in six seasons, with their last coming Feb. 20, 2004. That coincidentally was the day after the Jazz completed a trade deadline deal with Phoenix that brought them a certain future first-round draft pick from the Knicks.
Kirilenko, the last holdover on either team's roster from that game, delivered life support to the Jazz on Monday, tying his career-high with five 3-pointers and scoring 23 points against the zone defense New York played
"Say hello to Jeff Hornacek," Kirilenko said, joking about his part-time shooting coach.
Through seven games, nothing has come easy for the Jazz (3-4), and Monday's victory was no different. Nevertheless, they were able to regroup after Saturday's loss to Sacramento and open their four-game Eastern Conference trip on a positive note.
They might, however, be forced to play Wednesday against Boston without a point guard or two. Williams' back locked up in the second quarter Monday, by which time backup Ronnie Price already had left with a sprained left big toe.
Had Price been able to return, Williams said he likely wouldn't have come back after halftime. Instead, he ended up playing all but 1:27 of the second half, finishing with five points and 16 assists but hitting just 2 of 10 shots.
"Nothing against Eric Maynor," Williams said of the Jazz's rookie No. 3 point guard, "but we needed this win and I wanted to try to stick it out if I could."
Williams spent his brief time out of the game in the second half sprawled in front of the Jazz's bench. He was the last player out of the trainer's room afterward and said just standing to answer questions was difficult.
As for the game, the Jazz led 52-31 after Kirilenko hit the first of his four third-quarter three-pointers. The Knicks missed their first 12 three-pointers to start the game, but came alive as Chris Duhon and Wilson Chandler hit three in the span of two minutes.
"It's definitely scary, especially when you're on the road," Williams said. "Luckily, we pulled it out."
The Knicks had closed within 10 by the time the Jazz called timeout with 6:19 left. Behind Kirilenko, the Jazz restored their lead to 16, but the Knicks scored 10 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, capped by an Al Harrington dunk, to make it a one-point game.
The Knicks tied the game 93-93 with 1:36 left after Douglas drove for his second of two layups in the final 2 1-2 minutes. The Jazz answered at the other end as Mehmet Okur followed up Williams' missed jumper.
Okur's basket proved to be the game-winner, as the Jazz held on in the final 1:16. The Knicks failed to score on three possessions -- including a missed 3-pointer by Harrington and Ronnie Brewer's block on Larry Hughes.
The Knicks still had a chance to win or tie in the end after Brewer missed a jumper with 7.1 seconds left. They called timeout twice before inbounding to Douglas, who had 21 points and hit 9 of 14 shots off the bench.
Douglas drove right on Williams before cutting back to the left. He wormed his way under Williams but missed his runner off the back rim as the Jazz survived.
"I'm just happy we got the stop, got the rebound, there was no tip-ins, and we got the 'W,' " Carlos Boozer said.
The Jazz blew a 21-point lead in the second half but held on to win in New York for the first time in six seasons.
KEY MOMENT » Knicks rookie Toney Douglas misses a runner with 2.1 seconds left that could have forced overtime.
KEY STAT » Andrei Kirilenko's five three-pointers tied his career high from a Feb. 17, 2004 game at Miami.
