Jazz blow 12-point lead and game to Knicks, losing 106-101 in road trip opener

New York • The Utah Jazz were engaged offensively. Perimeter shots fell through the net instead of clanging off the rim. The Jazz took care of the basketball. They made a bushel of 3-pointers and were efficient from the free-throw line.

All that means is Wednesday’s 106-101 loss to the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden ranks as a particularly frustrating defeat for Utah in a season where defeats are mounting.

“This one will sting a little bit,” Jazz guard Rodney Hood said. “It was one of the better games we’ve played in a while.”

Past defeats for the Jazz could be explained away for significant reasons — inefficient offense, lack of energy, and leaky defense have been to blame for a Jazz team that’s lost six of their past seven games.

Against the Knicks, the Jazz played their most energetic game in weeks. They fought. They dived for loose balls. They made shots — even some irrational ones. They forged enough defensive stops to build a 12-point lead in the second half.

And it still wasn’t enough.

Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a 3-pointer for the Knicks with 32.5 seconds remaining to give New York a 102-98 advantage. That was the dagger — but in truth, the fourth quarter equaled a slow demise for the Jazz. They scored 19 points in the final 12 minutes, and 41 points in the second half. They missed shots when it mattered and couldn’t secure loose balls when they needed them most.

“I think we’ve set the bar at trying to get better,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “It felt like we did some things tonight. We did a few things we haven’t been doing, a few things better than we had been doing. We’re learning some things about ourselves as a group, but we didn’t do enough to get it done. Loose balls. That’s where the game was lost for us tonight.”

The fourth quarter featured a number of turning points. There was Hardaway Jr. hitting a 3-pointer from 30 feet with the shot clock about to expire. There was a loose ball that found Hardaway Jr. underneath the basket, where he was fouled and hit two free throws.

There was Kristaps Porzingis hitting a 3-pointer to give the Knicks a 99-93 lead with two minutes remaining. And after the Jazz improbably rallied within 99-98, there was Hardaway Jr. with the final nail, pulling up off the dribble for the game-deciding 3.

“It says a lot about this group,” Hardaway Jr. said. “The desire to win, not taking no as an answer and not having any excuses. We knew we were going to get their best shot. You have to give them credit. They played their heart out.”

As good as Utah’s offense was at times Wednesday, the Knicks posted a 119 offensive rating, which means the Jazz defense was pretty bad overall. The loss wastes a 30-point game from Hood, a season-high after he got hot in the third quarter, making shot after shot from the perimeter.

But Hood’s third quarter was an ominous sign for the Jazz. The ball movement that allowed the Jazz to score 60 points in the first half, disappeared in the third quarter. Utah’s offense still looked productive in the third quarter solely because Hood was making contested jumpers.

And when those jumpers dried up in the fourth quarter, so did the Jazz offense.

“There were a ton of positives that you can take away,” Utah guard Donovan Mitchell said. “But you can’t let that go. Coach Snyder came in and said we played with great effort but they just wanted it more. There’s just little things that they did that we just had to capitalize on. We’ll learn from this one.”

Mitchell, playing his first game at the Garden in front of dozens of friends and family, scored 19 points, 17 of them in the first half. Ricky Rubio and Joe Ingles scored 13 points each.

Hardaway scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. Porzingis scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds.