Hardaway hits late 3 to lift Knicks over Jazz 106-101
New York — Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 26 points, including a key 3-pointer with 32.9 seconds left, to help the New York Knicks rally in the second half and beat the Utah Jazz 106-101 on Wednesday night.
New York trailed by 10 late in the third quarter but got its third comeback victory in eight days. Hardaway's 3 made it 102-98, and he added four free throws after that.
Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points and Courtney Lee added 19 as the Knicks rebounded after blowing a 15-point fourth quarter lead in a loss to the Cavaliers on Monday night. Enes Kanter added 13 points.
Rodney Hood scored 30 points off the bench and rookie Donovan Mitchell chipped in 19 for the Jazz, who dropped to 1-2 since losing star center Rudy Gobert for four weeks with a bone bruise in his right leg.
The Jazz shot 50 percent to lead 60-50 at halftime, a big start for the league's third-worst offense entering the game. Mitchell, the 13th overall pick in this year's draft, had 17 points in the first half. Mitchell is from Elmsfurd, right near the Knicks training facility in Greenburgh.
The Knicks trailed 85-77 after a 3-pointer by Utah's Thabo Sefolosha in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. The teams traded baskets throughout the final period before the Knicks seized control midway.
After Alec Burks' missed shot, Lee grabbed the rebound and fed Hardaway in the open court for a layup, giving New York a 94-93 advantage with 4:04 left. That was the Knicks' first lead since the first quarter.
An offensive foul by Hood led to five straight points from Porzingis, including a 3-pointer with 2:21 to go that put the Knicks ahead 99-93. Joe Ingles answered with a 3-pointer from the corner, and Ricky Rubio hit a jumper that cut it to 99-98 with 1:14 left.
On the ensuing possession, Hardaway drove to the basket, but his shot was blocked by Derrick Favors. An alert Frank Ntilikina picked up the ball, setting up Hardaway's game-sealing 3.
Tip-ins
Jazz: Utah has not shot 50 percent from the field since opening night, when it hit 50.6 percent in a win over Denver. The Jazz managed to make 20 of 40 shots in the first half before cooling off. They finished at 43 percent.
Up next
Jazz: Remain in New York to face the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Knicks: Will visit the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
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